Storing your old copper

lkenefic · November 27, 2006 2:27AM

I'm trying to get some consistency in storing [and showing] my older copper coins...mainly Large Cents. I have most in cotton pouches/paper envelopes but I also have a significant number in 2x2 mylar holders and non-PVC archival flips. The envelopes aren't that conducive to showing them and I feel I'm running the risk of dropping something when I take it out. Once I get them out, they're much easier to photograph though. The 2x2 and the archival flips are better for showing but I feel the coin will "rub" on the inside of the archival flip causing undue wear...are my fears founded here or am I just smokin' crack???!!! Which is the best and what do you folks use?

notwilight · November 27, 2006 3:03AM

I just bought Intercept Shields for mine but I was disappointed that many of them fall between the two sizes they make. I think you needn't worry about the flips. Make sure they're not PVC is all you need to do.

--Jerry

Steve27 · November 27, 2006 3:06AM

I don't think you need to worry about rub, but for long term storage, I like Airtites.

LonerAnger · November 27, 2006 3:11AM

I'll second the Airtites. No friction. Copper's soft.

MikeInFL · November 27, 2006 6:31AM

+1 on AirTites...Mike

lkenefic · November 27, 2006 6:38AM

Do you folks have any pics of coins in "Airtites"? How do they image while residing in these holders?

Thanks for the suggestions...Leo

dragon · November 27, 2006 6:41AM

The #1 concern in storage of copper is humidity. I would store them in some sort of airtight holder like Airtites or Capital holders or something similar. I would also use a dessicant to absorb any moisture where ever you are keeping them.

MikeInFL · November 27, 2006 7:24AM

<< <i>Do you folks have any pics of coins in "Airtites"? How do they image while residing in these holders?

Thanks for the suggestions...Leo >>

They image just fine in the Airtite -- better than in slabs -- but raw coins are much easier to shoot so I find myself photographing the coins before I put them into an airtite. However, they are easy enough to remove from the Airtites if you want to reshoot them.

michael · November 27, 2006 7:26AM

i would get them all slabbed pcgs............ and this is what i would do

Pistareen · November 27, 2006 10:49AM

I know some copper weenies with pretty impressive, high grade collections that enjoy storing and displaying their coppers in Airtites. They seem like good options to me though I don't use them.

A lot of folks use the cotton pouches inside envelopes, poly bags in envelopes, or both.

If you want to go old school, there is always a nice cabinet, perhaps with the coin resting on half a cointain to keep the friction off. The Smithsonian uses the latter method. The British Museum just has them all in coin trays, loose.

My personal collection is in envelopes, with my ancients and some low value pieces in a cabinet just for fun. Most pieces are just in poly bags in the envelopes: this is also the ANA Museum method, the Colonial Williamsburg method, and perhaps other places too. I do have some better coppers in pouches, and recently I have enjoyed experimenting with jeweler's tissue too. A nice copper wrapped in jeweler's tissue, carefully folded, and placed in an envelope provides pretty sound protection -- this is my preferred method for medals, especially, since they don't fit in pouches or poly bags.

The key thing is not what you store your copper in, it's how you handle it: no friction. no direct sulphur contact. brush regularly. And a little bit of silica gel nearby doesn't hurt.

Just like your dentist say, brushing is important -- though in this case not every day. I tend to brush my coppers about once a year, maybe every two years in some cases. This is done ONLY with an old, green, well broken-in camel's hair jeweler's brush. It tooks me years brushing grungy junk box coins to get my brush to a healthy state where its soft bristles will not hairline even the most delicate surface. Brushing is a skill best learned through trial and error with cheap coppers, and by watching and learning from a friend. I learned from a number of folks while growing up around EACers. Many of them learned from Sheldon, who learned from someone of an earlier generation.

Letting a coin develop what some copper folks call "peach fuzz" through just benign neglect, sitting in an envelope for years, is harmless and protects the surfaces. That dull, dirty look is easily reversible with a brushing and perhaps a light solvent (Xylol with a blue ribbon chaser), and the schmutz protects the coin from more harmful stuff. However, that dull, dirty stuff can turn to verdigris -- which can be hard to remove -- if left too long. And verdigris can become corrosion, which kills the coin slowly. That's why coppers need special TLC above other sorts of coins -- your silver dollar or Saint Gaudens $20 will not slowly rot if you don't look at it for 20 years! Your 1794 large cent might.

I was lucky to learn a lot of this stuff from a generation that's not really around anymore, the guys who founded the EAC club and were its central forces at the beginning. I joined EAC in 1989, largely at the behest of Chris McCawley. The ANA Summer Seminar and EAC conventions were then, and are now, the place to rub elbows and learn this stuff personally from the current elders in the copper community.

Cool thread. And by the way: this stuff works for small cents as much as the big ones. Just be careful with the red ones!

topstuf · November 27, 2006 11:28AM

1798CentCollector · November 27, 2006 1:28PM

John K summed it up beautifully !! Some valuable advice on old copper care and storage.

I wrap mine in jeweler tissue and store them inside soft cotton pouches in archival quality white paper 2 1/2 by 2 1/2 envelopes placed inside double row intercept shield boxes along with other coins in the Safe Deposit box with silica gel.

I brush the coins once a year or so. with soft camels hair brush.

AuldFartte · November 28, 2006 12:58AM

Right now, mine are all in the flannel jammies and Kraft envelopes, just like the old-time EAC guys. When I get enough of 'em, they're going into a Dansco, and I'll dip 'em in Xylol (generic: xylene) once a year. But I do NOT like the look of coppers that have been coated in Blue Ribbon. Looks oily to me.

Pistareen · November 28, 2006 1:15AM

<< <i>I'll dip 'em in Xylol (generic: xylene) once a year. But I do NOT like the look of coppers that have been coated in Blue Ribbon. Looks oily to me. >>

This is risky activity, basically the same as unsafe sex for coppers. You're leaving them unprotected! Xylene removes ALL the dirt and buildup, leaving just the naked copper behind. This leaves it especially susceptible unfortunately.

If the copper looks oily, you're using too much. I use just a single touch from a Q Tip that is then brushed in until it's practically invisible. I tend to agree that the way most people use Blue Ribbon makes the coin look and feel way too oily.

There are coins I don't blue ribbon (actually, I DON'T use it on most of them), but those tend to have a bit of peach fuzz or old buildup to protect them. Some folks call it "copper wax," which is different than the caranouba wax (i.e. bowling alley wax) that some collectors used to use on their coppers.

Longacre · November 28, 2006 2:40AM

Great comments in this thread.

AuldFartte · November 29, 2006 1:06AM

John, as I understand the term "copper wax", it refers to the biologicals from human fingers combined with the normal crud a coin can pick up in a pocket or through years of market transactions, and that it is not desirable to leave on the coin. Xylol removes it quite nicely. I know it is necessary to remove the stuff from the late dates in order to attribute many of them as the identifying die scratches and such are usually tiny in size, and well hidden near devices.

So, have I been doing this wrong? Is it best to leave the copper wax where it is?

Pistareen · November 29, 2006 4:55AM

Mr. Fartte:

Yep, that's what copper wax is!

Removing it to attribute the pieces is fine (necessary even, for VF-EF late dates in many cases), but just be forewarned that replacing its protective properties will let the coin stay the same longer. Leaving them "naked" is not a 3 month or 3 year problem, though -- it's more of a 10-20 year problem.

Good luck!

Storing your old copper

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