Out of boredom, I was thinking of wrapping some of my commemeratives and ASE proofs that are in mint boxes in zip-loc sandwich bags. Will this do anything other than kill time?
If you leave them in the boxes, which is what you should not do, yes. If you take them out of the boxes, which is what you should do, yes. The boxes that coins come in from the mint are laden with sulphur and other chemicals, and those things can be harmful to your coins. So all coins should always be removed from from the paper and cardboard packing they come in from the mint. Then the packaging materials should be carefully put away and stored someplace away from the coins. The coins, in their hard plastic cases, should then be stored properly. Zip-Loc bags, or any other sealed container, will always offer an advantage to coin storage in that they provide an additional layer of protection from the air. And any time you can lessen the amount of air getting to your coins, that's a good thing. But Zip-Locs are not airtight, and no coin holder is airtight. But they both do help lessen the air flow getting to the coins. But of you were to put the packaging inside a Zip-Loc with the coins inside, then you have just trapped all of those chemicals that are released from the packaging over time in the form of gasses, with the coins. Thus increasing the coin's exposure to those chemicals. Proper coin storage has been discussed and explained many, many times. But the rules are simple are few. Always try to reduce the amount of air that can get to your coins. Never store anything made of paper, or cardboard with your coins. Always try to control (lessen) the humidity inside your coin storage container. Always try to keep the temperature as cool and as consistent as possible. Always store your coins in the dark. That's about it.
And if you wouldn't mind explaining to me how having coins in the light affect it? Cause I thought that was only for paper bills.
Where is the light ? The light is found in open, unprotected spaces. And open, unprotected spaces are exposed to air flow, temperature changes, and humidity - all the worst enemies your coins have.
I don't know what boxes you mean, I have two Abraham Lincoln silver commemorative coins in the "air tight" in the felt box in a hard paper sleeve,,are those ok? Had them since they came out and still look great
Will the sulphur in the packaging just cause toning, or will it cause other damage? If just toning, would it be unattractive toning, or could it possibly be attractive toning?
Wow, never knew that about the mint boxes. You would think they would package them in something sulphur free.
The toning on a coin from paper/cardboard occurs by solid matter transfer. It's the coin touching the actual paper or cardboard. Simply storing the coin in a pouch, bag, etc INSIDE something made of cardboard or paper will not cause toning or other damage. Take a look at this cent. Not a speck on it. Still mint red as the day it left the mint. Been inside a cardboard box since day 1. Over 45 years of being stored in it's cardboard box. No toning, darkening, etc.
So you're disagreeing with GDJMSP even though he's worked with coins longer than you've been alive? Any basis to your argument other than showing me 2 coins from 1 mint set?
hemi - Not all commems are packaged alike,but most of them come in a box similar to this - http://www.ebay.com/itm/UNITED-STAT...90?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item257e328fd6 Mint and Proof sets are the same way - http://www.ebay.com/itm/1960-2012-U...7890204514438595676&pid=100046&prg=1024&rk=2& If this the Lincoln commem you mean - http://www.ebay.com/itm/2009-abraha...23?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item2ec828d013 - then yeah, it came in a box too. Those are the boxes I am talking about. What you should do is take your coins, leaving them in their plastic holders that are similar to Air- Tite holders and remove them from those cardboard boxes, and then store them properly. Of course that is assuming that you want to try and make sure that your coins tone as little as possible. If you want them to tone, then by all means leave them in the original packaging. But be forewarned, there is no way of knowing how that toning will turn out. And be aware that the most common form of toning is gun metal grey, and that eventually all toning, if allowed to continue unchecked, turns black.
There is no way of knowing how toning will turn out because it depends on a thousand different variables.
Sorry Tim, but you are wrong, on both counts. Tim there are exceptions to almost every rule. But exceptions do not disprove the rule.
Post 2 "Then the packaging materials should be carefully put away." GDJMSP you are of course quite right. But it is just too funny to see the tail wagging the dog. What's the next guy going do-the same thing. Fifty years from now no one will have given a rat's behind about the packaging but eveyone will have saved it so they could get a better price when they sold it to the next guy who didn't give a rat's behind about about it. If complexity theorists ever study coin collecting they'd have a nervous breakdown.
If that were true, how would "album toning" spread across the face of a coin, when only the edge of the coin contacts the paper? You're not entirely wrong -- toning will happen a lot faster where the coin is actually in contact with paper or cardboard. But the sulfur present in paper and cardboard gets released over time as a gas, either hydrogen sulfide or sulfur dioxide. Either can cause toning. That toning is vastly accelerated by moisture, heat, and probably light, but it can happen slowly even in dry, cool, dark conditions.
Detecto do you have a reply to me or the others? I'm not trying to pick on you but you do this constantly. You make a statement and never come back to explain it or continue it. You do it in your own threads as well, you start them and never come back. If you're going to make statements you perceive as factual, at least have the courtesy to respond to the comments you make or attempt to make a case for why you said what you did.
