Ancients: Organization and attribution at work

I like that safe, Steve. I was at Cabelas the other day - but I need one for guns more than coins. I'm not worried that anyone would want to steal my Nabataeans, lol.

 

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Very nice tags and impressive system, thanks for sharing it. I wish I had a job that allowed me enough free time to indulge my own inherent need to organise (my coins) but a two-year old is a ridiculously demanding boss .

 

Where I live (Southern California) the humidity is rarely a problem, but I think for caution's sake I will add desiccant packs to my safe deposit box.

As for storing my coins "naked," I use Abafil boxes from my dealer, and his opinion was that storing them in the box, out of the 2x2 flip, was OK. In addition, I found this online from a collector who has the following experience:

Several years ago I started using the elegant red velvet lined and compartmented "Abafil" cases for displaying selected coins at meetings & shows. I have owned some of the coins in my collection for over fifty years and they do not appear to have suffered any harm under any of the foregoing conditions.

I'm curious as to where you've heard/read stories about toning from velvet and wood outgassing?

 

Really? Im not too far from long beach and its gotten alot more humid over the decades. Monsoonal moisture has gotten to be the culprit. Even our local weather news people have said the same thing.

 

You have a point. This summer, as contrasted to many previous summers, has had many days of very high humidity (according to my back yard weather station). That's why I'll be adding desiccants to my safe deposit box!

 

I've been just putting the Name Mint and Ref. in pen recently lol

 

While Abafil cases are commonly used and better than most, they are far from inert. I've had numerous conversations with dealers and collectors on the subject - some haven't seen any toning but most do (and some intentionally put coins in Abafil cases to tone them). Granted, the larger environmental conditions of the surrounding atmosphere will certainly play a role. There have been several helpful threads on ForumAncientCoins (in particular this one, starting at post #14, which was the first eye-opening post that caused me to re-assess my storage: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=68820.15 )

One piece of advice I received is to use the "smell test" - any scent within the box indicates chemicals within the air coming from the materials. My current boxes are made of plastic to avoid this.

 

I keep a piece of bacon in each one of my binders ... mmmm, there is nuthin' like the smell of ancient coins and bacon!!

 

Bacon? What's the story with BCW flips? I think I own one, but most of my others are just the hard, cracking kind of flip that I've heard is safe. As far as ancients, I'm quite a newbie and do what I can to label the few ones I got. Modern world coins are much easier to deal with, which is mostly what I collect along with US coins. I have a lot of cheaper coins to fondle and stare at when I'm home, but the more expensive stuff is at the bank. Are there any of you that just lock everything up,outside the home? I can't imagine being away from all my babies like that. Pictures would probably help, but not totally

 

I am horribly unorganized when it comes to my coins. They currently reside in a box on my desk. I am looking in to upgrading to some binders I am just slightly worried since a Manitoban summer can get fairly humid.

All of my coins have flips with them and the majority are stored in plastic double pocket flips and a couple are in small acid free paper envelopes that I received from the seller with the attribution info on the front.

The one thing I would like to do is properly photograph my coins to upload into an online album/my computer but I am just not satisfied with the quality of the pics my tablet takes. I need to take a trip out to my Dad's place and use his camera.

 

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I hear ya. I sometimes get a little lazy with my coins, but for the most part I've done quite a bit of organizing. With slabs it's super easy. You just put them all nicely together in something, maybe order them a bit. Ngc's nice online inventory is cool too. The folders are good but can get kinda bulky too and not stand up and stuff. You're probably better off with the box!

 

This photo depicts how my ancient coins & labels are organized in 3-ring binders.

Each coin is in an archival quality flip. The observer can view both sides of each coin on the page by just turning the page.

Each label is also in a flip and positioned next to the coin location. The reverse of each label includes collect89 data & a hand written code describing the date & price paid. When the label text is longer than 2" it just gets folded so that the balance of the text can be read from the other side. Also, the original paperwork that came with each coin is stored in the label flip.

 

Well here is how mine is. Freshly taken with 12 caesars and all. Empties I need to make the labels still. Just 2 more coins I need so I can make a new 20 coin sheet.

But pretty basic, have the coins started by the earliest greek and ends the pages with some queen victoria coins unslabbed. Roman are arranged by reign years.

Coins that are wildwinds plate coins I use a wildwinds logo and mention of it being a plate coin. About the only thing special with mine.

And I keep the old labels the coins came with if all the info I like to have is already placed, if not, I make my own. So Nerva I didnt pay $225, old label and I paid $70, go figure.

 

Even though it's not the way I archivally store my coins, I must admit that displayed in the Abafil box, in 2x2s with their labels, is probably the most attractive way to view them.

(I apologize for the point-and-shoot quality of this picture...)

 

Lovely.

I do like Abafil trays and such but man they're costly. Ive looked at jewelers type trays that would fix 2x2 on ebay but, again, takes up more space.

 

Ummm, how big are safety deposit boxes?

... yah, on TV, they seem very small (kinda like I could store my top-ten coins, a handgun and My Last Will and Testy)

... ummm but obviously, you can get honkin-big boxes that will store Doug's 1000+ coin collection?!! (amazing) ......... that's why I bought myself the big 500 pound, fire-proof safe!!

any info? (thanks)

 

*edit => I decided not to comment on that 'stuff'*

 

You should post the combination to your safe in this thread, Steve - just in case you forget it. You'll know where to find it.

 

Safety deposit boxes come in many sizes as you can tell when you look at the doors. There is often a waiting list for the big ones unless you get there when they are opening a new branch. Mine is about the size of an aquarium and comes with an additional security feature which costs two rats a month on top of the regular charge.

 

Super creepy ... but thanks for the info

Cheers