Coin storage cabinets

[Run]

One of my other hobbies is wood working. So I decided to make my own storage unit. One thing I have never had to consider is the effects wood would have on what I was storing in it.

I have access to many different types of wood. But I dont know what would be the best choice.
I have read mahogony is a good choice. What other woods are considered inert?.

I just bought a huge pile of cabinet quality white pine completly free of knots. Any thoughts on this type of wood

Also what slide out trays would you recommend.  Is velvet a good choice in a liner? Or is there something better or should I just order the plastic trays and build the drawers myself?


Ty Will

[Varangian]

Pine wood is full of relatively volatile resins (thus the distinctive smell) and probably wouldn't be a godd choice for a coin cabinet.  Mahogany seems to be the near-universal choice for fine coin cabinets.

I had a cabinet that used trays lined with velvet, and over a fairly short period of time the coins flattened the nap so it lost the "look".  I also felt that the velvet polished the coins a little from sliding around.  I toyed seriously with the thought of using a thin chamois leather for lining, on the theory it would reduce sliding, but decided on a new cabinet with drawers that accomodate 2X2 flips.  For me, personally, that's worked out better than the flat trays.

[Run]

Never thought about drawers for 2 x 2 flips. I dont want the cabinet to be to large as it would draw to many questions as to what was in it. What you have there seems to fit the bill nicely.

[cmcdon0923]

Varangian...

I have some mahogany trays that I built a while ago and now want to build a cabinet to house them....but I haven't been able to find a source for the small brass pulls for the trays.  May I askwhere you got the small brass knobs you used for the drawers in your cabinet

[Varangian]

I had it made by this guy:

http://www.richardscabinets.com/

[Douglas]

I would think maple, cherry, and walnut would be fine as well. Mahogany is a traditional wood for cabinetry, but is becoming harder to get and more expensive because of it being added to the CITES list. I've been thinking of building my own cabinet out of some beautiful figured maple I have, unless I can get a nice piece of figured walnut. It's also nice using something domestic (for me) rather than something imported. For inspiration on style look at spice cabinets.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Mahogany is an excellent wood, and it was easily available for fine work during the colonial period, hence its traditional popularity. But as you say, there are plenty of other fine woods out there. Some woods, like red cedar, which is traditionally used for beehives, contain natural preservatives, but I wonder whether it would really affect coins?

[Varangian]

Only one way to find out:  use the wood.

My understanding of why mahogany was chosen for coin cabinets was not it's availability but its stability and lack of volatile resins.  Personally, I'd avoid any wood with a strong scent.

[Bill S]

My understanding of why mahogany was chosen for coin cabinets was not it's availability but its stability and lack of volatile resins.  Personally, I'd avoid any wood with a strong scent.

Actually, it's not the resins that are volatile, but aromatic oils within them.  And if it has a strong scent, it has aromatic oils.  Some of these oils, such as those in cedar, are known to have toxic effects on some animals.  For example - cedar is used in clothes closets because it kills moths.  People who keep reptiles have discovered that the oils are toxic enough that mice raised with cedar shavings in their cage are toxic to snakes. 

Some woods have other potentially damaging chemicals in them.  Oak, for instance, has tannin.  While tannin is not, as far as I know, volatile, direct contact with tannin and atmospheric moisture could produce corrosion (tannic acid).

Whether toxicity translates to corrosive when used with coins is anyone's guess, at least until some testing is done.  In fact, if any of you out there got inspired, some experiments with different types of wood and shiny modern coins might provide some useful information.

One of the posters above mentioned using chamois in his cabinets.  Since that's a tanned leather, I'd be concerned that the chemicals used to tan it might be harmful.  Again. some simple experimentation could be helpful.

[jerseyjohnjames]

Hello everyone ~ This is my first attempt to post a message at Forum so please forgive any mistakes.

I became hooked on coins when I made my first coin tray, and they must number 70 by now! They are made from an A4 sheet of 3mm plywood, glued/framed with 8mm square stripwood. The tray is lined with "Funky Foam" (www.craft-planet.com). I have not built a cabinet yet, I just stack the trays in piles.



The photo shows a tray in transition from coins in packets, to coins in the raw. The raw coins are catalogued, so if I forget what they are, I can take a look in the catalogue. All provinance is stuck in the catalogue too. Labels have started to appear on my trays, both on the edge so I can find a stacked tray, and nameplates with dates which you can see in the photo, are a recent addition.

I hope this is of some use ~ john ~

[areich]

Don't they move around when you handle the stacks of trays?
Nice coins.

Andreas

[jerseyjohnjames]

Life is often a compromise. At this moment in time the tray is very flexible in layout. I can glue dividers (6mm strips of foam, as can be seen with the brown foam boadering the dark red base). I have a tray of French Feudal denirs, where each coin has it's own compartment and label, as I find it difficult to memorise all these coins.
Practically though, the coins only move from my desk to a shelf, and I must be carefull.  If they have been for a ride in the car, they can all end up at one end of the tray. Maybe I could add a packing blanket of ,  if the coins are going on a long journey. When they traveled by air, they were repacked in the little coin bags I get from the bank.

~ john ~