Each style has advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage that either one of these storage solutions has over coin holders is their compact size and ability to store a large number of coins in one album or folder. If you have limited space in a safe or safe deposit box, a compact coin album maybe your best solution. However, if you have expensive coins that have been encapsulated by a third-party grading service, you will not want to crack them out and put them in a coin folder or album. The best protection is to leave them in their special encapsulated holder. This is a guarantee of grade and authenticity. If the coin is cracked out of the holder, the guarantee will be null and void. This option provides beginning collectors an inexpensive way to get started in coin collecting. Their simple design and easy to follow layout provide a clear path for the beginning collector to chart their coin collecting journey. Publishers construct their coin folders by cutting circular holes into the cardboard that will fit the coin exactly and hold it in place. A label underneath each hole has a date or description of the coin that belongs there. This information helps you plan your coin collecting journey as you assemble a complete set of coins in that folder. Unfortunately, the design of these coin folders only allows one side of the coin to be viewed. Additionally, the coin is exposed to the atmosphere and possible fingerprint damage from people touching your coins. First of all, they allow you to view both sides of the coin while they are housed in the album. Secondly, there is a plastic insert that covers both sides of the coin that protects them from fingerprints and accidental damage. For an additional cost, some manufacturers offer a cardboard slipcase that protects the cover and the edge of your coin album. Also, coin albums do not have the three or four-page limit that coin folders have. Some coin albums can hold up to 200 coins in one album. However, coin albums also have the same disadvantage of coin folders. For example, if the material that the album is made out of contains some trace amounts of sulfur or acids, these can leach out of the album page and cause damage to your coin. Therefore, these must be stored in a cool and dry place in order to protect the integrity of your coins. Unfortunately, the manufacturing processes at this time used acids in the cardboard and the adhesives. Over time these acids leached out of the material and caused the coins contained in them to tone. Although actual corrosion was rare, the toning of copper and silver coins sometimes produced brilliant colors, and other times ugly dark patches. Today manufacturers of coin folders and albums use acid-free materials. What they did not realize is that over time the PVC will leach out of the plastic and adhered to the surface of the coin. This chemical process leaves an ugly green slime on the coin that makes it unattractive. If left on the coin for an extended period of time, it can actually damage the coin. You can remove the PVC residue from the coin without damaging by following some simple procedures. The downside of this solution was that the plastics were no longer soft and pliable, but hard and rigid. If collectors were not careful when removing or replacing the plastic slides that covered the coins, the edges of the plastic slide could rub across the coin and leave small scratches known as hairlines or slider marks. Normally, these are found on the highest points of the coin, but can also damage the field of the coin.
