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 Replies: 20 / Views: 5,428 |
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
My parents live in Texas, their home was flooded twice. First in the storm of the century in 2016 and again when Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston area. Their home was underwater for about a month..They had coins in the safe , which are now one solid lump. Is there a way to salvage them and I would like to get them a set of their birth year. Pennies to half dollar 1944 & 1945. Would like to keep it about $100 each year for set. Looking for best quality for that amount. Can anyone help? Thx.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Are they graded coins or raw coins? if graded what slabs?
Edited by basebal21
01/16/2019 9:04 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4691 Posts |
Homeowners insurance should cover the loss. The coins may be salvaged by soaking in acetone.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
If moisture has penetrated a slab, then goodbye slab.
Slab needs to be trashed so that the coin inside can be treated with acetone.
Would have been better if slabs had been water resistant to begin with. That is a pity. Nobody is going to risk their valuable coins to find out. I know I wouldn't.
To the best of my knowledge, slabs (acrylic) don't take kindly to acetone.
Edited by sel_69l
01/16/2019 9:56 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7615 Posts |
Quote:
Homeowners insurance should cover the loss The typical standard homeowners insurance policy in Texas does not cover flood damage. You have to buy a separate "flood insurance" policy. Even then, some collectibles (like coins, stamps etc) may not be covered. It's best know what your policy covers before you need to use it. |
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New Member
 United States
10 Posts |
Their homeowners insurance would not cover anything or next to nothing, the coins are lose and are not as bad as originally described. I just vide chatted with them and saw a lot of them. Won't acetone devalued the coins? I was told to only use distilled water only and air dry them. I did see some transfer rusting on a couple Morgan's there are some rolled, some in books, some in plastic tubes and some lose. So that was a relief to find out that it was not a big lump like she described. Still would like advice on how to handle them from here.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5770 Posts |
Sorry to hear about their ordeal.
I believe NGC has an arm of the company that can help conserve ("repair") them. Here is a link to it. https://www.NGCcoin.com/news/article/90/
Home owners insurance usually only has a small ($1000.00? limit) amount for undeclared items. To have them covered they would need to pay a separate rider on them and maybe list them individually in an appraisal as well.
Best of luck.
Words of encouragement are one of the major food groups.
We need to consume them regularly to thrive and grow.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7615 Posts |
The most important thing right now is stop the corrosion and get the coins protected. If the coins were in salt water things can go bad real quick. Get the coins out of the holders. Do an acetone rinse. Air dry the coins. Place the coins back into new safety flips. As far as getting them 1944 and 1945 year sets for under 100$ you should not have a problem. Visit a local coin show, shop online or visit a local coin shop. The most expensive coin will be the half dollar....especially if you want uncirculated coins. And by the way....  to the Community! Edited by westernsky
01/16/2019 11:00 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4691 Posts |
Acetone should not harm or devalue them. You can get it at many hardware stores. If you go to a general store, they may try to sell you nail polish remover which is NOT what you want to use.
Edited by jimbucks
01/16/2019 11:02 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1005 Posts |
For flood damage I would recommend a long soak in distilled water first, then change the water if needed. Finish off with an acetone soak and air dry
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
It was fresh water, thx for the advice. I will get on it as soon as possible.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
533 Posts |
Be careful with the thought homeowners insurance covers damage or theft of coins. I specifically asked about my coins and theft and was told the Morgan's were covered at face value, $1.00 per coin, under the standard policy. Even slabbed coins are covered at face value not book or appraised value. You need a specific rare or collectible coin rider to the insurance to cover them for more than face. Same issue with firearms only a certain amount is covered unless you get a supplemental policy on them.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1303 Posts |
Sorry to hear about your parents flooding. I recently flooded twice in Houston, the most recent being Hurricane Harvey. I had some of my coins flooded out, and I simply soaked them in distilled water & set them out to dry. My fishing lure collection took the biggest hit, my tackle box of lures in boxes was submerged & my labels came off all of my Creek Chub lure boxes. I'm attending the Houston Money show in Conroe this Saturday a.m., looking to ad to my personal collection. Best of luck, please post some photos of the collection, if you are able to post pictures.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5953 Posts |
As has been stated insurance wont help much. I live SW Houston and lost a lot in Harvey,Transfer the coins to distilled water as soon as you can rinse them and change the water regularly.
Do not scrub any; once the water stays clear pull out any coins you can. Treat the remainder with pure acetone, again changing the solution regularly and do this in a very well ventilated area. Acetone will not damage the coins just remove any organic material from them. As you recover coins from the mess I would recommend conserving them with VERDI-CARE™ to stop any further damage. PM me if you would like me to look at what they have and see what if anything can be salvaged.
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
I live in Tennessee and my parents live in the Columbus Texas area. I am passing this information to them. They are considering turning the set over to me to sort and sell it. It is going to be this summer before I can get hands on. Until then we are video chatting together. Everyone has given great advice! Thank you again.
I have a slight off topic question. They have 9 Krugerrand dated 1977 it was stored in the safe, in a roll. Only 1 showed any discoloring. She said they were supposed to be in uncirculated condition. They really need the money for rebuilding their lives. What would be the best way to sell them for the best return?
Edited by Kevlar
01/17/2019 09:24 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7615 Posts |
The Krands are worth "spot" gold at a minimum. If they were mine I would only sell a couple at a time at a reputable coin shop or with a respected dealer at a show. Carrying around 9 ounces of gold and showing them for all the world to see at a shop or show is inviting all kinds of trouble.....especially in this day and age.
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Replies: 20 / Views: 5,428 |
Posted 01/16/2019 9:04 pm
