Ok, I know this topic has been talked to death but recently I placed all 100 state quarters in a dansco. Now after all that work, it took a couple days, and with how nice it looks I do worry about coming back in a few years and finding them toned. Now I hate toning and prefer "mint examples" so degrading of my coin is on my mind lol. I saw a post a long time ago about placing coins in Tubaware with gel. This would work with slabs but what about loose coinage or large sets like the state quarters. I've heard others will completely stay away from albums for fear of the toning they cause. Maybe go the intercept shield 2x2 route and stored in slab boxes? I also know environment is a factor, that I can deal with, it's the actual storage im struggling with. I want something nice and perminant bur safe. Not just random loose 2x2 cardboard flips. Any advice?
Valid concerns. I store my coins as follows -non-PVC tubes for junk/extras -Albums for my mid-grade stuff (nice, but not slab-worthy [non-key dates, high-value, or very high-grade proofs/mings)], including low-grade mint/proofs -flips for the nice stuff, things I don't have albums for, or nice extras --if I had to do it over again, I'd do all Airtites, as they're less than a dime each in bulk, and much nicer than flips, but I already have a ton of flips (and I'm too lazy to move them all) - some of the most knowledgable people here highly recommend these. - slabs for the nice stuff - send it off to a TPG, or to NCS first, then to TPG, and store those in intercept shield boxes in a safe environment (not basement or attic, with a desiccant pack). Hope that helps. I wouldn't worry about toning from the albums Yeah, it's possible (because it's not a 100% inert material), but, I'd worry about scratches from the slides, and toning from the air around the albums (keep them in a stable enviornment).
Is 2x2 seems like a good idea. Sigh, maybe I'll do that later since I just did the dansco for the quarters. On another note. Previously, I was housing my dansco in ziplock backs with silica packets. However, I recently bought the slip cases that go over the albums to further protect from chemicals in the air. But now they are barely and I mean barely too big to fit in a ziplock. I'd go for the 2 gallon but I wonder if that'd be too big. Ideas?
I bought myself one of these, and got an extra box of large freezer bags: http://www.amazon.ca/FoodSaver®-Fre...PWF0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1360175427&sr=8-5 Haven't tried it out yet though...
I think it depends on how often you want to few the coins. I'm not sure about the "inertness" of the material but how about using one of the food vacuum bags setup (i.e., FoodSaver)? If you don't view very often, then it's a one time shot. If you want to view more often, you could seal them in an extra long "bag" and then just reseal the bag as many times as you need until you need to use a new bag.
So I was able to get bigger ziplock bags that will fit my albums now. I was originally using the ziplock 1 gal bags. I now have the 1.25 gallon bags this time made my hefty...and they say they are "fresh extend" bags for fruit. Now I know it's still a food safe bag but does will the change in brand and especially the "fresh extend" additive effect the coins? I'm just curious if there might be something extra in this hefty "fresh" bags that'll harm coins vs a "normal" ziplock.
sorry, mistyped . . . . http://www.jpscorner.com/airtite-coin-holders.html about $.50 each, about $.10each less in bulk (100ct)
To me, the point of my albums is to have them readily available to view, so putting them in any container (shrink-wrap, safe deposit box, etc) which doesn't facilitate easy access is counter-productive. I keep them on my den bookshelf. Sure, that's a few hundred dollars out in the open, but so is my TV, laptop, phone, wallet - and I don't think the casual criminal will differentiate the Danscos from books - why I like them. To be sure, they're missing key dates, and I don't buy albums for the older series, only the 20th century stuff - more valuable stuff is in other forms of storage. Just a thought.
Look into hard plastic 2x2's, as they also sell binder pages that will fit I think 9 of them in a standard 3-ring. They will protect your coins better than regular albums, and having them in the pages of the binder will allow for viewing without harm to the coins. They aren't completely airtight, but should work well.
Hmm. If you put your coins in a Dansco and come back in a couple of years to find them toning, I don;t really think that there is anything you can do differently since the environment you live in simply tones the coins. Myself, my state quarters have been in a Dansco from DAY ONE, stored either on a Bookshelf or in my wooden file cabinet drawer and none have even the slightest "hint" of toning. NONE. Even the Silver Proofs. Zippo! These coins were collected starting in Colorado in 1999 through 2007 when I moved to Cali-CORN-ia. They've been through hot and cold but ne real heavy humidity. Still. Nothing. The Silver Eagles on the other hand do have some toning which is Mississippi Mud ugly. But then, Silver Eagles are 99.999% Pure whereas the Silver State Quarters are only 90% Silver. Personally, while your efforts are honest, I think you're over thinking the whole thing. Just put em on a bookshelf and fuh-get-about-it! Those that might possibly tone can easily be replaced should the necessity arise.
Anyone ever used M&M mini plastic tubes for long term storage? I have a few and are the perfect size for quarters.
Sorry but I am the flips in boxes camp. I simply find it most space efficient. I always throw some loose, fresh silver in the SDB with them. Every time I open it up, if the silver is starting to look a little tarnished I put it away in a tube and put some other fresh silver out. Letting a piece of junk take the toning hit helps. Yes, it is preferable to not have an environment where toning could occur to begin with, but as an insurance policy I place some highly reactive metal out loose to be my canary in the coal mine. Some people say you can reuse the silver after dipping the tarnish off, but: 1. A dipped surface is not as reactive as fresh silver and 2. Its always a good thing to have an excuse to buy more silver.
So for sacrificial coinage. How does this work exactly. Say I have my state quarters in a dansco and then in a ziplock. Do I place the silver coin in the bag loose in the bag outside of the album?
Yes. You want to put your "victim" in the air near your protected coins and the sacrificial coin to be more reactive than your protected coins. However, the problem I could see is the album. If its paper, with it being so close to the coins you are trying to protect it could still tone them before any gases reached the sacrificial silver. This is why I put stuff in flips for storage, they are no where near paper. Any outside gases coming into the area then will have ample chance to attack the sacrificial silver instead of my better coins. But I would say yes, in your setup put them in the ziplock.
