What's the most intelligent way to store your rare coin collection? Options abound, ranging from a paper envelope to a coin album to a sealed plastic tube. Let's review several of these coin storage options, so that you can protect your collection permanently. Believe it or not, most of the world's most precious and important coins are stored in boxes, jars, and even paper bags scattered throughout households in the U.S. and beyond. Coins stored this way are actually well protected against elemental damage, such as humidity, light exposure, and dirt, by dint of being buried among other coins. Rarities can emerge from such scattered collections to surprise and delight their owners. Paper envelopes may be good to store and display certain coins, but be careful that the sulfur compounds contained in the paper don't chemically react with the metals of your coins. Albums, folders, and other paper displays may all contain minute amounts of reactive agents. Even a coin album explicitly designed for storing coins may cause chemical etching and thus reduce the value of your collection. A plastic flip book coin album is a safer alternative. However, the chemical, polyvinyl chloride (otherwise known as PVC), is contained in many plastic materials. PVC can actually decompose certain metals and destroy coin collections. You might want to get acetate or Mylar plastic, but these brittle materials may cause scratching on the delicate surfaces of rarities. Probably ideal is to get a hard plastic tube or a Mylar lined cardboard tube to store your best coins in an airtight environment. |
