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 Replies: 13 / Views: 6,437 |
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Valued Member
United States
329 Posts |
Someone had mentioned they have a few silver eagles in ziplock bags in their ammo safe with various boxes of ammunition. If the coins are bagged up is there anything detrimental about doing this? He said he hasn't had any problems with the coins discoloring etc...
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
PROVIDED that the ammo locker is in a low humidity dry place, the coins inside should be quite OK for an indefinite period.
Screw tubes ziplock bags for bulk coins would certainly help, and to also subdivide your stash.
The back of my garage is a bit like the Arizona desert, where planes go to die.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5417 Posts |
An ammo locker should work fine but you will have to takr some steps:
1. Make sure that the air inside is dry.
2. Make sure that the Ziploc Bags are PVC-free. PVC will cause discoloration and unwanted toning and since almost all toning is distasteful I advise you don't take a chance.
3. Check frequently.
Good Luck!
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
Ziplock bags should be fine; they are made from polyethylene, not PVC. Can't use PVC for food storage. Illegal for most countries.
If you are in a high humidity area such as Florida, it would be a good idea to chuck in a couple of bags of silica gel.
Keep the ammo box above the floor, if you live in a flat, low lying area, just as a precaution.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
"Ammo safe" could mean anything out of a wide variety of different things. Different people might use that phrase to describe a bolt-together steel plate storage cabinet, an actual safe, a metal military surplus ammo box or almost anything. Military surplus ammo boxes work very well ( http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...lus+ammo+can ). You can also use desiccant paks to keep things dry if you have a humid environment ( http://www.midwayusa.com/find?userS...ry=dessicant ). I think using polyethylene ziploc bags and Tupperware-type containers inside a bolt-together steel storage cabinet (with a large, rechargeable dessiccant pak in it) or else metal military surplus ammo boxes should provide you as atmosphere-resistant a storage system as you can get without spending a LOT of $$. Those high-end watertight hard plastic resin photographic equipment cases also work very well, but they're quite expensive. Edit... I have some doubts about the wisdom of storing silver in the same enclosure as live ammo. Gunpowder contains sulfur and sulfur is the root cause of toning (or "tarnish"). I think storing ammo and silver in the same enclosure (ziploc bags notwithstanding) may be a formula for long-term trouble and I wouldn't go that route. Better safe than sorry... Edited by Fat Freddy
06/15/2013 08:22 am
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
I agree with FF about storing with love ammo. The nitrated compounds from which explosives are made are also chemically ubstable.
The only reason ammo lasts as long as it does is because the explosive propellants also contain stabilisers, but ammo won't last forever.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
When I remarked about ammo, I was focusing on the sulphur in the same environment with silver almost guarantees unwanted toning thing.
Over the decades, I've many times had military surplus ammo that was old enough to vote and I never had any of it become unreliable because of age. Mil spec ammo (at least
in my experience) is sealed well enough to last for a lifetime. I don't know about recently-made, inexpensive, retail market ammo because I don't have any experience with it.
But... back to the point. I keep ammo, reloading equipment/supplies, firearms and shooting fashion accessories away from silver just to safeguard against the possibility of sulfur
contamination from the toys messing up the silver.
And... Sel -- Arizona isn't just where only airplanes go to die. Retired old Yank northerners go there to die, too! In principle it's much like Florida, only a lot drier and not filled with
insects that are as big as birds.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
FF: Actually, the nearest I ever got to AZ, was on top of the Hoover dam! 'Tourista Ole!'
BTW, most nitrated compounds to a lesser or greater extent, tend to be somewhat corrosive, so make sure that the ammo boxes are cleaned out properly first, expecially if they ever contained the explosive products powder monkeys use.
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Valued Member
United States
216 Posts |
I imagine it would come in handy in case of a vampire attack :)
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
That's a good point. I've always given my ammo boxes a thorough wet cloth wipe-down and then a good drying with a clean cloth, but... An even
better idea would be giving them a thorough interior+exterior washing with a detergent-soaked sponge before the treatment I already give them.
Edit: Just to clarify--this post is about cleaning ammo boxes and not about the off-subject but nonetheless uproarious tee-hee-ha-ha's immediately
above about vampires.
Edited by Fat Freddy
06/15/2013 12:34 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1391 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Good, bad, right or wrong, why even take chances using something of a possible problem. Why not just use a container that you really know is safe for coins? Why take chances? There are many, many different types of containers made of many different materisals so why bother using something where your not sure?
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Valued Member
 United States
329 Posts |
Thank you Allranger! I thought I had read that thread before. It's not concerning me but I will pass the info along to that person. I told him I though it was a bad idea
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
Agreed---excellent input. I've always throughly cleaned out the boxes I use for PM storage and then never stored anything
but PM's in them, but I never thought about the interaction of solvents and plastic. That's definitely one to watch out for.
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Replies: 13 / Views: 6,437 |
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Posted 06/15/2013 12:53 am
