Coins Purchased In Cardboard Flips And Re-Using Flips I Have

This is your thread, so you are fine.

The degree of care you need to put into storage is to an extent dependent on your environment. Given your location, you're a good candidate to be careful.

In the majority of cases, though, your greater enemy than humidity is atmospheric chemicals, most specifically atmospheric sulfur. Aside physical security concerns, airtight Ziplocks with the air pushed out and a dessicant, as a final layer, will serve appropriately. And they free you to put all that into whatever container/closet/drawer you like.

Except don't keep them in furniture less than 50 years old if you can help it. Furniture outgasses glue and finish byproducts for a long time. Leave a coin out on your desk for a week or three. You'll see what I mean, unless you're lucky.

I'm not lucky.

Depends on where I'm storing my coins..
1) some coins go into to 2x2's then into holders that will go into binders....
2) some coins go into 2x2's then into boxes that are stored on shelves in my dinning room (my own coin area)
3) some coins go into 2x2's or ziplocks and then into small rubber made containers....to be stored elsewhere for longer durations.
4) some coins go into the safety deposit box with a few packs of desiccants

So I have some questions in reference to the acetone dip, and this Flying Eagle cent I posted will make a good example:

The cent in that pvc flip actually DOES had a tiny dot of dark green on the rim. I know verdigris and the green stuff from pvc flips are different things.

1. How do I tell which is which (of course for this it looks like its caused by the holder but I have many lincoln wheat cents with gunk ranging from dark to bright green...and then theres natural patina to make it more confusing)

2. If a coin was in a pvc flip aaaand has verdigris growing on it, would you acetone it first, and then try some verdi-care on it if it doesn't look better, or do the opposite order?

So I've been looking into the modern ammo cans and they look like they could fit the bill for storing some coins. I wanted to get one for copper, one for 90% silver coins, and one for my silver eagles. They seem like a good deal ranging from $10-30 each are water although I read on some other forum the rubber gasket in the lid that keeps the seal could be problematic since rubber could be bad for coins. Anyone got any thoughts? I've heard pelican cases without the foam work for coins but those also have a rubber gasket (and cost a lot more than ammo boxes)

I use nothing larger than a jigger glass, and normally a shot glass. Anything else is a waste of acetone. A Quart should last you years. A small glass pane as a cover is sufficient to forestall evaporation overnight, which is enough because even if you end up in a multi-day soak situation you're still looking at the coin and refreshing the acetone daily anyway.

Kleen Strip is fine. It is pure acetone with Denatonium Benzoate (sp?) in tiny quantity (drops per 55 gallons) to make it unpalatable to animals. That's not relevant to us.

Any coin you need Verdi-Care for should get the acetone treatment first. Removing any organic contaminants - seen or not - enhances the Verdi-Care's ability to do its' job, and the acetone may surprise you and make the rest unnecessary. Sometimes we mistake the one for the other. And don't forget, PVC contamination is not visible until it's actively established.

I have a pair of bespoke tongs with rubber tips ($5-ish from a coin supplier) to grab coins when required. Rinsed off immediately after that use, I've seen no deterioration in the tips but for $5, who cares if they only last a few years?

Their grip is deliberately weaker than hemostats but still up to the task.

When I allow him in the room, this is my usual competition for the keyboard. He's a big boy (that's a full-size folded newspaper), and easily covers the entire keyboardddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd:



"Gummy gunk," as opposed to the things we know will harm coins, is usually not a priority in terms of our commitment to the future. In fact, removing it is quite often contraindicated, as removal leaves obviously cleaned surfaces. Sometimes you have to accept that this is what the coin is, and simply arrest it in place.

My usual location for acetone work is behind a closed bathroom door, on the windowsill with (weather depending) the window cracked. It best copes with acetone's extreme volatility, because even if it all blows straight into the house, one shot glass is insufficient to create a flammable atmosphere unless you confine it to a closet. If you have such a location available it can be cat-proofed.

Others use baby food jars. This is an acceptable alternative which will also be catproof, but complicates maneuvering the coin within it since you don't want it laying flat.