What extra precautions do you take when storing coins?

D

Do you use any special "shields" for your slabs?

Do pricier coins merit greater caution?

-D

coinkat

There are slabs I wrapped in aluminum foil-and some have remained that way for years

Sounds and reads to be goofy... but you asked...

Broadstruck

Just the regular molded plastic boxes the third party grading services supply as I feel they are the most inert available.

All the fancy aftermarket boxes with felt, foam, rubber dividers you really need to worry about long term affects that their adhesives will cause.

Whit

Hello all: My "extra" is a safe deposit box. For individual storage, I have used Kointains since the mid-80's when I became interested in gem uncirculated 20th century. (I remember when that happened. I was at the Willimantic CT show where I spotted a gem 1938 Lincoln, full blazing red and very clean, with a thin rainbow crescent on the reverse. Two dollars. I realized that I got just as much enjoyment from that piece as from the classic commems I was trying to put together on a professor's salary.)

Kointains have served me very well. Now I use then even for my circulated material.

Whit.

messydesk

After polishing scratches out of the slabs, I store them in plastic sleeves and in Intercept Shield double row boxes. A little more space-efficient than the blue boxes, which I use for shorter term storage and carrying around.

AMRC

<< <i>There are slabs I wrapped in aluminum foil-and some have remained that way for years

Sounds and reads to be goofy... but you asked... >>



Were they hearing voices?

coinsarefun

On the more expensive ones I slip a plastic sleeve to prevent scratches on the slabs and then inside the
3rd party grading boxes seems to work.

magikbilly

I need a disposable long sleeve shirt, gloves, mask and towel, and a shower afterwards, to look at my new stuff closely. And it is not extreme! Storage? Tripled Lead sealed bags and sealed plastic and...distance!

Eric

Coinsarefun - I've been doing that for years postcard sleeves are perfect. I keep this stuff in an album in postcard sleeves, 4 slabs per page. Works great. Acid free album with acid free cards with relevant notes in acid free archival ink. I put the sleeves with the slabs in upside (open end down) so they (the slabs) don't slide back out.

ebaybuyer

i refrain from buying coins that will lose 99% of their value if a particle of reality sneaks into the slab and contaminates the coin with environmental damage (otherwise known as toning)

GotTheBug

I put a desiccant in my safe deposit box to keep things dry but other than that no special precautions....

Bossman88

I always carry a fully loaded 45 on my trip to and from my Bank where I store my coins.

Regards, Larry

DennisH

Remembering where I put 'em.

ambro51

I was incredibly paranoid with old RD copper. Incept shield with 2 packs of dessicant wrapped in aluminum foil. I even waited for a long dry spell before I wrapped these. Total PITA but nothing turned color Sold off all that stuff

ricko

I just store them in my safe.... or my coin cabinets (three of them).... no problems. Been doing this for decades...Cheers, RickO

ctf_error_coins

Most of my coins are unique.

All are photographed and the data is stored online and on hard drives.

If any of my coins were ever stolen, It may be hard to unload them.

I am in contact (or can be) with most of the error coin dealers.

Thieves beware, you don't want to hassle with my unique coins, there is a very good chance you would be tracked down. The coins are hard to sell. Find an easier mark.

TwoSides2aCoin

A few of the TPGs have done a great job for me. I still have to separate what goes into a safe, or safe deposit box or ebay for that matter. Some go into albums, some into flips, others in capsules and others in lucite.
Other than that:

Cool, dry place is the safest.

BillJones

So far slabbed and other cased coins (mint issued Proof set, encapsulated commemorative coins, etc.) the only problems I have ever had with storage was when I placed coins in areas where the temperature fluctuated up and down on a regular basis. Such areas include closets on outside walls and bank vaults where the bank lets the temperature jump up and down. The worst bank situation I ever had was a vault that was next to an outside wall. The upon down temperatures result in moisture forming in the holders, which leads to toning.

The best bank vaults are ones that in the middle of the building from my experience. I also had one in the basement of the bank which worked well too. For the stuff you have at home, which not worth enough to rate the vault space (e.g. modern Proof sets that are worth less than $5 apiece) make sure you store those items in a room or closet that is not on an outside wall.

Also avoid having rubber bands with your coins. They give off sulfur which can cause ugly black toning. Most collectors know not to let rubber bands come in direct contact with coins, but even having them in an enclosed area can be bad.

By far the worst places to store coins are garages and attics. I've seen some devastating things happen to coins that were stored in attics here in Florida. I never thought that a gold coin could go bad, but that oven of a Florida attic proved me wrong! I once saw a six piece Mt. Rushmore set in the wooden box that a dealer said had been stored in an attic. The gold and silver coins were fried with ugly toning.

IrishMikey

I live in a dry part of the country, and only purchase coins that are EF or lower. I will put a nice copper
coin into a 2X2 paper envelope that has one of the cotton sleeves inside it, as the cotton helps to absorb
any moisture that finds its way in.

ColonelJessup

I always rearrange the dirty underwear in my laundry basket before I go out. .

There is a definite downside here when copper coins are treated thusly. .

Raufus

Store in SSB, used IS boxes, inside of zip loc bags with silica gel packs and humidity indicator strips.

chumley

my cats guard them