I wasn't aware of the fact that albums were so different in different countries until reading a post over at CU forum. A member there was enquiring why he was having trouble finding albums for UK coins (like sixpence albums etc.), another member then stepped in and stated that he'd been in several UK coinshops whilst on visits but had never been able to find US style albums for UK coins.

All he could find were these;





The pockets can take 2x2s and can take the clear plastic flips (that i was raised on). In fact i think for most of my collecting life i've used albums like that with clear plastic pages and clear plastic flips that go into those pockets. Or until 2000 i did (unfortunately i had cheap pages with PVC... bad move). Then i switched to the mahogany cabinet method and never looked back. I've grown very suspicious of 2x2s and plastic flips ever since. I only retain them for shipping coins out.


Dealers seem to make use of the album system too (especially for any World coins they have), but from my experience at coin fairs the vast majority use this system;




The usual sight at UK coin fairs is piles and piles of coin trays lining the tables stacked on top of each other, good fun to go wading through. I know Andy uses this method. If you can count more than half a dozen slabbed coins at the whole fair then it's unusual. All the coinshops i've ever been in also use trays as well. The occasional album as above crops in here and there.


Collectors using long term storage often opt for the method below, the British museum maintains it's vast collection in this manner, and it's a firm favourite with the hammered coin collectors;

Interesting. It's one of those subtle things that you never really notice unless someone comments on it. Myself, I use boxes, and that's how most dealers also store their coins. (Better pieces in the cases)

I have two kinds of albums.

One kind is simple 4 ring binders with 20 pocket pages for 2x2's

The other albums are smaller and have different kind of pages. Either 12 pocket pages for 2x2's or special pages. In these pages I keep my lower grade base metal coins

I've taken a picture of the latter:




I'm considering capsules like airtites for my higher grade coins, but haven't found a convenient way of storing and displaying them yet...



The only two coin stores I've been in my life used 4 ring binders filled with pages with coins in 2x2's. No drawers, cabinets, slabs

The same with me

I've met both types of that album before. Well i had the general pocket page albums for many years.

But i have come across those others too. In fact the only type of album i haven't come across is the ones where there is a hole for the coin to be put in. You just don't see albums like that over here, until i got the internet i didn't even know they existed.