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How to Display Coins

Coin collecting is a popular hobby, both for historical and financial reasons. Rare coins can be incredibly valuable, and as such must be protected. Even modern coins that are made for collectors should be properly displayed. After all, there is little point to working diligently on a coin collection if you are not going to show it off. Displaying coins is quite simple, and can shelter the coin from the forces of time.

Things You'll Need

Cotton gloves
Storage containers
Decorative mounts
Display boxes
Display sleeves

Instructions

- 1
  Put on a pair of lint-free cotton gloves to handle your coins. The oils from your fingers can cause coins to degrade over time.
- 2
  Place each coin into an archival quality storage container if you are preserving it for its value. These containers range from simple mylar envelopes to airtight plastic "slabs" that hold the coin steady with a foam ring within a plastic shell. Insert these containers into pre-made decorative mounts.
- 3
  Place naked coins into decorative coin boxes if display is more important to you than value. These boxes are lined with felt or velvet to hold the coin safely and with style. Some "boxes" are actually bell jars mounted on wooden bases. These jars have small stands to display the coin.
- 4
  Purchase fold-out displays for modern coins. Many special coins, such as the American State Quarter collection, have custom-made sleeves to display the coins in. These sleeves offer information about the coins, but do not protect them from the elements.
- 5
  Display your coins in areas where they will be well seen. Consider lighting, traffic flow and other aesthetics. Coin displays work particularly well in home libraries, studies and other places of intellectual pursuit.

Coin Collecting