Wooden Coin Boxes (Again)

to the CCF!

Whether coin cabinets damaged coins or not depended on what the wood, and the lining, were made from. "old fashioned" materials tended to be safer. Mahogany is considered "the best wood" for housing antiquities like coins, because it has no harmful outgassing products, but mahogany is getting harder to obtain (and therefore more expensive) because, well, we keep overharvesting the stuff because we like using the wood for lots of other things besides coin cabinets, and the trees grow slowly. Some other hardwoods are probably good enough substitutes, but oak should be avoided due to the high tannin content; softwoods like pine might be cheap but they're the worst for coins, due to the outgassing of sulfur compounds from the resin. General rule: if the wood has a strong smell, it's not going to be good for coins.

For linings, traditional velvet (made from silk) was mostly harmless; the pseudo-velvet made from plastic microfibres commonly used these days is less stable, especially when coloured with acidic dyes.

Desiccants stop atmospheric moisture, and intercept strips stop sulfur compounds. They will certainly help, though they aren't magic - they need regular replacing/recharging to keep working. They would make your coin box "safer", but I'd be reluctant to call it "safe". But if the coins in the box are already also in air-resistant capsules, this will go a long way to adding sufficient protection.

I looked up your box at their store; I have to say, the "weasel words" in the sales spiel worry me. The boxes are described as being made of "solid wood" and having a "cherry wood grain finish". Cherry wood is another good, low-emission wood type for coin cabinets, but it doesn't actually say "made of cherry wood". "Solid wood" is as legally meaningless as "solid gold" - yes, it's solid, as opposed to liquid or gas, but it doesn't tell you which wood its actually made from - but rather, it says it has a cherry wood "finish", which probably just means it's been painted/varnished to look like cherry wood. Outgassing from paint, varnish or other coatings on the wood is just as potentially problematic as outgassing from raw wood.

Thanks, Sap, these are exactly the things I was worried about. The box has some "new furniture smell" to it very close up, so in the long run it may do some damage.

I guess this may explain why they call such boxes "display" or "presentation" boxes or cases rather than storage ones. They might be ok for short periods of time but probably not for long term storage.

Maybe one more thing to clear up before I get rid of the box. If I use it regularly (open/close/handle coins), say weekly if not daily, will that be enough to prevent damage from offgassing (coins are capsuled)?