Long Term Storage Of BU/MS Red Pennies

[emodx]

So being a sailor who has maintained marine electronics and electrical systems for more than 20 years I have both theoretical and working knowledge of oxidation and corrosion of different types of metals. But all that means little to nothing when it comes to copper coins.

I would like to start this thread as a “living document” to capture the combined wealth of knowledge we all have here. The idea is people can ask questions and receive answers about keeping their pennies from changing colors.

I personally gravitate towards red pennies. I love the luster and the warmth of their glow. I want my gems to stay red. The red browns that I have I collected because of the interesting maturity these coins have begun. And I am a total sucker for a colorfully toned penny; gold, orange, purple I love them all.

I feel remorseful thinking that one day that penny will lose that character and turn an a rather bland uniform brown. It seems like losing an old friend. So through the lens of “friendship”, it only seems fitting that it takes a bit of maintenance to keep that friendship going.

So I’ll begin with this simple question. I have red copper pennies and red zinc pennies in my collect. Both copper and zinc pennies are stored in 2x2 flips and PCGS slabs. What methods have proven to be best at keeping these pennies red?

[makecents]

I'll let the pros dig in on this one but I do know oxygen and light are the major culprits in this particular situation. To an extent, without extreme situations of moisture and any other contaminates, I let mine be what they are.

[emodx]

I'll let the pros dig in on this one but I do know oxygen and light are the major culprits in this particular situation. To an extent, without extreme situations of moisture and any other contaminates, I let mine be what they are.

So light in itself doesn’t bother me. Sunlight does, but not so much because of UV rays but because of it causing steady increase and decrease of heat. Heat accelerates the exchange of electrons with contaminates.

[GrumpyEd]

In this order:

Best storage is full plastic tubes.
Next best full paper tubes but the rims and end coins will tone.
Next best is slabs but they will still change.
Worst is flips or nothing at all.

In any case, low humidity, moderate temperature, sealed well without much light, air or moisture trapped with them is best.

Flips can be ok sometimes as long as no PVC, but if there's any tear or pinhole they get toned plus they have paper and staples and both can cause toning depending on the conditions.

Fresh red cents are very fast to change, if they are kept well for a decade without toning like in a slab and they make it 10 years then they are more likely to stay red. It might be that even the reds get a layer that protects them but before they get that layer they're very reactive. Zincs are more reactive, like a sacrificial anode on ship, they can dissolve.

[emodx]

So with the tubes there is no concern of friction? At least with paper tubes you can compress the coins to limit friction.

[GrumpyEd]

So with the tubes there is no concern of friction? At least with paper tubes you can compress the coins to limit friction.

Some people add cotton or paper to make it tighter but I don't.

I make the tubes so full that the lid is tight on the top coin so they don't move. Depending on the tubes and coins (how high the rims are) may make the tube need one or 2 more to be tight. Since I typically do some upgrading like sort a few rolls to put together a keeper roll or I replace spotty coins or ones with crimping marks so adding an extra coin isn't an issue.

[makecents]

Some people add cotton or paper to make it tighter but I don't.

I make the tubes so full that the lid is tight on the top coin so they don't move. Depending on the tubes and coins (how high the rims are) may make the tube need one or 2 more to be tight. Since I typically do some upgrading like sort a few rolls to put together a keeper roll or I replace spotty coins or ones with crimping marks so adding an extra coin isn't an issue.

You Da Man!!

[ray_parkhurst]

GrumpyEd is making excellent suggestions that jibe with my experience as well. I have recently opened sealed plastic tubes of 56-D Cents that looked literally like they were just minted. They were not red, but fresh minted copper color. Here is a pic of what they looked like:



A full, sealed roll has very little air in it, and large surface area of copper to absorb whatever oxygen is present. The roll the coin above came from was probably in original paper, or from a mint bag, until early 60's when it was put into a plastic tube. So it has been sealed tight for over 50 years, and it looks like it was just minted!

[GrumpyEd]

The only problems I've seen from plastic tubes:

The white square ones sometimes haze the end coins or they have like a lump in the base that makes a mark on the bottom coin.

Some of the really old clear round tubes with the slip on top (not threaded) can shrink over decades and the coins are very well preserved but really hard to get out of the tubes. People freeze them, get them hot, cut them, bang them trying to get the coins out and you won't believe how tough it is until you try yourself. The best method is tap it on the edge until a few dislodge then the rest start getting free, that will work most of the time but takes effort and I've had a few where breaking the tube was the only way to free them. Those tubes do not break easily, they're hard but won't crack (like a SEGs holder) and if you hit it with a hammer it'll bounce up, knock you in the head and still be intact. They should have made windows for fighter planes out of that stuff LOL.

[Petespockets55]

The only problems I've seen from plastic tubes:

The white square ones sometimes haze the end coins or they have like a lump in the base that makes a mark on the bottom coin.

Some of the really old clear round tubes with the slip on top (not threaded) can shrink over decades and the coins are very well preserved but really hard to get out of the tubes. People freeze them, get them hot, cut them, bang them trying to get the coins out and you won't believe how tough it is until you try yourself. The best method is tap it on the edge until a few dislodge then the rest start getting free, that will work most of the time but takes effort and I've had a few where breaking the tube was the only way to free them. Those tubes do not break easily, they're hard but won't crack (like a SEGs holder) and if you hit it with a hammer it'll bounce up, knock you in the head and still be intact. They should have made windows for fighter planes out of that stuff LOL.

So true. I've had to break open a couple of the clear plastic tubes. (Haven't knocked any sense into myself yet, still in construction!) Very difficult without damaging the coins inside.

While on your way to filling a tube you can fill the empty space with any inert substance (I use bubble wrap or foam packaging) to reduce the amount of oxygen reacting with the copper. This also helps keep the coins from accidentally turning side ways and scraping an adjacent coin when adding new coins to the tube.

One seller of wheats puts rolls in a plastic tube with a small piece of foam on each end to keep the end coins of the rolls protected during shipping.