I see a few aluminum slab cases, which holds from 20 to 50 slabs. These are aluminum outer cases with foam inserts. Are they ok for storage, or just for transport? I ask because Im not too familiar with foams used for this application.Thanks Clutchy
Foams tend to outgas chemicals, potentially reactive with your coins, and are not recommended for long term storage.
The NGC boxes hold not only their slabs, but PCGS and ANACS as well. I don't know if other graders slabs will fit as I don't own any of them.
If you can Clutchy be a bit more specific about which cases you are talking about, links would help immensely. I say that because some are great, others not.
I'm not much on foam, don't know who's making it (CHINA?)?, what's in it and I've head horror stories about people looking at their coins years later and finding out the coins have stuck to the foam or the holder having stuck to it. A small bag of silica gel, check every couple of months and dry out if necessary and replace. Or a can of dessicant at the bottom of a safe also works.
Doug, I was looking at this one in particular. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-1-NE...986?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item233f2d2a92
I think I'd stay away from those and just get the PCGS/NGC or Intercept box. You won't need that many, and you'll have a little more peace of mind that your coins are going to be ok.
I use the same aluminum slab cases, mine hold 50 coins each. I wonder the same thing as the OP. The foam has a somewhat strong odor, even after many months. I use desiccant with them for moisture control, and store them inside a safe deposit box. I don't see how the desiccant will help with the foam outgassing though. Are these safe? probably hard to tell unless someone gets them tested.
I wouldn't use anything that smells. I can't say they're unsafe, but unless it was a PCGS/NGC/Intercept box, any smell from the foam would drive me away from it.
The issue is this, some types of foam are inert, other types are not inert. I did a bit of searching on Guardhouse products and I cannot find anything that says either way what their foam is made of. So without knowing that, I'd never use it. Now perhaps you can write to them and they can tell you what the foam is made of.
I have one of the Guardhouse aluminum cases. Before I used it I left it open near a fan and let it outgas for a couple weeks, though it still does have a little odor. The case seals tight enough with the clamps that a color changing dessicant pack can last for months, and it fits every standard width slab nicely. The main problem I have with the case is that the foam flakes when you insert or remove a slab, leaving tiny black specks of foam dust on your slabs. While it's not perfect I feel it's safer than storing the coins outside the case, since it protects from moisture. I suppose no storage case is perfect though, regardless of what you get. Is there a completely inert, air tight case that fits a large variety of slabs?
None that I ever heard of. Inert yes, airtight and holds slabs no. And I doubt those are either. They seal up pretty good but airtight is a tough nut to crack. The only cases I ever saw that actually were airtight are not made for coins, but for ammunition. Ammo cans in other words. Now if you took some plastic slab boxes and cut 'em down to fit in ammo cans, then you might have something
Knowing me, Ill just end up making my own cases lol. I have a small stainless steel case, that might be tall enough to hold slabs, and Ill make slots out of polyethlene or something.
