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Air tite vs Lighthouse Ultra vs Lighthouse Intercept


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There is nothing quite like the genuine Air-Tite direct fit as they have an almost invisible join.
The plastic is harder, more scratch resistant and appears clearer.
I use them in any set that I am building in a collector's box.
Cheaper alternatives, some using the same or similar name, are okay for protecting coins that you just throw in a box.
Lighthouse Ultra are an alternative and easier to open.
I dislike any capsules with an extended rim as they look ugly edge on.

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I completely agree with Pete.  

The Air-Tites are really nice - and have such a nice feel in the hand - different type of plastic to the Lighthouse capsules.  Not especially cheap of course but for nice coins, these are nice capsules.

I have lots of cheaper capsules that are definitely more brittle and have cracked / chipped.  You get what you pay for!

Best

Dicker

 

Not my circus, not my monkeys

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I have most of my PM bullion coins in Quadrum capsules now.  The advantage of these is that you can put all the coins in square capsules that are the same size and buy the same trays.  The coins look nice in the capsules and trays.

The disadvantage of Quadrums versus Air-Tites is of course that the Quadrums, being square, don't rotate inside the trays - so if you want all the coins to line up precisely, you need to place them very precisely when you encapsulate them and then move the case and trays very carefully.  So it's basically impossible unless you rarely or never look at them after buying.

How much this bothers you (if at all) depends on your level of OCD.  Thankfully I'm not too bothered about it but it's never an issue with a circular capsule.

I like the Air-Tites although I have only previously had about six coins in them, but  would consider going down this route in future for some of my own collection.

Gratuitous photo below:

 

DSC_1427.JPG

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14 hours ago, Pete said:

There is nothing quite like the genuine Air-Tite direct fit as they have an almost invisible join.

+1 for the Air-Tites, they are great.

I haven't tried or seen the lighthouse ultra, but if they don't have any rims and are similar to Air-Tites, then they sound great too (without seeing them I am unsure how they compare to the Air-Tites.) 

My posts are my personal opinions, they do not constitute advice or financial advice.

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2 minutes ago, ChrisSilver said:

+1 for the Air-Tites, they are great.

I haven't tried or seen the lighthouse ultra, but if they don't have any rims and are similar to Air-Tites, then they sound great too (without seeing them I am unsure how they compare to the Air-Tites. 

 

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There is no comparison between an Air-Tite and a rimless Lighthouse ( Leuchtturm ) Ultra.
The main difference is the rim which is invisible in the Air-Tite compared to the Ultra as shown in the picture.
The Ultra also has a thumbnail cut-out in case you want to open whereas a genuine Air-Tite will likely need a scalpel blade to separate.

IMG_4646.thumb.jpeg.00bb4b791ce2ece5855a6f42e7c29015.jpeg

 

 

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2 hours ago, Pete said:

There is no comparison between an Air-Tite and a rimless Lighthouse ( Leuchtturm ) Ultra.
The main difference is the rim which is invisible in the Air-Tite compared to the Ultra as shown in the picture.
The Ultra also has a thumbnail cut-out in case you want to open whereas a genuine Air-Tite will likely need a scalpel blade to separate.

IMG_4646.thumb.jpeg.00bb4b791ce2ece5855a6f42e7c29015.jpeg

 

 

do you find that these are easier to pry apart than the air tites? also do they offer the same kind of protection? I haven't been able to find a lot of reviews on these tbh 

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Please can you let me know where the best place is to buy genuine air-title capsules?

Also, which would be the best size for full sovereigns? Can you use the same capsules for 1/4oz gold coins?

Many thanks,

Chris

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5 hours ago, Chrisplym said:

Please can you let me know where the best place is to buy genuine air-title capsules?

Also, which would be the best size for full sovereigns? Can you use the same capsules for 1/4oz gold coins?

Many thanks,

Chris

If you require more than just a few then maybe order direct on Air-Tite in the USA.
They are not expensive as such but you get hit with a high shipping charge because it is volumetric rather than dead weight, compounded by UK VAT at 20% plus carrier fee.
Maybe there is an interest in someone placing a bulk order and selling to others if they run a small business ?
The cost of shipping might be something that can be lowered using a slower service.
Otherwise try @morezone

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Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong here? Bohght some T22 air tites with the foam ring and the one I put my sovereign in closed just fine but the ¼oz britannia just keeps popping open. Tried a different capsule and same problem. I can't get this thing to seal!

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On 02/04/2021 at 20:10, ChrisSilver said:

+1 for the Air-Tites, they are great.

I haven't tried or seen the lighthouse ultra, but if they don't have any rims and are similar to Air-Tites, then they sound great too (without seeing them I am unsure how they compare to the Air-Tites.) 

+2

I have to say though I have only tried the normal Lighthouse capsules, not the ultra ones.

On 03/04/2021 at 00:06, Pete said:

The Ultra also has a thumbnail cut-out in case you want to open whereas a genuine Air-Tite will likely need a scalpel blade to separate.

It's very hard to pry them open but it's possible and once you know how to do it, it's actually not difficult any longer. The first time I tried it, I got almost desperate, so difficult it was. But the trick is a Stanley knife. That will leave a very small mark on the capsule though.

I had used the wrong foam size, if I remember that correctly, thus I had to open a few.

On 03/04/2021 at 12:40, Pete said:

If you require more than just a few then maybe order direct on Air-Tite in the USA.
They are not expensive as such but you get hit with a high shipping charge because it is volumetric rather than dead weight, compounded by UK VAT at 20% plus carrier fee.
Maybe there is an interest in someone placing a bulk order and selling to others if they run a small business ?
The cost of shipping might be something that can be lowered using a slower service.
Otherwise try @morezone

I have ordered them from the US in bulk for myself, so I would have enough for a long time. Then I started to get different size coins (10 Dollars) for which I still have none. 

On 08/04/2021 at 14:37, TutoredSoup232 said:

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong here? Bohght some T22 air tites with the foam ring and the one I put my sovereign in closed just fine but the ¼oz britannia just keeps popping open. Tried a different capsule and same problem. I can't get this thing to seal!

22 is the right size for Sovereigns but I don't have any quarter Britannias - in theory they have exactly the same diameter, though - have you tried different foam sizes?

This fits for Sovereigns and should fit for Britannias, too.

https://air-tites.com/collections/model-h-air-tite-coin-holders-with-black-rings/products/ring-type-air-tite-model-h-22mm-black-1

In practice it also fits LMU coins, tightly. 

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Neither, but I like the Lighthouse Ultra Intercept much better than Air-Tites.

Air-Tites suck. They're almost impossible to open, especially for men with trim fingernails. People use razor blades, box cutters, and scalpels to open them, all of which is absurdly dangerous. It's so easy to cut yourself when trying to pry open a hard, smooth, and slippery plastic bit with a blade. It's probably the single most dangerous blade work I've observed myself doing at home – the slipperiness and tiny size of the workpiece makes it difficult to make safe without a vise.

Opening Air-Tites also dings and marks them, which is annoying. Maybe if you got yourself some kind of hard plastic scraper-style implement, or plastic blade, something that isn't quite hard enough to scratch the hard acrylic capsule.

I think the only "Lighthouse Ultras" are in fact "Lighthouse Ultra Intercepts" – I don't think plain Ultras exist. The Intercept part of the name refers to the anti-tarnish material they include in the foam ring. It presumably absorbs or neutralizes sulfur in the air. The hitch there is that I don't know if tarnish is really an issue in regular capsules. So far my experience is that as long as you have an airtight seal, silver won't tarnish. I use Ziploc Snack Bags and regular Lighthouse capsules. It's not clear that anti-tarnish materials are necessary in capsules or other airtight containers.

Lighthouse capsules are much easier to open. I'm not sure what advantage Air-Tites have. Perceived ruggedness – if that's the perception – doesn't matter for coin capsules since we don't throw them against brick walls or swallow them to smuggle metals across borders like drug mules. Any reasonable implementation is going to survive being in a house for the next 200 years, with occasional handling.

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6 minutes ago, Bimetallic said:

Neither, but I like the Lighthouse Ultra Intercept much better than Air-Tites.

Air-Tites suck. They're almost impossible to open, especially for men with trim fingernails. People use razor blades, box cutters, and scalpels to open them, all of which is absurdly dangerous. It's so easy to cut yourself when trying to pry open a hard, smooth, and slippery plastic bit with a blade. It's probably the single most dangerous blade work I've observed myself doing at home – the slipperiness and tiny size of the workpiece makes it difficult to make safe without a vise.

Opening Air-Tites also dings and marks them, which is annoying. Maybe if you got yourself some kind of hard plastic scraper-style implement, or plastic blade, something that isn't quite hard enough to scratch the hard acrylic capsule.

I think the only "Lighthouse Ultras" are in fact "Lighthouse Ultra Intercepts" – I don't think plain Ultras exist. The Intercept part of the name refers to the anti-tarnish material they include in the foam ring. It presumably absorbs or neutralizes sulfur in the air. The hitch there is that I don't know if tarnish is really an issue in regular capsules. So far my experience is that as long as you have an airtight seal, silver won't tarnish. I use Ziploc Snack Bags and regular Lighthouse capsules. It's not clear that anti-tarnish materials are necessary in capsules or other airtight containers.

Lighthouse capsules are much easier to open. I'm not sure what advantage Air-Tites have. Perceived ruggedness – if that's the perception – doesn't matter for coin capsules since we don't throw them against brick walls or swallow them to smuggle metals across borders like drug mules. Any reasonable implementation is going to survive being in a house for the next 200 years, with occasional handling.

the Ultra are the capsules without any foam in them but are in theory an upgrade from the standard ones. The intercepts are in fact the same as the Ultras but with the foam ring. 

I haven't seen many reviews on these though besides the regular ones, although I have heard that some people have experienced tarnishing with the regular ones

These are the plain ultras

https://www.dauwalders.co.uk/10-premium-ultra-coin-capsules-146465-p.asp

Edited by TutoredSoup232
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1 hour ago, Bimetallic said:

Neither, but I like the Lighthouse Ultra Intercept much better than Air-Tites.

Air-Tites suck. They're almost impossible to open, especially for men with trim fingernails. People use razor blades, box cutters, and scalpels to open them, all of which is absurdly dangerous. It's so easy to cut yourself when trying to pry open a hard, smooth, and slippery plastic bit with a blade. It's probably the single most dangerous blade work I've observed myself doing at home – the slipperiness and tiny size of the workpiece makes it difficult to make safe without a vise.

Opening Air-Tites also dings and marks them, which is annoying. Maybe if you got yourself some kind of hard plastic scraper-style implement, or plastic blade, something that isn't quite hard enough to scratch the hard acrylic capsule.

I think the only "Lighthouse Ultras" are in fact "Lighthouse Ultra Intercepts" – I don't think plain Ultras exist. The Intercept part of the name refers to the anti-tarnish material they include in the foam ring. It presumably absorbs or neutralizes sulfur in the air. The hitch there is that I don't know if tarnish is really an issue in regular capsules. So far my experience is that as long as you have an airtight seal, silver won't tarnish. I use Ziploc Snack Bags and regular Lighthouse capsules. It's not clear that anti-tarnish materials are necessary in capsules or other airtight containers.

Lighthouse capsules are much easier to open. I'm not sure what advantage Air-Tites have. Perceived ruggedness – if that's the perception – doesn't matter for coin capsules since we don't throw them against brick walls or swallow them to smuggle metals across borders like drug mules. Any reasonable implementation is going to survive being in a house for the next 200 years, with occasional handling.

For me it's an advantage that they don't open so easily. With a Lighthouse (a normal one) it happened to me that it just popped open and the coin fell out. Thanks God it wasn't high and fell on a carpet and was bullion. Of course once you have experienced that, you are more careful but it shouldn't happen at all.

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