Coin Storage Help Please!

So I'm moving out of country for a couple of years and storing most of my coins with family. The bulk of my collection (the inexpensive part) is going to live in a garage in a place where it rains a lot. It's going to be in a metal container that's not water/air proof. What can I put into the container with the coins to help suck out the moisture without damaging the coins? Anything?

 

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You know you can purchase air and water tight plastic ammo boxes. Then use a drying agent like you use in a safe to keep moisture down to a minimum .

 

If you are going to store in a leaky metal container, remember to use zip-lock bags and Tupperwear type containers inside. You could throw some dessicant packs in the containers/bags, and then, if possible put the metal container inside one or more plastic garbage bags and seal them. Good Luck

 

I understand your concerns. @Kentucky & @Paddy54 have answered your questions pretty well.....but wait a minute. Am I reading this correctly? Did you say garage?? How much space is this collection taking up anyway? At this point, I'm not worried about environmental damage. I'm more worried about security. A garage has got to be the least secure place at a house, besides a shed.

So you're saying, there's "no" room in the house anywhere, where it's temperature controlled and safe?

 

Great answer. Several layers of protection.
I would also worry about the swings in temperature in the garage. I would be looking for a better option than a garage.

 

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@Seattlite86

If you have no better place to store it than in a damp garage with no temperature or humidity control, you might as well sell it now for whatever you can get before it is ruined. After that, it will only be worth face value (if the bulk of it is moderns). Two years is a long time where unprotected coins is concerned.

Chris

 

How about Zip-Locks like others mentioned - but double bagged. That's for the water resistance part. Then put the bagged up coins in a large insulation cooler (the kind that you take to go outside with and put food / drinks in). That's for the temperature swing part (more or less constant temperature). Then put silica gel packets in to absorb any excess moisture (second layer of defense against moisture). Then put a bunch of foam peanuts or such for protection against shock from inadvertent or intentional movement. Lastly, put a bunch of heavy storage items on top of that cooler.

You could also use a bicycle lock to wrap a heavy duty cord around the cooler and lock it shut... and/or even epoxy the cooler's lid shut lol.

 

With silica gel packs, once they have absorbed their maximum, if they are not replaced or recharged back, they are not protective, they are reservoirs of moisture inside your outer defenses.

 

And to add to what Jim said, I must recharge mine every 2 months. I doubt they would even last that long in a garage.

 

What if you go all out and put in at least a few dozen? Would the moisture spread out among the silica gels? And, if one retains too much and holds moisture, would the others capture the moisture. Thereby, at the end, the silica gel packets would each have the same amount of moisture (?).

 

Don't worry, it's only 2 years.

 

Buy a dehumidifier for the garage, and pay the property owner $10-$15/mo for the electricity. Make sure you get the kind that you can hook up a hose to it, so someone doesn't have to empty the bucket every couple of days, and run it out under a door, or wherever, and verify that the water flows out.

 

If there's no air inside the airtight bag holding the coinage, there's no way for moisture to be there either. Employ mylar flips instead of cardboard (which holds moisture), no paper product at all inside the bag, remove the air from the bag when you seal it (pressing it out is enough; you don't need to employ a vacuum pump) with a couple dessicant packs inside, and then concentrate on insulating the whole thing as much as possible from temperature and humidity changes.

This is doable. If you're paranoid (raises hand), use a few layers of airtight baggage, each holding a couple dessicant packs, against the possibility that humidity will eventually work its' way in, and seal each ziplock edge with folded-over clear shipping tape so they won't come loose.

And replace that metal container with a glass one, with a sealed top.

 

Don't do it, the coins will sweat and the copper will be full of verdigris. I've seen more good coins ruined this way. Put then under the bed

 

I don't think this is going to end well for you, no matter what you do with the coins left in the garage.

Why can't you store your inexpensive coins where your expensive coins are being stored? (Assuming it's not a SDB.)

Don't you know anyone with an empty guest room closet who would be willing to help you out?

Perhaps another CT member in the Seattle area could volunteer some storage space. I would, but I'm on the other side of the continent!

 

I'm not so pessimistic. A carefully-thought-through approach acknowledging the laws of physics and chemistry can easily defeat the challenges inherent in this situation. We have the technology.

 

They are best used INSIDE of ziplock bags, along with a clean, red sacrificial cent.

 

Solve the problem. NO garage or attic for that matter.

 

Friend, just get a few inexpensive bank safe deposit boxes the cost of which can be automatically deducted from an account. All your security and climate issues are resolved and most importantly, you will not be beholden to any family or friends for their services. What if some or all of the collection goes missing? Are you going to ask them to replace it? If you value their relationship, do NOT mix business with family/friends. Blessings.