If collecting coins for the silver only, but occasionally buying some that come carded or in those small vinyl covered boxes, should I be keeping them as is or is it ok to ditch the packaging and just keep them in capsules etc???
I've ripped packaging open on a number of occasions. Lots of it is crappy condition anyway - $10 sterling state coins and $200 10 gram gold coins for example are regularly encountered minus their packaging. If it's trading on a spot basis 20-30 years after issue, there's not much numismatic potential to be had. Always check though - sometimes you score genuine numismatic stuff in containers that should be left as such, and some items are better left in sets - Masterpieces in Silver sets for example are often sold on a spot basis, but the market expectation is that they're sold as sets. I certainly wouldn't pay more though for say a $200 gold coin just because it's in a tiny blue vinyl folder as opposed to loose.
A number of Kooks I've bought came in the plastic carded packaging from the Littleton Coin Co. I tore those suckers out and put them in ring-type Air-tites for my personal collection (I like all my coins to be in matching capsules). I do a lot on eBay and I've noticed that there is minimal, if any, difference in price between the carded and loose coins. In most cases, as long as the coin isn't beat up, scratched, etc., then they sell for the same prices. The only exception is if the card is for some sort of limited/special edition.
Crappy blue folders Only got a few and I haven't bothered sourcing capsules for them. Sovereigns I stick in self-adhesive 2x2s, almost everything else goes into a Lighthouse capsule. I may slowly migrate to 2x2s though... not quite as fun to look at though as a piled of encapsulated coins though!
I like 2x2's since they give a nice clear view and good for space issues (which I'm hoping I shall one day have lol).
All my $200 except a very few uncommon ones like Pride of Australia series etc are loose. All $10 uncirc except a very few are loose. The proofs are all sans case and box but in their capsules except a very few.
These are the square cardboard with a circle of acetate which fits the coin. They commonly fit into coin albums.
