Important Things to Know BEFORE You Buy Rare Coins & Currency

For over two thousand years, numismatics, or the study of coins, tokens, medals and paper money, has been a fascinating pursuit for many.  In addition to providing hours of enjoyment and entertainment, coin and currency collecting offers unique educational experiences spanning a variety of subjects from history and geography to chemistry and economics.



While we here at SAFE focus on preserving your coins & currency with coin cases and currency albums that are archival, we believe that helping you become more educated in all of these topics to be mutually beneficial.

In recent years, another reason for involvement and interest in rare coins and currency has arisen: for an individual to make a profit on the sale of their specimens after holding them for some period of time, often several years or more. Some items have shown dramatic increases over the years, rewarding those knowledgeable individuals who have purchased wisely. However, if you are new to numismatics, there are a few things which you should understand and keep in mind when purchasing rare coins and currency for possible future appreciation.

PNG has recently published a brochure that discusses this and the following topics that we highly recommend to you:

• MAKE SURE NUMISMATICS IS RIGHT FOR YOU
• BE SURE OF WHAT YOU’RE BUYING, AND FROM WHOM YOU’RE BUYING IT
• WATCH OUT FOR “MODERN RARITIES”
• BEWARE OF BARGAINS
• LEARN ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE DOING
• SELECTING A REPUTABLE DEALER

What is the Optimium Storage of Banknotes?...

Recently on an IBNS forum, I responded to a post from Asia asking "what is the optimum storage of banknotes?"

There certainly are a number of things that a currency collector should consider, such as quality currency holders, and I have paraphrased some of the responses into a few categories and included my own comments for the readers benefit:

1. Temperature & Humidity - It should be on the cool side (less than 70 F) and most importantly - consistent. You do not want to store your collection in an East-facing room with windows that heat up with morning sun or a room with drafty windows that gets cooler in Winter. Humidity can also be a problem as paper naturally absorbs the ambient moisture. The effects of inconsistent humidity will cause paper to become more brittle over time. You should consider keeping desiccant gel packets with your collection wherever you store it.
2. Ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun will fade paper relatively quickly and can also make it more brittle.  Do not leave your banknotes out in the sun for any length of time.  Ideally storage should be in a room with no windows.  You can study your banknotes with Ultraviolet Lamps without any concern as you generally only do this for a few minutes at a time.
3. Clean hands are essential. The introduction of natural hand oils and other contaminants can cause staining and damage over time to the banknotes. Keep your food in the kitchen and wash your hands before working with your currency.  Ideally, use cotton gloves to handle the banknotes themselves.
4. Acid-free storage materials.  Of course my personal favorite.  Currency holders, currency album pages, and cases MUST be free of plasticized PVC and chemical stearates.  The material used in many inexpensive 3-ring binder pages, emits hydrochloric acid over time and will damage the notes. Be careful to only use SAFE Currency Holders or Currency Albums that are made with acid-free materials.