Coin storage

[Half Penny Jon 0]

Hi pple,

What do you use to store your coins? And what is your opinion on these methods of storage? I currently store my coins in trays but I am in the process of upgrading to a cabinet which I am told will be much better!

[Edward 0]

I store my coins mostly in 2x2s in 8x11 sheets in notebooks. I would be glad to hear about the relative benefits of trays and cabinets, especially as I have a few crowns in plastic holders that don't fit into the sheets.

Also--some of the crowns end up being somewhat loose in my holders (the ones I got from Chris). Any suggestions?

[Half Penny Jon 0]

I would invest in decent trays or even better a cabinet. Chris has a wide selection of storage accesories on this website.

[Sylvester 15]

I think i should bring this up now...

I dunno why but there is a distict difference between UK and US storage ideas.

The Americans tend to store coins i 2X2s, flips, slabs and other such things, Brits tend to go for cabinets and trays... any reason for this marked difference?

[Edward 0]

Just so everybody is clear, I am in America, and Sylvester is right, there is a gulf between UK and US storage. Trays and cabinets are almost unknown here. Perhaps that is because having a piece of furniture to store coins in was traditionally less practical in a the relatively more mobile population of the US, but I will admit I am speculating.

Are the coins in trays loose? How does a coin cabinet work? There are certain things some of us take for granted that are well in the realm of ignorance for others of us.

Please also keep in mind that having "a" cabinet would involve, eventually, one for Michael, one for Christopher, one for Katherine.... one for my mother....

Perhaps we should have Predecimal.com establish a Pauper's Coin Storage Fund...

[Sylvester 15]

i knew you were in the US that's why i brought it up.

I think you've probably hit the nail on the head there... Brits tend to collect for the fun of it or as a thrilling persuit rather than as a money venture (note i said collect, not deal... dealers are a whole different kettle of fish), Americans on the other hand always seem to have another agenda there in the background. One of liquid assets, this is why slabbing took off.

Most collect for the thrill of the hunt but many collect either with the intention of making a turn around profit somewhere along the line... hence why they buy MS64 slabbed sliders and crack them out and resubmit the coins over and over till somone grades it MS65...

The problem when you have a cabinet is that if you buy the coins in 2x2s then you have to destroy the 2x2 to get it out, all very well and good till you come to sell and you've got no medium to store it in (yes i've been on the end of that one)...

The pro-side is that cabinets are supposed to help keep your coins protected better (don't ask Oli about that), it was the case many years ago that most people kept them in cabinets hence the term cabinet rub on a coin. Plus they are classier... but the safest way to preserve a coin by far is to store it in a glass jar (no word of a lie) [as long as it doesn't rattle around too much].

The real proside to cabinets though is it keeps your collection together rather compact, moreso than having a few boxes full of slabs.

[Sylvester 15]

How do cabinets work... well inside them you have drawers with coinsize recesses drilled in (all made of mahogany), the recesses have a felt lining placed inside and Bob's your uncle it's as easy as that... but you wouldn't want to store proofs in a cabinet, cos the felt might leave bits of fluff on the surface. Anything else is fine though.

[Edward 0]

I had such a good reply ready and my puter crashed....

Slabbed coins is a topic over which Chris and I have exchanged some shared unfavo(u)rable sentiments....

I had to laugh when I saw what Sylvester had to say about MS64's being cracked open to get them graded as 65's because it's all too true. Slabbed are popular in America because they relieve the need for really looking at what you have in your hand. People assume that the grading service gives a guarantee that what you have in your hand is what it says on the tag. Dealers like slabbed because collectors will pay more. It's like King George is a slabbed politician, so people don't really think anymore whether he is what he's graded as.... *ahem*

[Sylvester 15]

I also forgot about the stupid prices they'll pay for brand new coins in MS69-70 grades.

This is before we get to registry sets and pop. figures... look i have it in MS66 with a pop. figure of 4 and none higher, and i reckon mine's the best of those...

[kuhli 0]

I think i should bring this up now...

I dunno why but there is a distict difference between UK and US storage ideas.

The Americans tend to store coins i 2X2s, flips, slabs and other such things, Brits tend to go for cabinets and trays...  any reason for this marked difference?

WARNING: These are only generalizations, and there are exceptions to these.

The British use very nice trays and exquisite wooden cabinets to display their coin collections as heirlooms. They are proud of the beauty and quality of the coins they have amassed. They will leave a hole in their collection for years waiting for the right coin (the right grade, with the right luster and eye appeal). They restrict their collections, focusing on a specific denomination, monarch, time period, etc. (even here, we have young collectors already focusing on a single denomination over a specific time period).

The Americans use inexpensive flips, mylars and air-tites, to minimize their investment and increase the profit margin. They are proud of their coins, but the bargains and bottom lines are the highlights of their collections. They are concerned about resale value and marketability. They will buy a lower grade coin at a bargain price until they can upgrade to a better coin, selling the older one to help finance the new acquisition. Slabbing has provided an assurance blanket for them. They suffer from "alphabet soup fever" (PCGS PF68 DCAM F/B ).

[Edward 0]

Kuhli, I agree with what you say in general terms, but I wonder still if there isn't something else that makes trays and cabinets a matter of disinterest in the US. Expense might be the reason, but I wonder what would happen if someone made a concerted effort at marketing. Part of the problem I think is that there's just no tradition of trays & cabinets, so people don't think about them.

[GDJMSP 0]

It's not that trays and cabinets are a bad idea altogether - I rather like them myself. But they do have their drawbacks. First of all there is the problem of cabinet friction as already mentioned. This is a real problem for UNC quality coins. Just about every coin cabinet that has ever been produced since medieval times has been lined with felt or velvet. Place an UNC coin on these surfaces and fine scratches will develop. Ever hear of the term haymarking ? 'Course you have - well where do you think it comes from ? It comes, or it used to come, from coins being stored in coin cabinets. That's why coin cabinets fell out of favor in much of the world - not just America.

Then you also have the problem of the materials the cabinet is made of - wood, glue, stain and varnish. Every single one of these materials, including the wood itself, puts off vapors into the air. And those vapors interact with the surfaces of the coins stored in the cabinets and can and will often produce very unsightly toning - and sometimes even corrosion.

Now, in today's world, you can make a coin cabinet out of materials that do not have these properties that are harmful to your coins. But care must be taken to do so. And it is also wise to first place your coins into a holder that will protect them from the problem of cabinet friction for that never goes away. If all these things are done - then coin cabinets work just fine If not - then your fine UNC coins are at risk. It's just that simple.

Edited July 14, 2004 by GDJMSP

[Sylvester 15]

2 points;-

1) Cabinet friction, ever wondered why i moved out of Modern Milled, it was because alot of the really nice coins i had (or that i bought) usually had the fine lines all over the surface which was indeed cabinet friction. It appears Early Milled is not as suceptable and hammered is hardly a problem at all.

2) Haymarking... if i haven't heard at least 7 different reasons for this i wouldn't be surprised... i've come to the conclusion that no-one knows truely what causes it.

I've heard of rusted dies, hay being thrown into the alloy as it cooled, cabinet friction, other dies issues such as foreign particles becoming trapped between the die and the blank in the process of minting...

[william 0]

Hay being thrown into the alloy as it cooled? that's fairly unlikely isnt it?

[Half Penny Jon 0]

Does cabinet friction only occur if you constantly move the coins about?

When I get my one in approximately 30 days from Peter Nichols then I will put them in there and try not to remove them too often. I will also use a few packets of silica gel placed between the doors of the cabinet and the trays to remove water vapour to stop verdigris. I think we brits are very proud and pleased with our collections, I know I am!

We try not to buy coins for investment unless we want to. When we sell our coins, any profit we make is a bonus!

[Master Jmd 80]

Hi pple,

What do you use to store your coins? And what is your opinion on these methods of storage? I currently store my coins in trays but I am in the process of upgrading to a cabinet which I am told will be much better!

I currently store my coins in a WHSmith album, and my farthings (now that i have the capsuals (thanks chris)) look a bit out of place, so i will probably move on to trays and then a cabinet...

[Edward 0]

Capsules in a tray or cabinet sounds tops, but I come back to one of my original questions in this thread: what about coins that still move about in their capsules? For example: I got 39mm capsules from Chris (thanks Chris) and put a Wreath crown into one, and it moves about....

What is a body to do about this? And what about the shrinking farthing? My Wm III farthing isn't going to fit into a Geo VI farthing-appropriate capsule.

[Half Penny Jon 0]

A cabinet can come with different sized inserts to display different sized coins. It does not affect the coin majorly if it 'rattles' about in the capsule, the capsule protects it.

[Edward 0]

I'm just concerned about the capsule equivalent of cabinet rub, especially as the coins I have are mainly EF+ (don't get Chris started about me and EF!!).

[Half Penny Jon 0]

Over time there will be cabinet rub on coins in capsules and on coins in cabinets that have been moved around quite a lot. You could always seal your coins in a cardboard display case which has a plastic circle in the middle ( I'm sorry, I cannot remember it's name).

[Edward 0]

Those are the 2x2s that I was referring to before, but that brings us back around to the point that has been made a couple times that that is not a very gorgeous way of presenting the coins. At this point, though, preservation trumps presentation for me, but the 2x2s still hardly contain the crowns, and reading the edge is largely out then.

The other thing about having a coin cabinet is that it is, after all, a piece of furniture; and frankly, I don't advertise the fact that I have coins on the premises. This is America, you know.

[Sylvester 15]

I don't adverstise the fact either...

Jon you mean capsule friction...

Which brings me on to 2x2s... i used to have everything in 2x2s at one point but that's when i had the PVC outbreak... I lost 1/5th of my coins to verdigris, 1/5th to PVC damage and i wasn't best impressed.

Now i find that it's just something about my house i've had 2x2s from all over the place even some from the US and if they get left on the side for any length of time in the house during summer then they soon start sweating in the holder... and it's damaging them... a zinc reichspfennig was the latest victim. (I caught it early enough).

I'm afraid both of my rooms are the first on the radiator chain...(so my rooms get hot quick when the heating goes on whilst downstairs it's like a fridge) that and poor insulation means that they get humid pretty quick in summer cos the heat gets in. That's the joys of keeping coins in a converted attic though. Heat rises!

Unless i move into shipping them all to the US for slabbing then i'm afraid a cabinet and capsules are the only things i can use.

[Edward 0]

Sylvester, were those 2x2 flips or the cardboard holders? I have been told the cardboard are made with plastic that doesn't damage the coins like PVC.

I once ordered hundreds of dollars worth of coins from Florida (read heat, humidity, no circulation) and they came in PVC flips.... each one uglier than the next. I still shudder thinking about it. OOOHHHH. I sent every last one of them back.

[Sylvester 15]

Sylvester, were those 2x2 flips or the cardboard holders? I have been told the cardboard are made with plastic that doesn't damage the coins like PVC.

I once ordered hundreds of dollars worth of coins from Florida (read heat, humidity, no circulation) and they came in PVC flips.... each one uglier than the next. I still shudder thinking about it. OOOHHHH. I sent every last one of them back.

The cardboard ones were the ones that did it, they were worse than the totally plastic ones with the flip/envelope thing.

[Half Penny Jon 0]

I don't adverstise the fact either...

Jon you mean capsule friction...

Which brings me on to 2x2s... i used to have everything in 2x2s at one point but that's when i had the PVC outbreak... I lost 1/5th of my coins to verdigris, 1/5th to PVC damage and i wasn't best impressed.

Now i find that it's just something about my house i've had 2x2s from all over the place even some from the US and if they get left on the side for any length of time in the house during summer then they soon start sweating in the holder... and it's damaging them... a zinc reichspfennig was the latest victim. (I caught it early enough).

I'm afraid both of my rooms are the first on the radiator chain...(so my rooms get hot quick when the heating goes on whilst downstairs it's like a fridge) that and poor insulation means that they get humid pretty quick in summer cos the heat gets in. That's the joys of keeping coins in a converted attic though. Heat rises!

Unless i move into shipping them all to the US for slabbing then i'm afraid a cabinet and capsules are the only things i can use.

Use should have used some silica gel Sylvester...............