Coin storage?

Hi guys, I imagine this has been posted here before but I couldn't really find a thread relating directly to it. I have always stapled my coins up in cardboard coin flips with the plastic windows, but I have always enjoyed physically handling the coins. I've been considering taking all my coins out of the cardboard holders and putting them on display trays with a piece of paper containing ID info, kind of like one in the picture below. I have a case with various sized trays that can hold and display them nicely.

My question is, is this safe for the coins? Could the oils and other crap that might be on my hands damage the coins over time? Could the paper contain something that may affect the coin? My other concern is that I have recently found two coins with BD which are currently under treatment - I would definitely have to keep these isolated even if I feel the BD has been successfully removed. I understand BD can transfer amongst coins.

What are your opinions?

 

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@Aaron Apfel

What will keep the coins from sliding around? ~ Chris

 

I would leave the coins in the holders you have them in. They do protect the coins to a point. I don't know what BD is.

 

Trays or an old fashioned coin cabinet are nice, and do offer you the ability to handle the coins as much as you want. However, they have their downsides:

• Over time, the reverses can wear down from sliding around.
• You do have to worry about the effect of the paper and archival quality cardboard is recommended.
• If you drop the tray, coins will go flying, potentially damaging or losing them.
• This is only practical if you have a small number of coins; for collectors that have a thousand (or more) coins, finding space for the trays or a cabinet big enough to hold them is a challenge.

I put my coins in archival 2x2 flips, which are stored in pages in three-ring binders. Others do well by storing coins in envelopes in boxes designed to hold them. I think these are better long-term storage solutions.

 

I only have 100 or so coins at the moment, but the idea of wear from sliding is scary. I'll look into finding some plastic flips that should prevent that

 

The 2x2's with the mylar window should serve your purpose, and you may want to buy a "flat-cinch" stapler if you don't already have one. ~ Chris

 

Another option you may want to consider that will allow the safe use of your trays is the following that many collectors of old US copper use:

- store the coin in a special cotton bag.
- place the bag inside a special paper envelope (I think they are about 2x2) and use the envelope to write down the identifying information.

Coin is protected from sliding and somewhat from the usual environmental effects and access to your coins is easy.

I have found ads for these items in the EAC publication Penny-Wise. PM me for contact information if interested.

 

So...on a different note, but still on subject...does anyone have any idea what Dansco is up to?? I have the two ASE w/proofs albums. The 2006 (or 2007) and forward is running out of room for additional pages, and the last pre-printed page was years ago. I heard they had moved and resumed production...but no news on the ASE albums. Just curious..

 

Don't forget that you can prevent sliding around by using coin trays with compartments that are the right size for the coins, and/or by putting coins in flips within the trays. See this example -- a couple of rows in my tray of German coins and medals:



Or this tray of ancient coins, which I display vertically:



I've been using coin trays for the last 30 years to store (and display some of) my coins, and honestly haven't had any problems. Also, although they're close to half-empty at this point since I sold a lot of coins and medals a few years ago, this stack of 30 trays in one of my closets could easily hold about 1,000 coins, and doesn't take up all that much space:

 

ANY time you handle a coin you deposit bodily oils on the coin and it will show up later. Be careful how you display your coins if you intend to keep them. LONG Time Collector.

 

If you want to find one particular coin, do you have the trays marked so you can easily put your hands on it?

 

Not sure how much this applies to Ancient coins. I've been collecting for nearly 40 years (off and on). I've handled all my coins and none seem to be worse for wear.

 

Ancient coins have been "handled" -- and/or buried in dirt -- for a couple of thousand years. And every one of them has been cleaned, unless it just came out of the earth. If you hold them by the edges, you're not going to damage them in any material way. The standards for collecting ancient coins bear no resemblance to those familiar to U.S. coin collectors.

 

All the ancient ones are out on display right now, so that's not an issue for them. And although the other trays aren't marked, the ones with the coins I'm most likely to want to look at are towards the top of the stack, so it usually takes less than a minute to find the right tray.

 

Trays with glass lids are a nice way of displaying coins. Are you using douple flips (I think they are also called wallets)? I read somewhere that the acid on paper can affect the coin in the long run, so it is probably a good idea for the coins not to be in the same slot with the paper.

How about individually displaying some of your favourite coins? I use the following:



They are quite cool and useful. They have a floating effect and the coins can be examined on all sides without having to worry about fingerprints. The membrane is very fine and aparrently made of archival-safe material (PE film) and you can easily handle the case by the hard plastic frame. Also, it probably protects from air pollution, but it is not as airtight as a slab.

 

bronze decay, or bronze disease

 

To the extent I keep coins in flips, I use only double flips, so the coin is in a different compartment from the paper tag. Never mind the potential damage; it's often too tight a fit otherwise.

 

@Aaron Apfel , welcome to the ANCIENTS forum of Coin Talk.

I believe the first question for a solution is whether you are storing Ancients, or storing Moderns. There are two different solutions and modes of handling the coins.



Roman Republic
Anonymous issue
Aes Grave Triens , Libral Standard
46mm, 90.3g, (OH! and 9.3mm THICK!)
280-276 BCE
Rome Mint
Obv: Thunderbolt; •• •• across field.
Rev. Dolphin right; •••• below.
Ref: Crawford 14/3; Haeberlin pl. 39, 7-10. Thurlow & Vecchi 3; Sear 538




Carthage.
Circa 201-175 BC.
Æ 15 Shekels
45 mm. dia. 7.5 mm. thick. 102 gm.
Obv: Wreathed head of Tanit left
Rev: Horse standing right; uraeus above.
Ref: MAA 104 ; SNG Copenhagen 400.
Comment: Original green patina.
Note: The largest Carthaginian coin and likely one of the largest coins struck in antiquity




Egypt Amenhotep III stone scarab IN-HAND
Egypt Amenhotep III Scarab 1390-1352 BCE cartouch Neb Maat Ra 43.37g 45mm ex Gustave Mustake (This is a HUGE Scarab, but I understand that this is not a Heart Scarab... could have fooled me by its size!)

No, I do not think a 2x2 Flip using a Flat Cinch Stapler is even REMOTELY going to work.

 

I would not and I also would not put them in trays and most of all handle them like that ever

 

Like what?