"I am glad to see that the E & T Kointainer Co. is continuing in business. They are a great product that provides great protection for your coins, AND they allow you to take them out of the holder for study when necessary. The curse that is slabbing does not allow for this. Just last year I tried to determine the precise weight of the unique 1873-CC No Arrows Dime to compare it to the individual coin weights recorded in the 1874 Assay Commission Report, and nobody had bothered to weigh the damn thing before entombing it.

"As it so happens I had been using Kointains for my collection since about 1970, after seeing them be recommended by Jim Johnson of Coin World's Collectors Clearinghouse. At the time they were being manufactured and distributed by a young gentleman in Michigan, who had been set up in the business by his father as a means of earning money for his college tuition.

"In the late 1970's I received a letter from the owner saying that he was no longer going to be able to operate the business, and asking me if I, as a regular customer, would be interested in purchasing the company including the manufacturing equipment. (I assume that he sent this letter to all repeat customers.) My mechanical aptitude bordering upon the dangerous, I referred the letter to Bern Nagengast, an applications engineer whom I knew as a fellow officer in the Shelby County Coin Club.He bought the company, and the rest as they say is history. Give them a try."

"My experience with E&T Kointainers was disappointing. I re-holdered most of my Lincoln cents from the traditional 2x2 paper holders into these coin holders and 25 years later when I went to sell them, most had turned from red to red-brown or brown. Proof coins turned cloudy and also darkened. Those that had been left in the traditional 2x2 holders or PCGS holders retained their bright red condition. Based on my experience, I would never recommend putting copper coins in the E&T Kointainer holders for long term storage."

"I read of Bern Nagengast selling the E & T Kointainer Company, and I want to congratulate him on so many years of success. It's also nice to know that these products will continue to be available.

Awhile back I corresponded with Bern about one the line's products that was discontinued some years ago. Called the Koinpanel, it was a wooden coin board made to hold the individual Kointain capsules. Bern sent me a few samples of this forgotten series of boards, and I wrote them up in my quarterly newsletter."

"It is indeed Tom DeLorey's fault that I purchased E&T Kointainer - he pestered me, telling me it would be a numismatic disaster if Kointain holders were no longer available. I never dreamed I would still be providing coin storage products 41 years later! Turned out to be a happy dream. Thanks Tom.

"Tom mentioned Jim Johnson and Dave Lange mentioned Koinpanels. Few folks know that Jim Johnson had assembled one of the most complete US non-gold coin collections. His goal was to obtain every US coin made for regular circulation half cents through silver dollars. He purchased the lowest useable grade he could find to save money. Shortly before he passed away he told me his collection was missing only three coins: 1823 quarter and 1796 and 1797 half. He said they had become too expensive to buy! But the kicker in the story - Jim had his entire collection in Kointains mounted in Koinpanels! Oh yes, and Jim owned the only circulated 1894-S dime for a time. He told me he later sold it because it was "too expensive to keep"!

"As for John Kamensky's experience with bronze Lincoln cents in Kointains, I have no clue as to why his coins toned. Over the years we have had many customers report the opposite, and my own bronze coins have not shown any problems. Chemist Weimar White conducted some experiments with coin holders and toning that showed that Kointains provided superior protection against toning. However coins can be victims of the vagaries of surface contaminants, environmental conditions and time. One thing that can be controlled is the quality of the coin holder being used. That's why E&T Kointainer has always had the goal of providing numismatic storage supplies that will preserve a collection to the best of our ability."