What is the best humidity to store your coins,,,,
GRANDAM
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at in a safe?
Thanks
GrandAm 
0
GRANDAM
Posts: 8,569 ✭✭✭✭✭
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Silver and Gold coins it would not matter is my guess. Things like comic books and art are different.
NFL: Buffalo Bills & Green Bay Packers
As low as possible.
Theoretically, zero humidity would be best. Put your coins in a zip-lock bag or Tupperware type container with a silica gel canister and you should be okay.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Zero
Especially when gold and silver bars and coins are found after hundreds of years under water (and salt water) on shipwreck. 😉
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
It has a dial where I can set the humidity all the way from 100 down to 0 so I am wondering where is the best place to set it at. Right now it is on 40%.
Seriously what can humidity do to silver or gold coins? I guess it could affect steel and cooper coins.
NFL: Buffalo Bills & Green Bay Packers
What kind of coins are we talking about here what type of metals?
NFL: Buffalo Bills & Green Bay Packers
All US Coinage Metals,,,,,, I thought humid conditions contribute to spotting on coins such as silver eagles.
These were likely kept in the Philippines for 100+yrs in high humidity. I've seen worse!!!
Completely different problem. Those coin have the substance on them ready to go. It will either turn or not….
I try to keep mine at less than 40% RH, but if I really want to protect them (like for copper coins that are still red or blast white silver coins that you want to stay blast while forever) I put them in mason jars with desiccant and they are typically below 20% or so. These ones are examples I made a while back. I took the picture right after putting them together and the humidity didn’t get a chance to go down completely yet. They took about a day or so to equilibrate down to less than 20%
Mr_Spud
See https://www.pcgs.com/news/coin-preservation#:~:text=According to Susan Maltby, vulnerable,found in Arizona, for example.
Mr_Spud
Sorry. I thought you said best humility?
@Mr_Spud Love those lids. Was not aware such a thing exists, but am not suprised.
Thanks for linking that article. This was eye-opening; "If you eat a pastrami sandwich over your proof Trade dollar, you're contaminating it. If you have dandruff, you can contaminate it. If you eat chicken wings and then touch a coin, you can permanently ruin its level of preservation. If you talk over a coin, the saliva from your mouth can land on the coin and turn that area black..." Crap. Ok, I'm out.
Thank-you Mr_Spud that is just the info that I am looking for. Since I am currently set for 40% I will turn it down to 10%,
Here is a link for the same question I posted some time ago. I have two dry rods and loads of Silica Gel Desiccant and my safe rarely gets over 40% humidity. My next step is to try the HyLids Mr. Spud is using.
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/560666/humidity-expert-needed#latest
I often thought about doing this with my albums for long-term storage.........minus the meat!! 🤣 😂
But I look at them much to often to do this.
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
100%
Dry that is.
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value. Zero. Voltaire. Ebay coinbowlllc
It all depends on what you want to happen.
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
This works for me
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Why not set it to zero? May not want zero, however, if storing fine cigars in the safe with one's coins.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
The Hylids are a modern version of what it says in the old Coin Preservation Handbook by Charles Frank. It’s a great book from way back. I like the analog version of the lids, but they are always made in small batches it seems. The reason I like the analog ones is no batteries to burn out. I’m making these as sort of “time capsules” to protect the coins for future generations of coin collectors, probably never going to sell them. But for some reason the digital ones are more often available. I found them first on Amazon, but because often out of stock I also ordered some direct from their website at https://hylids.com/ . Imagine someone finding a horde of these looking brand new 100 years from now.
Heres the excerpts from Charles Franks book . Sorry they are out of order, it messed up when I tried to fix them and I don’t want to risk them them going “poof” which is what happens if I edit too quickly sometimes.
Mr_Spud
I am going to use 10%,,,,,, I don't smoke. If I did it would be cheap cigars,,,,,,
I did this with several proof sets, ones in hard plastic cases, and after about 10 years air had slowly worked its way inside and was no longer “sucked in” around the coins so I ended up putting them in unused airtight ammo cases with dessicant. I also want to experiment with displacing the air inside with “Argon” but only got so far as purchasing a few cans of this (see image below) but haven’t had a chance to blanket the contents of the ammo cases yet.
Mr_Spud
I wonder what happens to
coins that are stored in a humidity controlled environment once they are removed into a normal environment? Would they tarnish ,tone or corrode at an accelerated pace?
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Interesting how the seal would not hold. Like I said; I've never tried it but I have thought about it for long term storage. If I ever do, I will "DOUBLE" vacuum seal it now. Thanks!
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
There are much more dangerous products in the air than moisture from humidity.
Gold is generally safe in any breathable environment. Silver, not so much. Copper is very susceptible to many chemicals (naturally occurring and otherwise).
I did this with several proof sets, ones in hard plastic cases, and after about 10 years air had slowly worked its way inside and was no longer “sucked in” around the coins so I ended up putting them in unused airtight ammo cases with dessicant. I also want to experiment with displacing the air inside with
What I’ve noticed is that if you store at lower humidity, it still forms a very thin slowly growing film on the surface of the coins that actually protects the coins from tarnishing as much.
The opposite happens if you “dip” coins in Tarnex where you completely strip off the “skin” and the unprotected metal tarnishes at an accelerated rate.
Disclaimer- I just do this for research purpose, not to doctor coins to swindle. But would be better for “dippers” to store in low humidity for a while and not to send off for grading right away or increased probability of “turning bad” in the holder can occur.
Mr_Spud
A potential preventative measure: Intercept.
Mr. Spud I respect your expertise on this subject and the conservation professionals you quoted in this article you posted for us.
However I differ with you on the amount of protection you think is necessary to preserve your coins from deteriorating. I for one put my slabbed coins in coin protector sleeves to cut off most of the atmospheric moisture and contaminants. Than I put the coins in a wooden chest container.
I want to enjoy my coins without taking cumbersome extreme measures, and my coins including copper have fared quite well. Many copper coins exist today with full blazing red even though they were not stored in todays modern TPG slabs and under less than ideal conditions
Yes, I agree with you. I enjoy doing this to the extreme and going beyond what is necessary. It’s like a side hobby of mine that I find rewarding/enjoyable. It’s an extension of what I do for my career. Here’s a picture of part of my lab at work. I’m the V.P. of R&D at a company that makes Soft Gelatin Capsules. Those glass jars contain saturated salt solutions that equilibrate to different humidities. Soft gelatin capsules equilibrate to different relative humidities and, depending on which/how much plasticizers you use you can control the hardness and softness that the capsules equilibrate to prevent brittleness at low humidities and clumping/stickiness at high humidities (glycerine, sorbitol, etc. are what plasticize gelatin to make it soft)
Mr_Spud
Down low but not on the down low
I use dessicant in my safe. 3 actually. The aluminum skinned 2" X 3" that you " reenergize " in the oven. I do mine every 3 months. After I read this thread, ordered a small dehumidifier. Should be here in a week. All my 1600+ slabs are stored in Intercept boxes. I think I'll order a hygrometer just to see where I'm at.
Your coins will last centuries lol😊
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