Quality of Abafil Case/Trays

[IAIN J]

I am looking to purchase an Abafil Minor case/tray in the near future. Any thoughts on the quality of the cases/trays would be great.

[orfew]

The quality is very high imho. I only use Abafil trays and an Abafil case to store my coins. They are very well made. Here is a picture of one of my trays.

[PMah]

    "They're real and they're spectacular!".   
    I took the plunge in 2017 after not committing because of the cost.  In fact, I initially purchased a second-hand small case and tested whether it would hold coins in a stable manner.  The test met expectations and several subsequent acquisitions followed. 
  There are other decent products and perhaps the main difference for me is that the Abafil products have an appearance that is more consistent with an ancient coin collection, particularly for coins that have not been doomed to spend eternity in plastic cases. (Not that I have a preference....)    They have handmade components but have tight mechanical hardware.  Some very nice competitors have plastic versions, but they do feel like plastic.  Abafil trays are primarily wood, silk and other natural fibers, although most case exteriors are not natural material.  I think the latest version have exposed-wood trays.   There is no flex to the tray, unlike some lower-cost all-plastic models.
     See Andrew McCabe's spectacular on-line collection and many similar presentations on this board for the visual appeal of the trays.  On the other hand, if you do not show coins to other people, or primarily trade and sell coins, these cases are probably not as appealing. 
   Both the Italian manufacturer and a primary US retailer are very responsive.
   The velvet surfaces can gather dust/lint/mysterious flecks if not kept in the cases (or if you eat breakfast while sorting).  That can be cleaned out with compressed air, such as keyboard cleaners.
  Here is an older half-sized tray of Republicans for amusement.
 
 

[PMah]

Also, as the photos from Orfew and me illustrate, all tray-based storage leads to a question of what to do for tagging/labelling. 
    Orfew seems to keep coins and tags together, tags on bottom, as many collectors do. 
    I either put the tags on top or use a small circle tag with just my collection number and keep the tags/envelopes/old tags in a box. 
    The flip/tag method is a bit more compact and controlled and much of my collection stays in the flip method for a long time until I figure out a good tray layout. 
    Trays require frequent re-organization (or a tolerance for empty spaces). 
   

[IAIN J]

Thanks for all the input, guys.  Will take the plunge and pick up a case and tray. It seems that Spink in London is the only retailer over here in the UK. Is there any danger of laying the coins on the tickets/labels if the printer ink can't be confirmed as being acid free? Would like to ideally add as much info as possible to the coin. Both trays and contents look fantastic. Cheers.

[PMah]

Good question on the ink, E1776, which is part of my reason for leaving the tags on top, as they are printed on acid-free paper, although I did not do a scientific study.  My main reason is that it is quicker to reveal the full tray of coins sitting nicely on the velvet, which is a key part of the appeal of the Abafil tray.

   I have coins that have been in old collector envelopes next to 100 year old india ink tags and I have not noticed any transfer or such.  I have coins where a museum or collector actually put a collection number right on the coin!  But india ink is a very different substance from modern printer inks.

  My non-scientific understanding is that ink-jet ink used in most household printers is more like traditional ink -- pigment dissolved in a mild solvent that gets absorbed to a greater or lesser degree depending on the paper used.  "Toner", usually in "laser" printers or office printers is actually more like a magnetized dust and I believe it is less stable.  I often have to dig out 20 year old documents at work and I think the older laser print gets dusty, but I can't measure it.

Final thought -- get the largest capacity case that fits your budget. 

Wish you joy of those trays! 

[IAIN J]

Thanks, PMah. I will most likely add an acid free ticket and just add a ref number number that corresponds to my database. I've mainly collected early milled for some years, so I'm getting used to the amount of info that needs to be recorded for ancients. Just wish it I'd gotten into them sooner.