Is storage in an attic safe?

I'm thinking of moving most of my collection into a safe box and putting it in the attic. It has gotten so large I'm afraid that if there's ever a break-in, I'l lose it all. I think thieves would be less likely to search the attic. The coins are all inside coin-safe tubes so they are sealed off from the environment. The only issue I can foresee is the heat during Summer. I do have cooling fans in my attic so the hottest it usually gets even here in Texas is about 130 degrees up there, even with outside temps around 110. Before I got the vents installed I measured temps up to 150 at times. So I would think that would be the worst case scenario in case of power failure or fan failure.

Is there any issues anyone can think of? BTW, I don't really collect any rare coins. I just collect junk silver as bullion and silver eagles, etc.

 

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The attic might be a good place to hide them but the uncontrolled conditions would not be a place to store them.That is if condition is a factor.

 

What if your house catches fire? Where does fire tend to go? UP!

Use a safe deposit box. It's the best protection against theft and damage.

 

safe deposit box. good call

 

I would suggest a safe deposit box. However, if you must keep them in your attic I would then urge you to make certain that the attic floor does not give way and fall through your ceiling.

 

Hello Adric22,

#3
An attic location is terrible for collectible coins because of the temperature & humidity fluctuations. For junk silver & bullion this may not be an issue for you. Heed TomB's warning about the weight limitations of your ceiling structure.

#1
Don't discuss where you hide your bullion in an open forum. It was way easy to identify your location just by searching"adric22" on the internet. I suspect there are hundreds of Ebayers that have an address for you & I hope it is not the address where you plan to store a bunch of bullion.

#2
Store the bulk in a SDB.

 

If your a toned coin collector, an attic along with some older coin albums is the "perfect" method of storing coins.

If you like your coins pristine then......not so much.

 

A lot of people seem to think the environment could be an issue. Can somebody elaborate on what environmental conditions will be a problem? Being they are sealed in air-tight containers, I'm trying to figure out what the issue is other than heat. I'm not trying to argue, I just want somebody to explain it. That's why I posted here to begin with.

Oh. and the floor is no problem. I actually floored most of my attic for storage area. You can walk freely in it. I even have lights and shelving, etc. And I don't have that much to store. It isn't like I have hundreds of pounds. It's just a few tubes right now. I doubt it totals more than $1,000 worth. But I am hoping to accumulate a lot more over my lifetime.

The safe-deposit box is something I've thought of, but I just can't see paying a monthly fee for such a small amount right now.

 

The temperature/humidity fluctuations will cause your packaging to change and possibly emit chemicals that are dangerous to the condition of your coins. No one is going to get any more specific than that. If you want more specific, metalurgy and chemistry classes are in your future.

 

Ideally, you want to store rare coins in a cool dry location where the humidity & temperature do not fluctuate. Typical poor storage locations include locations on outside walls and especially attics because the storage temperature can change daily.

Bullion coins in proper tubes will probably tone less because the tubes will minimize the gases to which the coins are exposed. I'd probably recommend hard plastic tubes as I believe they may not outgas as much. You would not want to use paper tubes in a temperature fluctuating environment and definately don't use soft plastic flips. It is still best to keep the coins stored in a cool dry place if you want to minimize tarnish.

If you are storing only bullion material and you do not care about tarnish developing on the coins, then it doesn't matter where you store them. If you don't like toning (tarnish) then store them in a cool dry place AND DON'T TELL ANYBODY WHERE THAT IS.

 

P.S.
I once purchased a bunch of Whitman folders of silver coins from a widow. Her husband kept his collection in the attic over their garage. All the coins had toned an ugly dark color on the obverse and an unattractive gray color on the reverse. I attribute the toning to the Whitman folders and the changing temperature & humidity to which they were exposed. I'm rather confident that the changing temperature & humidity of the garage attic contributed muchly to the accelerated tarnish.

 

Wow,I can't believe how rigid the thinking is here.

 

Rigid?! What can you add?
Do you realize that this thread is over two and a half years old?

 

Well,..I got a response did I not? I would think an attic is dry . The fluctuations between hot and cold can present moisture on the surfaces and in the air however, so long as coins are in air tight tubes, capsules or even modern albums where inert substances are used ,...the moisture has a tough time getting at the coin. Add a modern safe or even a sturdy good quality cooler and I would think any coin would be well kept ,..for many years without incident . Just my liberal opinion .I don't mind at all if someone explains with a balanced argument why my opinion is wrong ,...but answers usually ending in safe deposit boxes are the only way are `in a word ,...rigid

 

The attic or basement are probably the two worst locations to store coins. No matter what you keep the coins in "Unless the safe or container is temperature controlled environment"
Wood ,paper, medal all are effected by temperature change.
Even in tube flips no matter what the item is going to be effected by temperature change. Medal will develop condensation during temperature change. Over time the process of temperature change will effect your coins. And yes I've even seen it happen in a banks SDB. Depending on the vaults temperature controlled or not.

 

How does a metal coin develop condensation from within ie; a modern safe which allows no moisture or even an inert acrylic tube in a box ? I get what you're saying about moisture ,for sure an attic will have it (a basement much more) but how does the moisture get in ? ,... or are you talking about the air already present in the air tight container ? (small amount ? )

 

Did you read the term " temperatures controlled environment " in my post?

 

You are saying that metal coins that are not in a temperature controlled environment are doomed to corrosive activity ,no matter how well protected they are . How long before noticeable corrosion effects the coin ? ie; toning, milk spots etc...

 

My expensive modern safe clearly states that moisture can condensate inside it. There is even a huge dessicant in it that I actually need to change out. Thanks for reminding me but what's up with these all zombie threads lately.