Storing Coins

Quote: just out of curiosity, does temperature/humidity affect the way you should store graded coins?

Temperature and humidity are two of the greatest factors in coin toning due to environmental conditions, especially with high purity/ high grade coins (BU/Proof; copper and silver). Exposed copper and silver react to various chemical impurities in the air. In the engineering world we use sealed environmental chambers to expose electronic devices to elevated temperatures and humidity. This greatly accelerates the damage caused by contaminates in the air. It's an extreme example, but in the presence of very minute amounts of common impurities, high heat and humidity can destroy metal finishes in a very short time. This isn't going to happen in an average household obviously. But coin toning is due to minor reactions with common chemicals in the air, heat and humidity just accelerate the process.

Back to your question . . . slabs are supposed to be airtight. But sometimes coins do tone after encapsulation. So if you have a coin you value, whether it's slabbed or not, heat, humidity and trace amounts of common indoor air pollutants are the enemy. Keep your coins in air tight containers away from heat, in a dry place. As pointed out through out this thread there are many things that can be used to store your coins in an air tight environment including ziplocks, special coin capsules, etc.

One final comment about safes, many [people keep safes in the basement, many basements are damp! In you have a new safe don't use it for valuable coins until you know it is going to be free of internal condensation! Many of the home security safes available have condensation problems.

I generally store circulated coins in mylar 2x2's and archival pages. Slabs are stored bagged & boxed in a dry safe. I keep everything of value / high grade in air tight storage. I always ditch 2x2's and flips that coins come to me in, opting for known archival materials.

Just Carl thanks for your great Info. You got me thinking about the 2x2 & staple thing . So I tried using a Elmer's glue stick and it worked no air and no glue on coin .

Seeking :Why not glue stick

Rainman

So, I have enough morgans now that I can justify looking into a proper way to store and display them. Is a Danisco Album enough protection? I know that silver is fairly reactive, does toning hurt the grade of the coins any?

I guess I should have decided to collect Liberty Head or St Gaudens Gold Eagles instead. (gold is VERY nonreactive). I know there is a reason that I didn't, but what was it? Hmmmmm.......

So, I have enough morgans now that I can justify looking into a proper way to store and display them. Is a Danisco Album enough protection? I know that silver is fairly reactive, does toning hurt the grade of the coins any?

Any type of Album, not a folder, is sufficient to a degree. None are air tight which means if air can get in, so can humidity. And it is not just humidity that attacks coins, many substances in the air also attack coins. I suggest to do as I've been doing for many, many years. Place the entire Album in a Zip Lock type plastic bag. Prior to closing, push out as much air as possible. Prior to Zip Lock bags I just used plastic bags. Been doing this for many, many, many years and no problems yet.
As to the necessity of gel packs in a safe deposit vault. Every bank I know of now has air conditioning systems. their humidity level is far less than anything your gel packs can do.