There is an antique coin cabinet on the Bay now for those interested and not able to get a Peter Nichols' cabinet. It looks like a great deal as of now 07/13 but, needs some new felt in the trays. http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Antique...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35aac7f049
Many of us are leery of wooden cabinets. Why? - Wood can outgas organic compounds which are not good for coins. - Coins can move around in the slots resulting in "sliders" or "cabinet friction".
That looks like quite a nice cabinet. A little rework and it would be a real treasure. I wonder if the wood effects would be overcome by placing coins in airtites before storing them in the cabinet. Should handle the slide problems too.
Mahogany is the wood of choice for coin cabinets, it puts off less harmful gas than any other wood. And while Air-Tites would solve the cabinet frcition issue, they would not solve the gas issue because they are not airtight.
But that is the point of a mahogany cabinet. The wood is more stable, (assuming African mahagony), than others so the coins are relatively safe in there. Definitely a nice cabinet. I wish I had a better place for it.....
What?!? $250 for that scratched-up thing! No wonder nobody has bid on it! For $250, I could build a coin cabinet three times as big as that one!
Also wood absorbs moisture from the air, felt liners too could be a bad choice for long term storage.
I've seen similar cabinets go for around $100 at auction. This one needs some refinishing, and as you stated new felt for the draws. I wouldn't go any higher, at auction, than $80 only because it needs work and is mahogany.
I agree. Not that I'd put my coins in that, or any cabinet, but thats a neat piece nontheless. I wouldn't mind picking that up for my wife to put jewelry in. Then again, I'd have to work on filling it with jewelry and that would take away from me buying coins. Guy~
Real Mahogany is a very pricey wood only available from specialized stores like Paxton's lumber. I think most people would be shocked at how much that would cost. Also, for those worrying about wood fumes, older wood by definition will have fewer emissions than new wood, right? I really like it and am seriously wondering where I could put it! I agree you would probably not want any modern MS coins in there, but as most of mine have already been buried for a thousand years of more, cleaned, etc, I seriously doubt anything an old mahogany cabinet would give off would harm them. Something would have to be done about cabinet friction of course.
$250 is a steal on that. Years ago I worked in a cabinet plant for awhile and Mahogany was $12 a board foot then. Thats 12" square x 1" thick. I have no idea what the price is nowadays. And think of the manhours...
It will also function as a nice carrying case for a burglar. It puts all the coins on display for quick carry-out service.