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Never store coins in PVC containing envelopes as the plastic will release chemicals harmful to coins and cause the problem you have. You need to use envelopes made from an inert material like mylar. 2x2 coin flip is also an option and has the advantage of being airtight. I would only buy branded products (or at least from an established supplier), and I wouldn't take the word of a seller on eBay that their envelopes are "coin safe". If using paper, then it should be acid-free.

Paper coin envelopes are the best, although you cant see the coin unless you take it out, i doubt you spend hours gazing at them ?. You can just write on the envelope whats in it and easy to store as dont take any room up. Thats unless you want to buy a cabinet 😃 As far as removing any plastic thats leaked through the coins being on top of each other (they are better stored vertically) its better left unless there is any value and if so removed by someone who knows what they are doing.

Hi all I'm very frustrated to see that a number of copper / bronze coins which I stored in plastic coins envelopes, within a wooden box, have developed green verdigris or similar round the edges, and also feel 'sticky' on the obverse & reverse. I'm sure that the envelopes claimed to be 'coin safe' but they were from EBAY a few years ago. Would a move to more expensive plastic coin envelopes or albums prevent this in future, or is all plastic a bad idea for copper and bronze? Any suggestions for safe storage welcome (I'm aware the Lindner type coin trays would be better but these are quite low value coins, probably not worth buying multiple new trays for). And is there a safe way to remove the mild verdigris / stickyness?! Apologies if this has come up before, and thanks in advance for any advice, Paul

We all have dogs in our collections. I remember when I was cataloguing Stewartby's collection for Spink. I was under pressure to keep the lot numbers down as far as possible because of the quantities involved. That raised a problem when I was trying to catalogue the Edward IV halfpennies as he had one excessively rare light coinage Canterbury coin with mm. Pall and trefoils at the neck (S2072A). The problem was the fact it was unique. The downside was unique or not, it was a dog. To keep the average lot value up, I decided to mix it with a high grade halfpenny and gave it a buy me estimate. As I suspected, the high grade piece did all the heavy lifting on the lot, but I already had one, so pulled out the stops and bought the pair. Having bought it, I immediately sold the better coin for nearly as much as the lot of 2 cost, leaving me with a cracked, bent, holed, worn, and just about every other fault imaginable coin that cost me about £9. Still never seen another. The coin in question was found in Hampshire near to the Delme-Radcliffe home, who acquired it when found, wrote it up in the BNJ vol.51 and sold it in her sale in 1985 (lot 288). An absolute dog, and one of the last things I would part with. I used it to tick the pall marked coin box. Here it is in all its splendour (?)

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I think it depends a bit on your mindset. I get more pleasure out of filling a gap in a difficult date run with a reasonable example than I do from picking up a common coin in Unc.

My assumption here is how they are kept when minted. The BU set coins don't have dings and scuffs, so presumably they are sorted differently during or after minting. The ones to circulation get bagged up, hence all the awful marks all over them even straight out of the sealed bank bags.

1972 proofs compared to other proof sets might pay an interesting look - same situation.

hey, we won didn't we?!

Can you please post pictures? It might not be a crown but a coronation medal for example, or a crown struck for one of the colonies. Or even a private mint.

Thanks for the help everyone. This is great.

Do remember this: it's far better to have one UNC coin of a particular type, than a date run in F (for example). Just saying...

Google "convert HEIC to JPEG"

If a coin looks bright and shiny, don't immediately assume it's been cleaned. Here's one way to tell: IF the fields look bright and shiny but the design and legend are not, then it's unlikely to have being been cleaned. However, if the legend looks bright but the field between the characters does not, then it could well have been cleaned. Remember that cleaning will affect the highest parts more than the lowest, especially between the legend.

Oh, that's that [multiple words censored] Apple image format that nothing else can easily use. You're using an iPhone? See if there is a setting to save it as jpg instead.

I agree.

I am sorry but I am unsure on how to convert it into a jpg.

Sorry about that. I will try later.

Not a file format my Windows machine can recognise. Is it possible to convert it to jpg or something similar?

so do I, blame putin , they are still good value at £25

Sorry it’s in a file format.

Here is a better photo. IMG_7924.HEIC

Thanks copper123. Those trays do look nice and £25 is a fair price but I wish they were still £12.

Thanks Paddy.

The five tray coin boxes that were in lidl arround fouryears ago for £11.99 were fantastic there are a few on ebay still available for around £25 , I am pretty sure you will not see the old price again ever