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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 2165339, member: 112&quot;]94s - </p><p><br /></p><p>The rules for proper coin storage are pretty simple. Each coin should be stored in its own individual coin holder, preferably an inert hard plastic holder like an Air-Tite, a snap-lock 2x2, a TPG slab, or one of the slabs that you can buy yourself, just to name a few. Then you need to store them in a sealed container, with the container stored in a place where the temperature remains fairly constant, and it is dark. A closet with no walls bordering on the exterior of the home is usually best. And inside this sealed container, along with the coins in their holders, you need to keep a rechargeable dessicant pack of the appropriate size. That&#039;s about it.</p><p><br /></p><p>To understand proper coin storage you have to first understand what a coin&#039;s enemies are. The number 1 enemy is the very air that you breathe. Air is full of all sorts of contaminants. And the level (amount of) and types of those contaminants can vary greatly depending on where you live, and your own individual home. But all of them are bad. And yes, proximity to wood even makes it worse. And any paper product is even worse than wood. Those blue Whitman folders you are using, those are among the worst you can get. So you really need to get rid of those.</p><p><br /></p><p>However, since there is no such thing as an airtight coin holder the best you can do is to reduce, as much as possible, the air flow around your coins. You do that by storing your coins in an inert, sealed container. That can be a safe or something as simple as a large Tupperware container. </p><p><br /></p><p>It was mentioned that some safes are not good, among the worst are Sentry safes. They are inexpensive, very common, and sold in many places. But Sentry even has warnings about excess humidity inside the safes in their own literature. And humidity is the number 2 enemy of coins. So if you are going to use a safe, it needs to be a good one. And that usually equates to expensive. AMSEC (American Security) makes some good ones.</p><p><br /></p><p>Other enemies of coins: plastic products made of PVC. These products have a softening agent in them that breaks down over time. It turns into a gas and then gets onto anything around it. That gas then turns into an acid that will eat away at your coins. So those coin folders you are using, you need to be sure that the pocket pages are of archival quality and do not contain PVC. And most do contain PVC, so you probably have a problem already.</p><p><br /></p><p>Paper products, any standard paper products including cardboard, are also very bad for coins. So do you ever want any paper products inside the sealed container where you store your coins. That includes most all of the original (paper) packaging issued by the US Mint. Just about all paper products are made using sulphur and sulphur is very bad for coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now inside those coin folders you are using I can see cardboard 2x2s - those are bad as well. Not only because of the cardboard they are made of (sulphur) but also because of the cardboard dust they produce. That dust will get on the coins inside the 2x2 and over time it will decay just as all organic products do. And that decay will cause spots on your coins. The dust can also scratch and hairline the coins. </p><p><br /></p><p>Now I realize none of this is what you wanted to hear, but hey, you asked.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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