Are Peel-n-Seal Coin Flips Safe for Long Term Coin Storage? - BCW Supplies - BlogBCW Supplies

Coin flips are a common solution for protecting collectible coins. These are paper rectangles that fold into 2″ x 2″ squares with the coin enclosed between the folded layers. Circular windows are covered with BOPP film (biaxially oriented polypropylene) to hold the coin in the window. The coin flip is normally labelled by writing the coin’s details on the paper. Traditional coin flips are sealed shut with one or more staples.

BCW Peel-n-Seal Coin Flips eliminate the need for using staples. A layer of adhesive on the inside of the flip allows you to enclose the coin by simply removing the adhesive backing, centering the coin in the window, and sealing the flip closed. In addition to simplicity, this has a few advantages over the stapling method. First, metal staples are not in your row of coin flips, avoiding the possibility of scratching a coin against a staple. Second, the omission of the staples provides more space for you to label your coin on the paper.

This Peel-n-Seal method has led to a fair question from coin collectors – “Will the adhesive on the inside of the coin flip damage my coin if the glue touches my coin?”. We took this question to an independent lab to run a test on BCW Peel-n-Seal Paper Flips. The SGS-CSTC Standards Technical Services Company (SCS) ran the test. The test is called RoHS Directive (EU) 2015/863 amending Annex II to Directive 2011/65/EU, which is essentially a European Union test to determine if items have acceptable amounts of hazardous substances such as heavy metals. The SGS ran this test on all of the components of a BCW Peel-n-Seal Paper Flip: the paper, the BOPP film, the adhesive film that attaches the film to the paper, and the glue used to close the flip. In all four tests, the materials pass, not having any significant traces of hazardous substances.

So to answer “Will the adhesive on the inside of the coin flip damage my coin if the glue touches my coin?”, we can safely answer that your coins are safe for long term, archival storage in BCW Peel-n-Seal Coin Flips. Nonetheless, we recommend you use precision when removing the adhesive backing, placing the coin on the coin flip, and sealing the flip tight. Center the coin in the window so the panel with the glue adheres to the facing paper panel and does not come in contact with the coin.

See the Peel-n-Seal Paper Flips product pages for details: