Toning is corrosion!

To each his own, and there's nothing wrong with that. But what exactly will you pay a premium for ? I mean pretty much everybody has something they'll pay a premium for.

And that's the thing, it's pure chocolate and vanilla, every person has something they like and other things they don't like. But just because an individual's taste is different that does not make one or the other right, or wrong.

The problem, the issue if you will is that there are some people who will pay what I call stupid money for a beautiful toned coin. But they rarely do so because they simply like the coin that much, they do so because they have the mistaken belief that the coloring somehow makes the coin more rare than it really is. And they will also pay that "stupid money" for a coin that, were it not for the pretty toning, would not be graded as highly as it is. In other words they completely forget about the underlying coin and are paying for the color alone.

And in my book, that all by itself is a huge mistake.

 

Others have already pretty much answered your questions but I'll add my answers. Yes, cardboard 2x2s are bad for coins - for several reasons. As for "archival safe" albums, while there are those that claim to be, most are not archival safe for one reason or another.

The rules for proper coin storage are pretty simple, basic in fact. And in a way that's kind of the problem because they are so simple that people overlook them, don't even think about them. To notice them, realize what they are, all you have to do is think a bit. What the enemies of coins ? Air, heat, moisture, and contact with other objects. But air itself is the primary enemy, the most damaging. The reason that air is the primary enemy of coins is because it contains everything else - heat, moisture, and contaminants. You also have to understand that direct contact is not the real problem - gasses are. And all paper and cardboard products contain sulfur, and they out this sulfur off in the form of gasses. So if there is paper or cardboard anywhere near your coins then the gasses being put off by it gets to your coins. And yes it will do so right through the coin holders. Plastic is air permeable - that means the air can go right through the face of the plastic itself - not just through the seals. So the only answer to is to not have anything that is not inert near your coins.

And before you ask, yes, there are some archival quality paper and cardboard products. But they are very few and far between. And even some of them are still bad. For example, some companies make albums where the cardboard itself is archival. But then the outer wrapping of that album is covered in vinyl, or fake leather, or even real leather. All vinyl contains PVC - very bad for coins. So is fake leather and real leather. So what good does it do to make the cardboard archival when the rest of the album is not ? Answer - none at all !

So to store your coins properly and protect them the best you can you have to do what you have to do to protect them from all of these things.

You do that by using one of the hard plastic, individual coin holders. There are numerous brands of them and one is as good as the other. None of them will stop air flow from getting to your coins but all of them will greatly slow it down, reduce it. These individual hard plastic coin holders also protect the coins from contact with any other object.

To further combat air flow you need to store these coins, in their holders, in an inert container of some kind that can be closed or sealed. A large Tupperware container for example. If it is safe to use for storing food it is safe for your coins. And that's the best you can do to reduce air flow as much as possible.

To combat humidity/moisture you use silca gel packs, preferably the rechargeable kind. You place them inside the container you use. This will reduce the humidity/moisture that can get to your coins as much as possible.

To combat heat/temperature changes you store your coins in an interior closet that has no exterior walls, and one where the temperature remains as constant as possible.

Now if you use a safe, then nothing can be in that safe except your coins ! No guns, no paper, no cardboard, no anything ! Just your coins.