Where & how to store your coins in a safe environment?.

thanks mr spud. so it is better to buy the 1,000 pc bag and put them in the square tube. sealed the container with dessicant. rather than buying the 2 roll set. it is cheaper and safer. but then, the two rolls set is always the one on demand and command the price with premium. so again it is hard to decide which one i should buy. maybe half half.

 

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Many are correct. This subject comes up all the time. Almost as much as how to clean coins. For me, I've been collecting forwell over 50 years. Most of my coins are in Whitman Classic Folders. Many more in 2x2's. The ones in the 2x2's are put right back in the boxes the 2x2's came in. Many more are in plastic rolls. I collected the 43 steel cents when I was a kid and they were new. I've got 26 rolls of them in plastic tubes and they look the way they did when I put them there. Each Whitman Album is put into a plastic freezer type bag with as much air sucked out as possible. The ones that have been there for well over 50 years still look like they did when I put them there. The boxes of 2x2's also are in plastic freezer bags. Wish I had one of those vacuum sealers like MARS1970 mentioned. I do not use, nor ever have used silica gel capsules, containers, etc. I never have and see no reason to start using something that is not required. As mentioned, none of my coins that are in Albums, plastic rolls or 2x2's show any signs of tarnishing, corroding, toning or anything. Moisture does not effect the metal on coins. You could leave your coins in distilled water and nothing would happen. It's the contaminates in the water or air that effects coins. The air conditioning systems in most banks keep out enough moisture and contaminates to preserve coins. So far none of my coins have toned over the years. However, that is only for about 50 or so years. I'll have to let every one know the results of not using silica gels in a few hundred years. If there is an effect on the coins by then, maybe I'll start using the stuff. Normally Whitman, Littleton and other well made albums in normal household conditions will last for a very long time. Actually where you live may be a problem with the maintenace of coin presevation. In areas where there is extreame amounts of coal burned in factories or power stations, the acidity of the air has greater effects than anything else. Also, smoking in a house with decent ventilation should have little effect on coins, however, smokers seldon live long enough to know that.

 

I prefer rolls to bags of coins, but just because I worry thats the coins will get all banged up against each other more.

I had a friend who stored several proof sets and Dansco Albums with coins in a fireproof safe. The coins in the proof sets ended up being covered with corrosion spots, not just toning, but black spots all over the coins. The same with the coins in the Dansco Album, many became covered with corrosion spots and a few just became toned. This was from moisture. Some Fireproof safes tend to have a high amount of moisture in them. Same with some Bank Safety Deposit Boxes. Many have high humidity to help keep paper documents from drying out and becoming brittle. Not good for coins. I lived in Florida for several years and my copper coins in albums all turned from red to brown. I have a relative who lives on the Gulf of Mexico who has a lot of nice coins, but they are all basically hazing over. It all depends on what the climate is where you live whether or not dessicants are needed.

Wood and paper products can outgas acetic acid and sulfide chemicals, moreso when humidity rises above 40% RH. Changes in temperature can cause condensation if the temperature dips under the dew point. Unfortunately, the condensation won't be composed of pure distilled water, rather it will be mixed with whatever else is in the air and on the surface that it condenses on. Also, many non-active corrosive agents can become active if the moisture gets higher.

 

2x2 Intercept Shield airtites inside of an intercept shield 2x2 storage box, vaccum sealed and placed into an airtight vault with climate controls and industrial dehumidifiers.

 

MrSpud: Your friend that has coins in a safe with black spots on them? I don't think he is telling you the entire story. If they are proof coins in the sealed from the Mint plastic, no moisture of any kind could have gotten to the coins to produce the wierd resurlts of black spotting. Also, the coins in the Dansco Albums to have the same results indicating there is something in that safe besides moisture. Moisture will not produce black spots on coins. Coins being made of different meterials would normally react differently to the same contamination or reative agent. Banks do NOT add moisture to the air to preserve paper or maybe in your area they do for who knows what reason. Moisture does NOT preserve paper, it also helps distroy paper. Paper, parchments and other documents are kept out of moisture to elimate acidic reactions. Your friend is not telling you the entire story or is unaware of something in his house of great danger to his family. As I have said, NONE of my coins in bank vaults have shown any signs of toning, spotting, corroding or anyting else for the last 50 or more years.

 

Sure they can.....mint packing isn't air tight or water tight....

Speedy

 

Just Carl, I'm glad to hear that your coins have aged well over the years, you must be doing something right. At least right for you. However, many aren't so fortunate. Here are a few excerpts and links to show you what I mean.

From http://www.pocketchangelottery.com/article96.htm
"According to Susan Maltby, vulnerable metal coins will
start to corrode when the relative humidity in the
surrounding air rises above 35 percent. Obviously, then, the
risk of corrosion is higher in a damp, humid place such as
Florida than it is in a drier climate -- the kind found in
Arizona, for example.
To combat this risk, you need to create what Sue Maltby
calls a proper "micro-climate" -- a neutral, acid-free
climate -- for your coins."
"Silver is quite resistant to corrosion, but it's highly
susceptible to tarnish, especially in the presence of sulfur
compounds and nitrates. And Bern Nagengast points out that
sulfur and nitrate compounds are frequent components of air
pollution today, so these are real concerns.
"Copper coins are especially susceptible to damage from
airborne particulate matter, and can break out in spots
virtually without notice. For this reason, you should take
special pains not to store copper coins in a moist
environment."

From http://www.pcgs.com/articles/article1947.chtml
"At times, the safe deposit box itself may contribute to coins' deterioration. Ironically, this risk is likely to be greater in high-rent districts - banks where the box rental fee is higher than usual because special efforts are made to enhance the environment in the vault. Typically, this "enhancement" takes the form of increasing the humidity of the air. Banks do this because mortgages, wills, and other paper documents - the kinds of items generally found in safe deposit boxes - tend to grow brittle when the air is dry. But moisture is a coin's enemy: water serves as a catalyst for chemical reactions on coins' surfaces. Therefore, it is advisable to store your coins in a bank where the vault is not moisturized - and normally, that will be a bank with cheaper box rates."

 

From http://www.30below.com/~tomfor/coin/storage/
"Many cheaper "fire proof" safes have water-filled beads as insulation that give off humidity. I had one that was
so bad everything came out feeling damp despite my attempts with silica dessicant
I'd recommend a quality gun safe, you can buy somewhat fire-resistant versions of them. If it's ok for guns
(which are susceptible to rust) it should be ok for coins too. And you can buy refrigerator-sized ones for
reasonable prices if you've got a lot of stuff."

 

contamination

in case you store a box of coins long time ago and the coins were contaminated already. you can not clean them. so if you want to put silicon pack. will it help?.

 

The mentioning of the contaminates in the air in the article by MrSpud is basically true. However the term corrode is misleading. Again, it's not the moisture in the air that effects coins, it is the contaminates. Therefore, in a bank, regardless of if they add moisture or take it out, I doubt they add contaminates to the air. A Normally decent A/C system condenses out such things in the air by the nature of condensation. I don't think a bank would add Sulfides, Nitrates, Chlorides into the air. Gold and Platinum coins are seldon effected by normal air born chemicals. Silver and Cupper are effected by S, Cl, NO3, NH3, which are commonly in the air in some areas of the country. Sulfur rich Coal buning in factories and power stations send SO and SO2 into the air where combining with H OH, normally called moisture as H2O, produce a mild acidic air which will turn copper coins or piping greenish. Actually individuals with pools using excessive amounts of Cl will find coins of Silver, Ag, unprotected around the house greatly effected forming AgCl. Households doing lots of cleaning with Amonia produce NH3 into the air which also cause damage to unprotected coins. The moisture is a solvent that brings the coin damaging material to the coin so protecting from moisture is important but again, it's not the moisture that does the damage. Like I have noted I have coins for well over 50 years, living in a very humid area and just freezer type bags have protected them thus far. However, who knows waht will happen in the next hundred years of so.

 

where to store?.

why is it that the silicon pack change its color from blue to pink so quickly?. it is only a month.

 

re-useable

first question: can the silicon gel used before that packed with the food or electronic be re-use again for the coins storage or other electronic things?. those small bag silicon gel will last how long?.

second question: i bought few silicon pack 40 gram and 24 pc of silicon gel.
for silicon pack is easy to determine when to reactivate. but the silicon gel, how long it will last?. and when i bought it. even i did not use it yet. are they start to consider using already?. and do we just put it with the coins or we have to open the silicon gel?.

 

silicon get

follow up question: can the silicon gel tiny bag be re-activated too at the oven?.

 

follow up

in this case. it will be too costly to use silicon gel for just one week or two. about 80 cent per gel (tax or shipping charge included). one year cost you 52 x.80 = $41.60 just to maintain one small box of coins. measure 12"x12"x12" cartoon. i have 24 cartoon. so i have to spend $998.40 per year. and those coins, i already kept it for 15 to 20 years. and nothing happened. cause i opened each box to check it and insert one silicon gel per box. well maybe after one week or two.. after all 24 silicon gel use-up. i will take those out and will not use them anymore. after all. my coins were only modern u.s. mint issue and all have there own capsule, box and sleeves. please give me more advise.

 

one more question

but what about those food and electronic. they just insert one small silicon gel. and then we buy those things after being stored for more than a year by them. like food. we consumed it. and inside the wrapper. we found silicon gel. it's been there inside for many weeks. is that means those silicon were not functioning there at all. you said it is only for one week.

 

to gdjmsp

thanks again gdjmsp. now i have to buy more 40 gram silicon pack. the pack is good for 3 cu ft. so it is 36" x 36" x36" space. by then, i can put 9 box of 12" x 12" x 12" together. right?. and to make sure. maybe put 2- 40 gram silicon pack for that area. that will save 7 to 8 pack instead of putting each pack at nine boxes. am i correct?. and surely save several hundred per year for using silicon gel.