I think the question of collecting matchcovers or books of matches revolves around what kind of collector you are. If you are a "matchcover" collector whose objective is to assemble a very large collection of many types, practicalities dictate removing matches. There is no significant safety issue (these are safety matches <g>), but match heads do change chemically when moisture is present and they can discolor the cover they are in contact with. This is not a huge problem but I'd say 2-3% of my full books have some disintegration of the match heads.

The main issue is that of storage. Covers with matches removed are thin and easy to put in binders. Full books are not flat, and not even of uniform thickness and are tough to display and store. I use pages with plastic pockets and get either 6 or 8 to a page, with the covers open so both sides are visible. I now have 10 binders full and a few hundred matchbooks take up as much shelf space as my entire chip collection!

If you are a "casino item" collector, you are much more interested in preserving the matches in the state they were originally in when used. Matches sold as casino items are considerably more expensive than when sold to match collectors. Just visit a club show or a shop where they sell thousands of matches of all types. Casino matches sell like others, for a few cents, and nobody cares about the matches being preserved. Matchbooks sold as casino collectibles start about where chips do, at $2-3 each and go up to $20-30. Full books definitely go for a premium. I'll buy a cover only, or even a bobtail if I think I may never see another, but he price is definitely lower.

My opinion: if you have some good old front striker casino matchbooks, DO NOT remove the matches from them. If you are just starting to collect and only go after currently available back strikes, go ahead and make them flat. It's not worth the hassle for the few cents they are worth.

DonL