Posted 11/23/2017 11:42 am
In generality, the goal of storage is to prevent the influence of humidity and oxygen-based corrosive reactions on the coins.
2x2's are the most popular enclosure due to their inexpensive ubiquity, and they're quite "good enough" in combination with other levels of storage enclosure which I'll touch on in a minute. They have the disadvantage of needing staples to hold closed, which introduces a danger which can be minimized by using a flat-clinch stapler and not rolling your collection around in a lottery-pick-style number drum.
There are also fans of the mylar-flip method, exemplified by SaFlip holders although there are many others. These have the advantage of relatively easy coin removal, but when built of the right material it's possible that the coin scraping against the sides could impart scratches. I am switching from them to 2x2's myself.
At the pinnacle of coin enclosures are Air-Tites and the like, round plastic capsules which form a near-airtight seal (not perfectly airtight, but the exposure effectively rounds to zero). They are expensive, and more difficult to to get into the next-level storage box or whatever, being round. Mention must also be made of CoinEdge holders, a 2-piece, square container which presses together around the circumference of the coin and forms a tight seal while leaving the rim of the coin clearly visible for inspection without opening it. These will store more easily in a box, but less-easily in album pages. Their manufacturer makes album pages for them.
Raw coins in albums are problematic. There is "archival quality" cardboard available, so-defined by the lack of acidity in their construction, but it can be expensive and difficult to find, and is it really that "archival" or is the manufacturer stretching the truth or underthinking the timeframe? The additional danger is, the album will absorb and hold any environmental condition like humidity or chemical exposure.
The danger here is acidity and sulfur content in the cardboard, which will, over time (some albums much less time than others) cause corrosion. When it's "pretty," we call it toning and pay extra for the coin (go figure), but when it's not we pay less for poor eye appeal or refuse to grade completely. And the typical reaction resulting in "pretty" - the reaction with sulfur to create a metal sulfide - isn't the only reaction it can prompt.
Now, at the next level, you're going to have to put all of those flips or capsules into something, or the size of your collection will be defined by the size of your desk.
Slabbed coins are easy - there are good plastic boxes sized to hold twenty or so of them at a time. As long as they're all from the same TPG, because capsule size differs....
....but you want to store raw coins. First thought are the typical cardboard 2x2 holders we see in such enormous quantity at shows. They're of a perfect size, and will hold a ton of 2x2's.
So, how much sulfur is in that cardboard again? There are brands out there who use sulfur-free materials. Due diligence will uncover reliable sources for them.
There are also plastic boxes sized for 2x2's. Here's an example:
http://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/fil...2x2-box.html
OK, now you've got your coin flip/capsule/2x2's, and the box to hold them. You're good, right?
Wrong. Now is when the actual protection starts.
Those boxes are going to have to go someplace, or you'll still be size-limited by the dimensions of your desk. The place they go can either be advantageous or the greatest danger your coins will face. Many furniture finishes outgas chemicals which can be damaging, in many cases for years or even decades after their manufacture. Heck, even your desktop could be dangerous to the coins you have laying on them for study....my desk is an inert plastic folding table, quite deliberately.
The nature of the cabinet/box/closet in which you're going to place your coins needs careful consideration. Ammo boxes are popular, and useful, as long as they're brand-new (imagine the ingredients in ammunition, and the interior coating absorbing the outgassing of those ingredients for decades before you own it....) yet old enough for the inside paint to have "cured." Hard plastic totes/boxes are a good solution, as well.
But here's the gist of this post, the punchline I've made you endure this no tl;dr Wall O' Text™ to reach:
No storage method is effective until you've formed an air- and water-tight barrier at some level. Despite your best efforts, the dangers to your coins exist at a molecular level and that means they can reach your stuff through some pretty tiny holes indeed, especially when viewed in the timeframes of long-term storage. This is going to sound downright obsessive, but at some level of containment you want your long-term holdings enclosed in waterproof and vacuum-sealed bags with dessicant packs and a sacrificial Cent or two (to be the first things which react with any introduced corrosive elements). A food-grade Ziplock with the air pushed out does fine for this. If you're really on your game, you heat seal them instead of zip-sealing.
Now is where a whole bunch of anecdotal evidence will appear from other posters who never take such drastic measures, and have never had any problems at all. They're all telling the truth. They're also all proof of the same concept that even though someone always wins the lottery, a whole lot of other someones never even come close. The only way to conclusively avoid winning the lottery is not to play.
Don't play the lottery. You might just win.
2x2's are the most popular enclosure due to their inexpensive ubiquity, and they're quite "good enough" in combination with other levels of storage enclosure which I'll touch on in a minute. They have the disadvantage of needing staples to hold closed, which introduces a danger which can be minimized by using a flat-clinch stapler and not rolling your collection around in a lottery-pick-style number drum.
There are also fans of the mylar-flip method, exemplified by SaFlip holders although there are many others. These have the advantage of relatively easy coin removal, but when built of the right material it's possible that the coin scraping against the sides could impart scratches. I am switching from them to 2x2's myself.
At the pinnacle of coin enclosures are Air-Tites and the like, round plastic capsules which form a near-airtight seal (not perfectly airtight, but the exposure effectively rounds to zero). They are expensive, and more difficult to to get into the next-level storage box or whatever, being round. Mention must also be made of CoinEdge holders, a 2-piece, square container which presses together around the circumference of the coin and forms a tight seal while leaving the rim of the coin clearly visible for inspection without opening it. These will store more easily in a box, but less-easily in album pages. Their manufacturer makes album pages for them.
Raw coins in albums are problematic. There is "archival quality" cardboard available, so-defined by the lack of acidity in their construction, but it can be expensive and difficult to find, and is it really that "archival" or is the manufacturer stretching the truth or underthinking the timeframe? The additional danger is, the album will absorb and hold any environmental condition like humidity or chemical exposure.
The danger here is acidity and sulfur content in the cardboard, which will, over time (some albums much less time than others) cause corrosion. When it's "pretty," we call it toning and pay extra for the coin (go figure), but when it's not we pay less for poor eye appeal or refuse to grade completely. And the typical reaction resulting in "pretty" - the reaction with sulfur to create a metal sulfide - isn't the only reaction it can prompt.
Now, at the next level, you're going to have to put all of those flips or capsules into something, or the size of your collection will be defined by the size of your desk.
Slabbed coins are easy - there are good plastic boxes sized to hold twenty or so of them at a time. As long as they're all from the same TPG, because capsule size differs....
....but you want to store raw coins. First thought are the typical cardboard 2x2 holders we see in such enormous quantity at shows. They're of a perfect size, and will hold a ton of 2x2's.
So, how much sulfur is in that cardboard again? There are brands out there who use sulfur-free materials. Due diligence will uncover reliable sources for them.
There are also plastic boxes sized for 2x2's. Here's an example:
http://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/fil...2x2-box.html
OK, now you've got your coin flip/capsule/2x2's, and the box to hold them. You're good, right?
Wrong. Now is when the actual protection starts.
Those boxes are going to have to go someplace, or you'll still be size-limited by the dimensions of your desk. The place they go can either be advantageous or the greatest danger your coins will face. Many furniture finishes outgas chemicals which can be damaging, in many cases for years or even decades after their manufacture. Heck, even your desktop could be dangerous to the coins you have laying on them for study....my desk is an inert plastic folding table, quite deliberately.
The nature of the cabinet/box/closet in which you're going to place your coins needs careful consideration. Ammo boxes are popular, and useful, as long as they're brand-new (imagine the ingredients in ammunition, and the interior coating absorbing the outgassing of those ingredients for decades before you own it....) yet old enough for the inside paint to have "cured." Hard plastic totes/boxes are a good solution, as well.
But here's the gist of this post, the punchline I've made you endure this no tl;dr Wall O' Text™ to reach:
No storage method is effective until you've formed an air- and water-tight barrier at some level. Despite your best efforts, the dangers to your coins exist at a molecular level and that means they can reach your stuff through some pretty tiny holes indeed, especially when viewed in the timeframes of long-term storage. This is going to sound downright obsessive, but at some level of containment you want your long-term holdings enclosed in waterproof and vacuum-sealed bags with dessicant packs and a sacrificial Cent or two (to be the first things which react with any introduced corrosive elements). A food-grade Ziplock with the air pushed out does fine for this. If you're really on your game, you heat seal them instead of zip-sealing.
Now is where a whole bunch of anecdotal evidence will appear from other posters who never take such drastic measures, and have never had any problems at all. They're all telling the truth. They're also all proof of the same concept that even though someone always wins the lottery, a whole lot of other someones never even come close. The only way to conclusively avoid winning the lottery is not to play.
Don't play the lottery. You might just win.
