I have all the modern commemoratives. They are stored in their original mint boxes in drawers in my fire resistant coin cabinet. I stopped getting any new ones a year or two ago. I got tired of the mint flooding the collector market with new coins. My question is: what good methods are there to store, view and present the coins without all the cardboard boxes? Is that even a good idea? Thanks for any feedback I might get.
It's a catch 22 in my opinion. No easy answer. I guess it depends on what your priorities are. You gotta give something up to get something. I don't display my coins. It's all about secure torage, space and trying to control the environment for me. I saw a thread here recently. A guy had his coin in a wall mounted, locking display cabinet. It had two doors that opened into a nice display.
Thanks for your feedback. I should have been more specific. I would like to have them in something like an album or some such contraption and still store them away. I would like a way to have better access if I want to show them to someone or look at them myself. As it is, I need to go through dozens of small boxes to find the one I want. Do you think it would destroy the value if I printed the date and description on the box? Then I could fabricate some way of indexing them in the coin cabinet. As you know, many of the US Mint boxes don't have the dates or descriptions on the boxes.
I put a small piece of masking tape on the bottom of the box with writing describing the content. If you use tape that doesn't have too much glue on it it's easily removable without leaving residue.
Yep, I know. I completely understand your dilemma. Don't write on the original boxes. That can/will reduce the resale value if you ever sell them. I mark mine with the 3M sticky note pads.
I see there are Caps Albums for Commemorative halves and dollars, both Uncirculated and Proof. I can't tell if they are suited to the Airtites that the mint uses. Anyone have experience with these?
1) Separate the coins from the packaging. 2) Save the packaging in the event you ever try to sell these coins. (For reasons I've never fully understood, some people prefer having the original packaging.) 3) Buy some of these Lighthouse coin capsule pages (photos below). They provide an easy way to view/show your coins, but are also easy to store away. If you have enough coins to fill multiple pages, put them in a 3-ring binder. Hope this helps.
Do you know if the Airtites the US Mint uses actually fit in the Caps pages? I see there are some Caps Albums for Modern Commemoratives. Thanks for the suggestion.
I keep the stuff in the original package in a wooden dresser......I may be the exception to the rule, but nothing ain't happening yet. With the possible exception of the early Ike dollars. The proofs developed haze a long, long time ago.
The US Mint doesn't use Air-Tites brand capsules. But I think they'll still fit in the Lighthouse capsule pages. Spend some time on JP's Corner or other vendor sites to familiarize yourself with the system. It can be a little confusing until you understand the lay of the land.
Some of the original packaging is quite attractive and a fantastic presentation. I wouldn't ever think of taking it out of a package like this. However, most of the original packaging these days consists of a flimsy plastic tray, a COA, and a cardboard box. I personally wouldn't keep that sort of packaging - but many people prefer it. Here's a very nice set I used to own in original packaging. I regret selling it, but I needed the money at the time:
