Coin Folders
Whitman Lincoln Cent Folder Review: Filling a Set One Hole at a Time
Two folders, four decades of cents, and a grandson who reads dates slowly. What the Whitman folder does, what it does not do, and where it stops.
A retired shop teacher in Toledo explains how a simple Whitman folder for the 1975 to 2013 Lincoln cent run got his loose cents off the desk and back into order.
Two folders, four decades of cents, and a grandson who reads dates slowly. What the Whitman folder does, what it does not do, and where it stops.
One is a working tool and one is a storage system. Buy the wrong one for your stage of the set and you will spend an evening moving coins twice.
A folder with a start date and an end date beats a pile on the kitchen table. Ask anybody who has sorted pennies for two hours and had nothing to show for it.
A retired shop teacher in Toledo explains how a simple Whitman folder for the 1975 to 2013 Lincoln cent run got his loose cents off the desk and back into order.
A patient, first-person walkthrough for sorting pocket change and filling the 1975-2013 Lincoln cent folder without damaging the coins.
Three copies, twenty years and one ten year old later, here is what this folder actually does for a pile of Lincoln cents, and the four places it quietly lets you down.
Nine years of guessing at dates, mint marks and mintage figures ended the spring I set the 79th edition on my desk. Here is what 484 pages actually does for a hobby collector, and what it does not.
One book tells you what a collector pays. The other tells you what a dealer pays. Confusing the two costs people more than any other mistake in this hobby.
Ten plain reasons a single hardback reference earns its place three inches from the desk lamp, from a collector who has worn out three of them.
Two people, one silver dollar, and the page that ended three weeks of noise.
One book, one page, one row. A retired shop teacher's method for reading the Red Book without guessing, written for collectors who own the guide and have never quite learned to navigate it.
The 79th edition is the reference I keep on the desk rather than the shelf. It is also a catalog, not an oracle, and the difference matters more than any five-star review will tell you.
A retired shop teacher uses the JARLINK 30X 60X loupe for months on Lincoln cents and Morgan dollars, and reports what the two lenses do well and where they fall short.
Two loupes, two different jobs. One reads the date, the other judges the surface. Knowing which is which saves you from buying the wrong tool first.
A retired shop teacher on the one small tool he reaches for before anything else in the coin room, and the ten jobs it actually does.
Six years in a folder, and my eyes never caught it until a magnifier and a desk lamp landed on the same square millimeter.
A patient, five-step order of work for reading a coin's surface and mintmark, from a collector who has been fooled at 60x more than once.
A budget loupe, thirty years of cents. What the JARLINK 30X 60X actually does well, where it fights you, and who should spend more.
Six months, three hundred holders, and one coffee can of wheat cents that finally got dealt with. What the Favourde assortment does well, and the two places it will not save you.
One is a filing system that happens to hold a coin. The other is a display case that happens to hold a coin. Pick each one for the job it actually does.
Three hundred cardboard holders, six sizes, and one rule about loose coins.
A retired shop teacher's two-evening fix for a shoebox of loose change, using 300 cardboard flips and no big claims.
Filling a cardboard flip takes four seconds. Labeling it so it still makes sense in ten years is the part that decides whether you have a collection or a drawer of unidentified metal.
Two years, roughly 900 coins, and one rust bloom I did not expect. What the Favourde 300-piece cardboard flip assortment actually does well, and where it will let you down.
Twelve pairs, one coin room, and a year of Sunday afternoons sorting pocket change with my grandson. What held up, what did not, and who actually needs these.
Nine years of handling uncirculated coins taught me the gloves are not the clever part. The habit is. Here is where each one actually earns its place at the desk.
A retired shop teacher who has handled coins for fifty five years explains why a plain pair of cotton gloves sits between your skin and every coin you care about.
A proof coin, a ringing phone, and the plain cotton gloves that kept a thumbprint off the surface.
A retired shop teacher's plain routine for picking up a coin, holding it by the rim, and putting it back down without leaving anything behind.
Twelve pairs, one size, and a shedding problem that goes away after the third wash. An honest look at what these gloves do well and the two jobs I would not use them for.
Two folders, four decades of cents, and a grandson who reads dates slowly. What the Whitman folder does, what it does not do, and where it stops.
Three copies, twenty years and one ten year old later, here is what this folder actually does for a pile of Lincoln cents, and the four places it quietly lets you down.
Nine years of guessing at dates, mint marks and mintage figures ended the spring I set the 79th edition on my desk. Here is what 484 pages actually does for a hobby collector, and what it does not.
The 79th edition is the reference I keep on the desk rather than the shelf. It is also a catalog, not an oracle, and the difference matters more than any five-star review will tell you.
A retired shop teacher uses the JARLINK 30X 60X loupe for months on Lincoln cents and Morgan dollars, and reports what the two lenses do well and where they fall short.
A budget loupe, thirty years of cents. What the JARLINK 30X 60X actually does well, where it fights you, and who should spend more.
Six months, three hundred holders, and one coffee can of wheat cents that finally got dealt with. What the Favourde assortment does well, and the two places it will not save you.
Two years, roughly 900 coins, and one rust bloom I did not expect. What the Favourde 300-piece cardboard flip assortment actually does well, and where it will let you down.
Twelve pairs, one coin room, and a year of Sunday afternoons sorting pocket change with my grandson. What held up, what did not, and who actually needs these.
Twelve pairs, one size, and a shedding problem that goes away after the third wash. An honest look at what these gloves do well and the two jobs I would not use them for.