Hi all, I received a large collection with some very fine coins. It had been stored in a bank vault for 50 some years. We now live in our motorhome and are traveling with some of it as I come up to speed and tackle the task of getting things graded. There is an excellent complete type set (not gold) and old (not modern) commem set which I have taken out of their old 2x2 cardboard holders and placed into 2x2 fold over folders. We are traveling in areas of the country where the humidity is high and I think I may be seeing some degradation of these coins, although I'm not sure. I am terrified that they are being affected. These coins are fabulous. I need to conserve them as we travel somehow. I have just put them into an airtight plastic tub with DampRid moisture absorber and I'm hoping this will stop anything that's going on. We will not be back to somewhere I can store them (bank vault) for at least 6-8 months. Anyone have any suggestions? I am a newbie to coin collecting, but know that I have some special coins. I want to do the right thing. Thanks for any help you can offer! Marcy
I'm far from an experienced collector, but a few words of advice: 1) Make sure those 2x2 folders do NOT have any PVC content in them. 2) You don't say how many coins are involved, or of what particular type, but you might want to consider these if it's not cost prohibitive: http://www.valleycoin.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=intercept+shield+2x2 3) Then put them in these: http://www.valleycoin.com/product_info.php?products_id=18885 4) And if that's not enough, toss some new (not re-used) silica gel packs in any empty space in the boxes.
I must say Marcy, your situation is indeed different than any I have run across before. To be honest, taking the coins with you on such a trip was a bad idea. But how to deal with it now that you have ? I'll agree that taking the coins out of the cardboard 2x2s was a good idea. But putting them into coin flips really wasn't. Even if the flips are PVC free, they can still cause damage to the coins. Especially if you are traveling around. The Intercept holders and storage boxes that Speedie linked to are an excellent idea. They are without doubt the best storage method there is for coins. And placing the coins in the plastic tub with the dehumidifier product as you have is also a great idea. But there is more to it than that even. For that container now needs to be stored in a cool, dark place where the temperature does not vary much. And it needs to be taken out of your motor home. All of that movement and jostling around is not a good thing for the coins. Somehow, someway, you have to got change things if you wish to protect the coins. But given your situation, I'm not sure how you are going to that. As you are traveling, are in one place long enough that you can receive packages by mail or UPS ? Or can you arrange to be in one place long enough so that you can ? For one way or another you need to get those coins out of those flips. And that means you need to buy other holders. And finding a shop that carries suitable holders as you travel is not likely to happen. That means you need to order some. Now if you decide not to go the Intercept holder route, then I would recommend Air-Tite holders. But you need to make sure you get the proper size for each coin, and I would also recommend that you use the ring type. You can find them here - www.jpscorner.com That's the best place I ever found to buy them. And Speedie - those silica packs that you get from shoe boxes or other commercial products - those are useless. For by the time they get to you all of their ability to absorb excess moisture is long gone. Never use these things. You need to buy new silica gel packs, I recommend rechargeable ones, for use with your coins.
My bad, I wasn't particularly clear in my post, thank-you for picking that up. I wasn't suggesting re-using them but it certainly came off that way. Will edit it to clear up any confusion.
Well let me further say that the tiny little packs that come in commercial products, even if they are brand new, are all but useless for coin storage. They are way too small. It takes a 40 gram rechargeable silica pack to service 3 cubic feet of air - about the size of a small safe or large Tupperware container. And depending on the humidity level where you live, you would need to recharge it every month to 3 months. Even in Utah, the second driest state in the nation, I had to recharge mine every 2 -3 months. http://www.jpscorner.com/Silica_Gel_Desiccant.htm
And for extra irony, those 40g packs are exactly what I use in the ammo cans that I store my reloads in. Couldn't remember where the heck I bought them originally so thank-you again!
A moving motorhome will have all sorts of vibrations on the coins, causing a very fast form of what collectors call 'shelf wear'. It a really bad idea to have them in transport very long.
I have them all in seperate flips, in a coin storage box. Our motorhome is a large one and is very smooth riding.
It doesn't matter, if it moves, the coins move. Over a period of time coins in flips will develop what they call rub just from normal handling. (For this reason coin flips all by itself coin flips are a bad idea for coin storage. And there are more bad reasons but I won't go into it here.) So being in a moving vehicle is a 100 times worse, any vibration is going to vastly increase the rub factor. As I said in my original post - you need to get the coins out of that motor home. Sorry, but that's how it is. You see, the toning you were worried about is the least of your problems. Your real problem, the risky problem, is that you have the coins with you. I have given you the best advice I can. It is up to you to take it or not.
