My collection is only for the purpose of leaving it to my heirs for them to sell and split among my grandchildren. I currently have a some coins stored in cardboard 2x2 flips, Quandrum 2x2, and square Coin Safe tubes. The more valuable coins I have in Air-Tite capsules. I also use Dansco albums for the series sets that I collect. Question is which would be a better storage method, putting the air-tite capsules in Air-Tite tubes or placing the air-tite capsules in Guardhouse boxes? Thanks. George
I'm not familiar with either one of them to be honest. But my advice has always been to use a good sized Tupperware container for storing coins that are already in hard plastic coin holders. That way you can put a rechargeable silica gel pack in there them to minimize moisture as much as possible. But don't put any paper or cardboard products of any kind in there with the coins. And yes that includes albums and 2x2s. Only inert materials can go inside that container.
But that doesn't mean you can't do the same with them separated and in a separate tupperware container that fits, but since the paper/cardboard needs some moisture or it will flake apart, I would just use a couple of the small silica gel pkg, such as comes with electronic good. Now for both you need an indicator system as to if it doing the job. So get from change or bank some new shiny copper cents ( the ones with copper shell around zinc ( newer the better) and take something like a copper or stainless steel brush and scrub it until you can see bright scratch lines and toss them into the tupperware container and seal it well. Occasionally look at the sacrificial cents, and if they are still bright, your other coins are good, no need to open except to replace tarnished ones. The chemicals that react with copper and silver will do so with the 100% copper shell cent quickest, then near pure bullion silver, the older cents, then the 90% silver, etc. So as long as the sacrificial coins are reacting with any contaminants and you replace them, your good coins are not reacting if the container is undamaged. The various protective ( trademarked) devices use colloidal copper or nano copper particles on the surface inside the product to do the same thing , I have been using this process for years and only after summer heat caused a crack in the tupperware did the first cent start to tarnish. IMO, Jim
These are the Guardhouse Boxes: http://www.jpscorner.com/coin-capsule-storage-boxes.html These are the Air-Tite tubes: http://www.jpscorner.com/storage-tubes-airtite-coin-holders.html Again I am only interested in long term storage and not for something to look at. Ultimate goal is that the collection will be sold and proceeds split among my grandchildren. I do plan on using silicon gel packs in either system I go with but will not be using Tupperware. I currently use aluminum cases for my Quandrum 2x2's and cardboard flips.
I considered those boxes for one application, but the “flocked” interior sounded like it might be a velvety stuff that could degrade over time. (I don’t know this - haven’t seen one close up). If you just want something more organized than a loose pile of air-tites, the tubes are a lot cheaper. The caps can require some patience to get on and off because they fit so tightly, but for long-term storage that seems like a good thing.
Well, I definitely would not use the boxes. They are made of cardboard, and that's bad. The interior, not sure about that but I suspect it is bad as well. And there's no way that I can see that you even put the kind of silica gel pack that you need in there - it won't fit. This is the kind you need - http://www.jpscorner.com/silica-gel-humidity-control.html They are 4" x 2" x 1/2". They are easily rechargeable and last for years, and they only cost $6. The tubes, don't see anything wrong with them. But, you'll also need some other container to put the tubes inside so that you can also use the silica gel packs. I know you say you't want to use Tupperware but it's 100% safe for coins, and they can be sealed so as to limit and restrict air flow as much as possible. THAT - limiting and restricting air flow - IS the primary goal for proper coin storage. And without doing it, well you're kinda fighting against the inevitable. They are also inexpensive and readily available in virtually any size you may need. Ziplocks were mentioned as an alternative, and yes they will help. But they do not do anywhere as near as good of a job as Tupperware does. In all honesty, Tupperware, or Rubbermaid if you prefer them, are about the best option there is when it comes to protecting your coins.
I think I pretty much ruled out the Guardhouse boxes this morning and go with the tubes. I am looking at placing the tubes in aluminum cases but will give thought to using Rubbermaid boxes as storage with the silica gel case you recommend. For sure Rubbermaid/Tupperware is less expensive than cardboard boxes. Ziploc bags do not provide adequate protection in my opinion. Thanks.
I use air-tite capsules in guardhouse white boxes for all of my single coins, which cover 1930 to the present day. It is a bit more expensive than some other methods I expect. I do have gel packs in some of them, but given the normally dry humidity here I really do not have to. In the end, to each his or her own. One tends to spend a good deal of money on the coin, so it would reason to provide protection for the investment.
It's pretty much a certainty that they have an effect since to the best of my knowledge the paper and ink is not archival, not inert in other words, it's just plain paper and ink. And all paper products, with the exception of archival grade paper, is made with sulfur. And sulfur causes toning. It's well known that coins in slabs tone. Is it because of the paper labels ? As I said it's bound to have an effect, but what almost certainly has a greater effect is that no slab is airtight. Therefore the air can and does get to the coin inside the slab. And any coin that is exposed to the air is going to tone. That much is a given. As collectors the thing we have to do is to minimize how much air gets to the coins. And by doing that we greatly decrease the rate at which toning occurs. That is the very idea behind utilizing proper coin storage methods. And it works.
Would vacuum-sealing the coin cases help, as with Food Saver bags, or would chemicals from the bags negate the benefits? Perhaps tubes or air-tites that are vacuum sealed in Food Saver - type bags and placed in Tupperware with silica gel be the optimal safe storage method(?).
Food quality plastic bags like those and Ziplocks are fine, in and of themselves they contain no chemicals that will harm the coins. That said, the plastic they are made of is air permeable, in other words, air goes right through the face of the bag. And the same thing happens with the bags made of heavier and thicker plastic made for use in the freezer. It's quite easy for anyone to prove this to themselves. Take a Ziplock or your Food Saver bag and put something in it that has a distinctive smell, like a cut onion, or many different types of cookies. Seal the bag up and leave it overnight. The next day pick the bag up and smell it - you will smell whatever is inside that bag. And I'm not talking about a "hint" of a smell, it will be readily and easily noticeable. And the reason you can smell it is because the plastic is air permeable. The only truly airtight containers that I know of that are readily available to consumers are the canning jars made for canning foods at home. They've been around since long before I was born, they were around before my grandparents were born, and they're still around. The reason they're still around after over a century is because they work - they are truly airtight. But, it's not really necessary to use them to store coins. If one uses proper storage methods as I have described on this forum more times than I care to count, the toning on your coins will be slowed down to the point that it will be barely noticeable in your lifetime.
