Got my 2 Limited Edition PCGS Storage Boxes today...

ellewood

These boxes are GORGEOUS. What a way to store your registry set. For those of you that are wondering, the box IS lined with a black velvet type material underneath the lid (along with the PCGS logo) and the same black velvet stuff on the bottom of the box. The slots that separate the slabs inside the box are the same cherry color as the outside of the box.

MORE IMPORTANTLY. I would like to hear comments about how well PCGS slabs are sealed. I thought I read somewhere that they are "sonically sealed" or something like that. Someone (this is crazy I know) on a previous post brought up the question of whether or not the wood could actually affect the coins in the long run. I seriously doubt that this would be possible...but I guess you never know. Has anyone ever tested something like this? Or submerged a slabbed coin in water?????

I know it's crazy...but I know that this crosses peoples minds quite often. Can environmental conditions outside a slab affect the coin inside the slab?????

Gandyjai

I got my 2 boxes (I only unpacked one so far..) but mine DID NOT have the PCGS logo
on the felt underside on the lid (like is in the picture)
Does this mean it is an error?
Does that make it worth more?
Other than that, the box is GREAT

I think PCGS coins are sealed as good or better than any others out there.
I know they are pretty tough to crack open. ANACS are also tough, but they
have a funny plasticky smell when they are cracked.

Gandyjai

solid

Obviously, whether the boxes are 100% safe or not is a question only
PCGS should answer.

I'm assuming that the slabs are completely sealed, and that the only
real cause for concern would be that plastics in general can eventually
allow harmful gases to leach through them, in this case to the coin inside
the slab.

My uneducated guess is that you would have to store a PCGS slab in a
particularly harmful and concentrated (gaseous) environment for quite
some time before the coin would be affected.

If you have any concerns, one option would be to leave the box opened
sitting in a fresh air environment for a month or two before completely
enclosing coins in them. That should give the newly manufuctured
boxes a chance to dissipate most of the potentially harmful outgassing
and stabilize.

But, don't take it from me!

Ken

Steve27

According to PCGS, their slabs are NOT hermetically sealed.

ellewood

Gandy...I would send yours back. If there is no logo underneath the lid, then it doesn't even say PCGS on it...now does it???? I could have sworn I also saw that PCGS was etched in the wood on top of the box (in a previous picture). My boxes do not have anything etched on the top. I think I was looking at a picture that was sent out when they announced what the 2004 winners would receive as a gift. I could be wrong though. Thanks for everyone's input so far....love to hear some more!

Gandyjai

ellewood,
The one I opened has nothing on the top either. (But I never really expected that)

Yep,....doesn't say PCGS underneath either
I didn't have time to open the other one. I will when I get home
tonight and see what it looks like before I call customer service. I am
sure they can fix the problem.

I agree with solid.....I think it would have to be in a pretty consentrated
gaseous environment to be affected.

Did any one else get a 30-Coin box with no PCGS on it?

Gandyjai

magikbilly

Hi,
is is quite true that wood releases acidic vapors as it ages - this is called "outgassing" and oak is the worst offender in this respect. I will not hazard a guess what cherrywood or cherry finish/varnish will do. This usually comes up in framing valuable works of art in wood frames. Countless works of art and prints have been damaged from outgassing. Unless this issue has been addressed or resolved and we don't know it, my solution (C) for the PCGS Storage Box is to liberally coat the inside surfaces of the storage boxes with an acrylic "gesso" (not true gesso which is slaked plater of Paris) - the CaCo2 in acrylic emulsion will act as a neutralizing buffer. It could be black and serve it's purpose under the velvet material (compositon?). These gasses damage paper and fabric; I wonder what the effect on the various coin metals will be, let alone the delicate surfaces of a proof copper coin. As I read that PCGS slabs are not hermetically sealed I will never know. I would not put my coins in anything made of wood. People talk about slabbed coins toning "all by themselves" (especially in NGC holders I think I read) - if this is happening on its own from "regular" exposure or storage why expedite the process by storing coins in a concentrated organic acidic environment?

My .02

Best,
Billy

bentasm1

Where do you get these boxes from? I'd love one for my SAE Proof registry set.

-Ben

littlejohn

HI
the box is very nice,but i would never use it,i use only intercept shield boxs.
littlejohn

JoeHolt

ben goto the pcgs site they have a pop that has them in it

bushmaster8

Here is another option to seal up the wood:
Get a suitably sized container that will allow submersion of the whole PCGS storage box.
Add enuff methylene chloride or other highly volatile non-polar solvent to the container so that the box can be completely submerged.
Dissolve a few large chunks of styrofoam (You can use your old 1st generation NGC slab storage boxes- since you no longer have any use for them as all your good coins are now in PCGS slabs anyway ) in the solvent. You want enuff styrofoam dissolved so that the solvent has the consistency of that lite sugar-free pancake syrup crap.
Then, using tongs or something similar, dunk the box in the solvent/polystyrene solution for a few moments, then set it aside on newspaper or something to dry. It will dry in about 1 hour or less.
Now you have an archival quality storage box.

Of course, if the felt/velvet can not be easily removed and replaced from the wooden box, then this method won't work and I have justed wasted 10 minutes of my time. But that's OK, as I'm on a Government payroll.

Greg

MadMonk

Greg..........