How do I store rolls of uncirculated presidential dollars?

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Author: Bill O'Rourke

The QUESTION: I purchased a few mint rolls of the New Presidential Dollars and would like to know the best way to store them, so the end coins on the rolls do not tarnish or become oxidized over the years while in storage.

The ANSWER:What may appear to be a simple and short question actually has an interesting but more complex answer than you might think.

The first thing to mention is that the paper that the coins are rolled in can actually pose a threat to your coins so it is not only those coins on the ends of each roll that might tarnish, but all the coins may, over time become toned or spotted by virtue of being in contact with the paper wrapper that surrounds the coins.

Paper must be acid and lignin free. By virtue of the manufacturing process and the types of materials used, the paper may be acidic in nature. Paper used to wrap coins is a wood pulp based paper that still contains the lignin. Lignin is the material found in a tree that naturally binds the wood together. When Lignin decomposes, it forms acidic compounds that will then destroy the cellulose in the paper. That degredation to an acidic compound then effects the paper which can and often does, damage coins.

The storage of coins can best be accomplished by placing them in plastic tubes that are made to be safe when in contact with coins. In the hobby, we call these "coin safe" tubes. These tubes are sold in different sizes to accommodate the different sizes of coins and the number of coins per roll. You would need coin tubes for "Small Sized Dollar Coins" such as the Susan B. Anthony dollars, the Sacagawea dollar coins and of course, the New Presidential Dollars.

The type of plastic used to manufacture the tubes is extremely important as some types of plastics that contain things like PVC can leach out of the plastic and damage your coins. PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) can react with the metals in coins and cause a form of corrosion to take place, resulting in the creation of an ugly green substance that will be visible on the surface of the coin. It is not unusual to see PVC damage on copper and silver coins that have been stored in plastic "flips" made of plastics containing PVC. Your local coin dealer can steer you toward coin tubes made of plastics that are safe for the storage of your New Presidential Dollars. I find that for convenience and safety, good quality, square shaped tubes work well. They are made of a safe plastic. The interior size is closer to the size of the coin and this creates a nice seal around the coins as there is a minimal amount of air trapped inside the tube with your coins. The fact that the seal is very tight in the square shaped tubes would mean that you would have to remove the paper from around the coins. The round shaped tubes have a little more clearance on the inside and although you might be able to do it, rolls still wrapped in the paper may get stuck inside the tube.

The next thing to mention is that the "coin safe tubes" are only the beginning. Although they are extremely important, you want to be sure that the environment the tubes are placed in is "coin friendly".

Temperature, Humidity and Light are all important factors when protecting coins. Steady moderate to low temperatures are the best. Humidity should be as low as possible. Packets of silica gel, can be placed in the area that you store your coins. Do not place the silica gel in the tubes with the coins. Avoid light altogether and keep your coins in a safe, dark place. A small safe would be great for storage of your coins.

Whether or not you keep the coins wrapped or unwrapped is up to you. There are collectors of Uncirculated Rolls that like the coins to remain in their original wrappers. Those collectors understand that there may be some spotting or tarnishing of the coins.

There are other collectors that are more interested in the overall condition of the coins and how much luster is retained after years of storage. Those collectors are not too worried about the wrappers being there.

There are some collectors that keep the coins safely in the storage tubes after they carefully remove them from the wrappers and then keep the wrappers as well.

If you would like to keep your coins in the wrappers, I would first find appropriately sized, "coin safe tubes" to store the coins in. I would then obtain some Brilliant Uncirculated quarter dollars from the same source you obtained the Presidential dollar coins. I would then carefully place quarter dollars down inside the ends of each roll to act as an extra seal. I would then place the rolls inside the tubes and store them as described above.

I hope this helps you and I thank you for asking me your question!