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How long do you think coins can last undamaged in a PCGS holder ?
JimTyler
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200 years ? 2000 years like a Roman coin ? Many of those look good today without a holder so it shouldn’t be unreasonable.
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JimTyler
Posts: 3,081 ✭✭✭✭✭
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Until you crack it! Lol
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They are sealed, but whatever air happened to be in the holder at the time of the sealing would determine that. I wish there was some sort of nitrogen inserted into the holders (please lell me if they do this!). Nitrogen would be the least reactive to old brass, copper and silver. Gold is Gold, and therefore a noble element, Gold can stand up to sea water for centurys.
Platinum, palladium, and most gold should last a very long time, with or without plastic.
But I would guess silver, copper, bronze might change quite a bit over that long. My guess is UV exposure like sunlight, excessive humidity or heat, corrosive air, etc. could impact things over time even in a slab. Note that changes may not even be the plastic holder's fault, but just something already on the coin going bad over time.
National Commemorative Medals of the U.S. Mint:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/medals-tokens/national-commemorative-medals-united-states-mint-1940-present/alltimeset/195526
They aren't THAT well sealed.
Cannot speak to the effectiveness, but I recently encountered the HQC-System from Geiger. They use it for the tubes of 'Noah's Ark' silver bullion coins.
They'll be around long after I'm gone unless there's a disaster such as a fire, flooding, war, or global warming melting the slab.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
I’m thinking if you put a slabbed coin in a mason jar with a desiccant pack and filled with heavier than air Argon gas (much heavier than nitrogen) and stored in a dark place that it would preserve the coin until the next asteroid hits, maybe longer.
You can get argon here https://a.co/d/dsLaA34
Mr_Spud
Long enough for all practical purposes.
The majority of high-end coins that hit market get slabbed every few years it seems.
We may be closer in time to that asteroid hit than you think..............
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As long as the pyramids!
Maybe our descendants will have to pony up and have them reholdered in 2000 years just to be sure. I wonder if the guarantee will still be good.
Unless the coin had hidden contaminants, it will last your lifetime and probably many generations thereafter. Another concern that is of no concern. Cheers, RickO
I had a PCGS 65 3 cent silver that toned in my safe. No changes to anything else. Maybe had an air leak.
I see flea market dealers with certified coins in their cases, or in plastic flips in the blazing sun and heat. Not good. Normal indoor conditions, not much in problems. I have had NGC certified coins bubble up in a car with sunlight.
Most things that happen to a coin housed in an NGC or PCGS holder were the result of what done to them BEFORE they went into the holder. These include improper dipping, putty and "enhanced red" copper.
Actually, the slabs are NOT air-tight and are NOT watertight either. So however you store them and whatever is in the atmosphere will change the coins. Likely slower than unslabbed....
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
Given the condition of some 18th century coins that survived unscathed for 2 centuries without advanced storage. I would say probably indefinitely.
Collector, occasional seller
When you start talking in decades and centuries, the plastic used in holders does allow gases to permeate. The plastic itself is not perfectly stable and will degrade over a long enough period of time. If you store under perfect conditions this can all be delayed significantly.
If Roman coins were buried in a holder 2000 years ago, they'd probably still be in better shape than they are now. That is if the plastic decomposition products aren't particularly acidic, which they might be. In that case it might be worse in the long run.
I speculate that if you change out the holder every 50 years, then you are in pretty good shape. I also speculate that we could get to a point where having a coin in a rattler holder is more of a liability than a benefit.
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