Displaying & Organizing Your Coasters

The are many different ways to display your collection, there is no wrong or right way, it all depends on how you want to display them and the size of your collection. First some things NOT to do. NEVER use a tack or nail to hang them on a wall, this ruins the coaster and devalues it significantly. You should also never tape, glue or use any method that sticks a coaster to anything. Also, if you do display them, be careful of sunlight , this will yellow them after time and also ruin the value and beauty of the coaster. Here are some of the more popular methods for displaying your coasters.

1. Hanging on a Wall - Slide a paper clip about half way onto the coaster then use the other end to attach it to a nail. Be sure that the paper clip is not to tight or it will leave an indentation in the coaster. Another method is to use a plate hanger, this is a little more expensive but will not leave an indentation and the coaster will not slip off as easy. Finally, you can use one of those picture frames with a heavy cardboard insert that you can cut out to fit the shapes of your coasters. This offers the best protection and looks the best. Depending on the type of glass, this could also prevent fading due to sunlight
   
   
   
2. 8 1/2 x 11 photo pages or page protectors - These come in many different sizes and shapes. The common ones used for coasters are 4 per page (for the 4 inch coasters) and 6 per page (for the smaller ones). Another alternative is to use the full size sheet protector that is not pocketed. This can be used to store the odd shaped coasters or combinations of the large and small coasters. If you are careful, you can store 6 small coasters per sheet. The coasters are secured in place by staples around the edge of each coaster. This holds them in place and allows different size & shape combinations to be used on the same page. Just be careful with the staples.
   
   
   
3. Shoe Box - A shoebox or any other container is a great way to store your coasters. They do not display as well as hanging them on a wall but this method works great for large collections. A large Tupperware type plastic container with a lid is the preferred method. You can make dividers out of wood that are screwed into the sides of the container to store up to three or more rows of coasters in each container. One thing to be aware of with this method, the more you directly handle your coasters, the greater the chance of damaging them. Frayed edges is frequently the problem using this method. Most coasters are thin and the old ones are fragile, repeated handling and moving around will after time damage the ends of the coasters. Also, your fingers have oils on them that could soil or stain the coasters.The solution to the above problem is to enclose every coaster in a plastic bag or small plastic sheet protector. Office supply stores sell heavy plastic paper protectors for photos that you can cut out to fit the coasters. You can also buy poly bags from a supply house and cut them to fit tightly around each coaster. The best way and most time consuming is to use a poly bag and sealing each edge with a small soldering iron. This ensures a tight fit and really protects each coaster.
   
   
   
4. Coasters can be organized in many different ways. The most common is by the location of the brewery, usually by state. If the brewery is located in many different cities, the main brewery or headquarters dictates what state the coasters are organized under. This method works well for a lot of the older coasters as each brewery only made a few different beer brands. Another way is by beer brand, this way makes it easy to locate the coaster if you have a very large collection. Unfortunately, this method also makes it very difficult to keep track of all the coasters by a certain brewery or state. This is especially confusing with micro coasters, as today's breweries produce many different brands. For example, how would you know that Pumpkin Ale, Tasmanian Devil, Hearty Ale and Alimony Ale where all brewed by Buffalo Bill's Brewpub unless it was printed on the coaster? Well see the section on coaster guides and dating coasters to help with this problem.