Whitman coin folders corrode coins?

[seattleMD]

So when I was younger (15 years ago), I was into coin collecting and my parents purchased me a bunch of Whitman coin collecting folders. I hadn't actually looked at them for a long time (15 years), but started to use my CRH finds to fill in my missing slots. Upon closer inspection of the coins that have been in there for a while, the side of the coins are heavily corroded. Am I missing something? Why would a coin collecting album corrode coins - especially one from Whitman who are supposed to be a respectable coin collecting brand. Luckily most of these were uncommon / common, but several wheats and pre-60 nickels were ruined.

How do ya'll store your uncommon / common coins?

 

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[fyrfighter17]

I've never had a problem with them...maybe they were exposed to some moisture?

 

[Codes]

I use Whitman folders. Never had a problem with them.

 

[Cat J]

I use the Whitmans also. Not a problem.

Thanks
Cat

 

[seattleMD]

Must have been a moisture thing then or perhaps I didn't insert them property and expose some part of the book which caused the coins to corrode.

 

[gold fish]

I have heard from several collectors, and all my friends that do coins professionally, that whitman folders will damage coins. They are not made with acid-free materials. If you're looking for a good coin album, I would check out the dansco series, it's all I'll use, the albums are gauranteed.

http://www.brent-krueger.com/dansco.html

 

[seattleMD]

I have heard from several collectors, and all my friends that do coins professionally, that whitman folders will damage coins. They are not made with acid-free materials. If you're looking for a good coin album, I would check out the dansco series, it's all I'll use, the albums are gauranteed.

http://www.brent-krueger.com/dansco.html

Yep - those look pretty decent.

 

[rydiggaahh]

i know exactly what your talking about. i have the folders from when i was a kid and some of the cents are corroded. only seems to happen with the cents though

 

[seattleMD]

i know exactly what your talking about. i have the folders from when i was a kid and some of the cents are corroded. only seems to happen with the cents though

happened to my nickels too. I haven't checked the dimes.

 

[GMan00001]

Stored in the wrong environment the folder chemicals can leach into the coins. I bought a small collection and had a number of mercs and nickels that had that problem.

 

[DesertTumbleweed402]

Might be acid from the papers used.

 

[Scalper]

Yes my coins show some corrosion it was mentioned to me that it was possibly the sulfur used in the paper ... but I dont know for sure , HH

 

[65gt350]

I have a few halves that have the text from the flap cover transfered to the coin. It looks like the ink stained the coins. The coins from the folders also have what appear to be glue marks on the reverse. Of course these folders have copyrights from 1940, 1952 so I hope that the current folders have better materials.

The Whitman folders are good for short term storage but I wouldn't store XF coins or better in folders for long periods of time. I like the Whitman albums for long term storage.

65GT350

 

[doc49]

I'm a serious coin collector and I would recommend coin albums and storage boxes made by a company named Intercept Shield. They are supposed to be the best.
Doc

 

[pizzaman55792]

yes albums and even some flips and 2x2 s will "tone" your coins. IMHO this is damage and devalues the coin but there are alot of collectors willing to pay big bucks for these toned coins. The longer they sit in these they can turn into some pretty wild rainbow colours, the more colorfull the more willing people are willing to pay.

 

[cmhoose]

i know exactly what your talking about. i have the folders from when i was a kid and some of the cents are corroded. only seems to happen with the cents though

A similar thing happened to me. I had a collection of Whitman folders I put together as a kid from my grandfather's collection. I recently looked through some of the books to check for errors that I wouldn't have looked for back then. I noticed many of the silver dimes had dark discoloration along the back edge of the coin, with most of the edges looking dark black. The zinc cents I had in the Lincoln book were also totally ruined. The edges of the coins very corroded. All the rest of the coin folders and coins seemed fine. All of the books were stored together in the same environment for around 20 yrs.

Today I still use Whitman folders to build sets, but I move my collections up to nicer folders once I complete them (or get close). I wouldn't use them for long term storage now. Too big of a risk on some of the older and more pricey sets. IMO

As mentioned earlier, I think environment (mainly moisture) has the most effect on your coins in storage. But my situation seemed a little strange to me. Anyone else with any input on longterm Whitman storage experience?

HH
cmhoose