How do you store your coins?

[Guest custard1966]

Does anyone have any idea of the cost of storing your coins at a bank vs the cost of insurance for home storage ?

[Emperor Oli 0]

How regularly do you visit them?

About every two months

Does anyone have any idea of the cost of storing your coins at a bank vs the cost of insurance for home storage ?

I know some insurance companies charge astronomical rates for them to be insured. Some want every coin worth over £50 individually listed and professionally valued. Some would argue however that prevention is better than insurance; solid safe bolted to a floor/wall, burglar alarms, motion sensors, CCTV etc. I don't know how much it is for banks as my grandfather pays

[TomGoodheart 373]

Pebbles - same as for coins - they look nice.

Banks - Barclays and NatWest charge around £20 a year and then £5 each time you 'inspect' your box - note that few banks now offer an actual safety deposit 'box' - most just hold a locking container you provide yourself (such as a briefcase) within their vault for you.

'Nother thing about the Hartbergers - you can get trays for coinholders so you can store coins of different sizes together and rearrange them as you wish.

I am coming around to the idea of the Nichols however, what's the point of coins if you cant handle them sometimes

[Emperor Oli 0]

As I said, its only for my £200+ coins of which I have about five so it isn't really the bulk of my collection. And if I want to handle them, I can just go into town and do it

[Master Jmd 50]

i currentlty store my coins in an album, mostly because i am a few hundered £ out for the cabinet i want...

(this:from ebay for £425 )

but i think i will try to get the coronet thingy...

[Emperor Oli 0]

That looks very similar to the Peter Nichol's one. I'd have a hard time trying to fill it, though!

[Half Penny Jon 0]

I finally got my cabinet today! The delay was caused by the construction of two monster cabinets for a museum. It looks brilliant! The sheen is beautiful, I would reccomend that every collector shell out a bit of money just to get one, I cannot commend them any higher!

[Emperor Oli 0]

Congratulations - now all you have to do is fill it!

[Half Penny Jon 0]

I have decided to expand my collection to 1970 so that will fill up six trays! After that I will probably move into victorian farthings or victorian halfpennies (copper). I also have one 50mm tray so I might be ambitious and fill that with wreaths!

[Emperor Oli 0]

I wouldn't go up to 1970. When I used to collect farthings, I started at 1956 and they just held nothing for me - I should have started at George V. Perhaps it was the uber-lustre or the wrens on them, I don't know, but they just didn't appeal.

[Master Jmd 50]

I wouldn't go up to 1970. When I used to collect farthings, I started at 1956 and they just held nothing for me - I should have started at George V. Perhaps it was the uber-lustre or the wrens on them, I don't know, but they just didn't appeal.

I agree...i am too far into 1937-56 farthings to stop now, so i will have to continue...if i was you, HPJ, i would not go any past George V...

[Sylvester 15]

If i were you Jon rather than going to 1970 (as much as i like the Golden Hind reverse), i'd probably go the other way, you could expand back to 1895 for starters.

Then perhaps go backwards through the 1800s taking it a decade or two at a time, so do the 1880-1895 next, then 1860-1879.

[Geordie582 18]

I'm about to shock! I use CD 'crystal cases' with inserts made from three layers of polystyrene wall liner, suitably cut with holes to fit the coins by means of a small soldering iron. So far, no adverse affects. Perhaps someone will shoot this method down, but it is very convenient when the cases are kept in a CD tower!

[Chris Perkins 223]

That may be convenient, and it's certainly very Blue Peter, but I recon it'll cause damage within a few years, especially with the copper/bronze. Good idea though.

If they are high grade valuable coins and you don't want to throw money down the pan you should consider alternatives.

[colliewalker1 0]

I think that coin capsules are a very convenient way of storing coins, especially for someone like me who has a small 'starter's' collection. I'm a long way from aspiring to a cabinet - maybe never will, and at present I'm quite happy to keep them informally in a box where although 'in a jumble' they are well protected by the capsules.

I can't imagine why any beginner wouldn't use capsules - but I'm always prepared to listen to a good argument for doing something different!

[Master Jmd 50]

I can't imagine why any beginner wouldn't use capsules - but I'm always prepared to listen to a good argument for doing something different!

A beginer would not nessessarily use capsuals because he/she would not nessessarily know what he/she wants to collect...

[Sylvester 15]

A beginer would not nessessarily use capsuals because he/she would not nessessarily know what he/she wants to collect...

Not just beginners with that problem!

[colliewalker1 0]

A beginer would not nessessarily use capsuals because he/she would not nessessarily know what he/she wants to collect...

I have in mind a 'beginner' who has a small collection ( maybe 10 coins or so) rather than somebody about to begin collecting and wondering which way to go. Capsules CAN be bought singly, so a mixed collection of different sized coins can be catered for.

Clearly (for most people) accumulating some coins has to come before buying a supply of capsules.

It may be obvious, but I have found that to accomodate a coin of, say, 32mm, its no good buying a 32mm capsule (this is the exact size and the capsule is NOT intended to partner a 32mm coin) as it will have to be installed using a hammer...!! A margin of 0.5mm has to be allowed for a comfortable fit.

[Master Jmd 50]

I have in mind a 'beginner' who has a small collection ( maybe 10 coins or so) rather than somebody about to begin collecting and wondering which way to go. Capsules CAN be bought singly, so a mixed collection of different sized coins can be catered for.

it would be a waste of money if you ask me...if the beginer was to put his/her 10 coins into different sized capsuals then he/she would have to buy a capsual for each coin he/she buys...albums, on the other hand, are easily compatable with a wide range of coins. All one needs for an album is a folder with small, medium, and large album insert thingys

[colliewalker1 0]

it would be a waste of money if you ask me...if the beginer was to put his/her 10 coins into different sized capsuals then he/she would have to buy a capsual for each coin he/she buys...albums, on the other hand, are easily compatable with a wide range of coins. All one needs for an album is a folder with small, medium, and large album insert thingys 

I must admit I hadn't thought of an album ( beginner as I am! ) and it sounds an interesting idea - I'll look into it:I like the idea of seeing a page full of coins all together.

[Sylvester 15]

Make sure it's a PVC free album.

Chris probably sells some decent ones.

[Chris Perkins 223]

Yes I do, in fact all of the albums you see on the website are PVC free.

10% discount for forum members, just email me from the same email address that you registered here and I can arrange payment with you over email.

[Jennings 1]

Interesting to see the differences between UK collectors and US collectors. I've never heard of a single US coin collector using trays (at least not like the ones I've seen advertised herein). Everyone these days seems bent on collecting "slabbed" coins (a trend that I deplore, and which drove me out of the US coin market). If not that, they tend to keep their collections in 2x2" 'flips' (the clear mylar kind with two pockets that folds in the middle), or in 2x2" cardboard/mylar holders in albums.

I think there is some kind of phobia in the US about handling the actual coin, since (unless it's a highly worn example) almost no one ever sells raw coins that aren't in some kind of a holder. This is especially true of anything you could classify as AU or BU (Unc with lustre to you all).

I like the idea of trays that stack, and will be ordering some shortly (Chris...) for my Farthings. Not sure about a cabinet, but perhaps a desk with some kind of an enclosed cabinet/door type thing? I need to keep them upstairs in my house, as my downstairs stays fairly damp due to a stream that runs just outside. Verdigris is not on my want list!

I appreciate all the assistance and good info on this site!

J

[Emperor Oli 0]

BU (Unc with lustre to you all)

We know what BU means!

[Unknown 0]

This is my first post on the forum, so, first of all to introduce myself.

I am Spanish and collect coins since I am in my very early teens. Now I found Chris' web site and started cataloguing my coins, finding out that I had more than 600 original and around 200-300 copies of coins from all over the world (well, most of the copies Europeans, specially Spanish, French and Portuguese), as well as some 60-70 notes from all over the place.

Regarding how to catalogue them... Chris must be fed up with me, as I have been the last couple of weeks buying coin albums from him, finding out that the original Safe album wasn't enough, buying another (Lighthouse) and another....

Anyway, my collection is not really valuable, but I like having currency from as many different countries as I can. Because I leave in the UK, I may be force to concentrate a bit more now on English coins, but I am not certain what route I will take.

Regarding the storage of the coins, if you do not have space (or budget) for a cabinet, coin albums are the way to go:

If you have anything collection up to 150 coins and you are not going to increase the number rapidly, a Safe album will be enough for you. http://www.predecimal.com/collectors/shop/864album.htm

But if you have a bigger collection, the Lighthouse album: http://www.predecimal.com/collectors/shop/...rio_g_album.htm is perfect. You will have to get some coin frames, but it is worth it, it looks much better and it seems to me that the coins are better protected with the frames. You will not be able to directly handle the coins, but I guess they will be better protected.

I just bought both kinds of albums from Chris, and I am very happy with all of them, excellent quality and a beautiful way of having the coins. A couple of suggestions, in the Safe album get a maximum of 8 pages per album, the lighthouse will comfortably sit 20 pages (personal opinion, just a preference from what I have in my house).

I take my opportunity to say, well-done Chris, excellent site and is nice to have this forum to get in touch with other collectors.