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markshell
New Member
USA
5 Posts |
 Posted - 07/11/2010 : 13:18:00
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Hi all, this is my first post on RealCent, been lurking for several months. Love this place! 
Need some opinions...
I'm a very small-time nickel sorter, buying a box or so a month, sorting out the War Nicks, Pre-60s, and just started separating out the 1960's for kicks.
I'm not returning my sorted nicks to the bank; rather, I've saved up a lot of washed out glass jars with metal lids (like jars for pickles, jelly, nuts, anything that seems to seal well), and putting my non-special nickels in them.
After I accumulated about $800 or so in nicks, I buried some on a small wooded lot I own, privately and discretely, carefully concealing the spot. I put them compactly into the jars, screwed the lids on tight, then placed them into a garbage bag, and then into a semi-sealed plastic knock-off Rubbermaid storage container (about 3'x2'x 2.5' in size). These containers are not air tight, but serve to keep water from draining and accumulating into the jars. The lot is not prone to flooding and is very sandy, only about 6-8 inches of topsoil. I buried them in the plastic container about 2 feel down. Don't hit water in this area until you get about 15 feet down. This is in northern Illinois, somewhat close to Lake Michigan.
MY QUESTION IS THIS: do you think this will be an adequate storage solution for say, at least 5-6 years? The glass jars themselves have metal lids with rubberized seals, and seem to seal okay. Or what alternatives do I have? I'm thinking really cheap, here if at all possible, and I'd like to bury my stash for long term retrieval.
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Edited by - markshell on 07/11/2010 13:38:50 |
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NotABigDeal
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 14:01:13
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What about the lids rusting?
Deal |
Live free or die.
Plain and simple.
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your council or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."
- Samuel Adams |
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markshell
New Member
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 14:04:31
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quote:
Originally posted by NotABigDeal
What about the lids rusting?
Deal
I dunno, that's why I was asking. I did put a garbage bag around the jars, plus put them into the storage container.
Do you think they would rust in 5-6 years, in a relatively dry ground area? |
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thogey
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1617 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 14:39:26
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If you're using ball jars. The lids will rust from the outside in.
the best jar would be the ones with glass lids. |
Come to the new and improved realcent: http://realcent.org
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Kurr
1000+ Penny Miser Member
2906 Posts |
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markshell
New Member
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 15:18:36
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Thanks much for the replies. Love the helpfulness of folks here!
Yeah, I suppose I should be concerned about the rust... any thoughts on how long before I need to dig up my stash and re-do the whole thing? Would it last for a couple years like that before it rusts through? It's not a real wet environment, being on high ground. |
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thogey
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1617 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 15:44:41
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If you did like Kurr said, or even smeared a big gob of axle grease (really cheap)over the jar top and put the jar into a coffee can, and buried it upside down.
Maybe...1500-2000 years. |
Come to the new and improved realcent: http://realcent.org
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thogey
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1617 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 15:48:12
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Heck, even the mummies they find in Egypt were sealed up with bitumen (a type of tar)
and cotton cloth strips
And they held up pretty well. |
Come to the new and improved realcent: http://realcent.org
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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 15:52:32
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| I have |
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Think positive. |
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DoctorMetal
Penny Sorter Member
40 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 15:56:13
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| OK, I'll take a stab at the question about the time it takes to rust. This is a typical science fair project. There would be at least three factors involved: (1) the scrap content and/or mix of metals in the lids, a quality control process that depends on who manufactured the lids; (2) the acidity of the soil, sandy soil in a northern climate and close to a lake would likely be very acidic, thus enabling quicker oxidation; and (3)the environmental or weather conditions topside, and more specifically, how easily oxygen and water travel thru the soil. Factors 2 and 3 sound like a given, and Factor 1 is unknown, so I'd say the lids will start rusting about 66% of the time into the 5-6 year holding period; i.e., about 3.3 years. Once they start rusting, I'd estimate lid breakdown within a year and a half of that, maybe sooner, given that higher ground tends to have more seismic activity than lower ground. |
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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 15:56:24
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| I have a lot of nickels stored in screw on lids plastic protein powder containers. Cheap if you already have them. |
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Think positive. |
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TXBullion
Penny Collector Member
374 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 16:15:29
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Ardent, its my understanding you have quite a hoard of nickels. Do you also sort them? I was wondering if people just keep them in boxes and stack em rather than store them in containers. I was thinking of trying to fill up a 5 gallon with Nicks just to have one and have something to look at Whats the benefit of keeping them in containers (just privacy)
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markshell
New Member
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 18:02:37
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Interesting... don't think I need them to last 1500 years, heck, I'd be happy with 15.
Thanks for the replies -- good info.
Okay, now let's say my jar lids rust through after 3.3 years, and a small amount of moisture gets into a few of my jars of nickels...
Do nickels rust? Or corrode?? As much as steel or worse?? I know they're 75% copper and 25% nickel, right? Is it a copper sandwich, with nickel on the outside? Or is it an alloy mixture throughout? What will happen to my bright shiny beauties after Mr. Rain gets through to them?? 
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Edited by - markshell on 07/11/2010 18:06:56 |
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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 19:12:27
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quote:
Originally posted by markshell
Interesting... don't think I need them to last 1500 years, heck, I'd be happy with 15.
Thanks for the replies -- good info.
Okay, now let's say my jar lids rust through after 3.3 years, and a small amount of moisture gets into a few of my jars of nickels...
Do nickels rust? Or corrode?? As much as steel or worse?? I know they're 75% copper and 25% nickel, right? Is it a copper sandwich, with nickel on the outside? Or is it an alloy mixture throughout? What will happen to my bright shiny beauties after Mr. Rain gets through to them??
U.S. nickles are an alloy of pure 25% nickel and 75% copper solid all the way through them. They won't rust or corrode. You could just dig a hole in the ground and bury them without any real damage. |
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All posts either by the members, moderators, and the administration of http://realcent.forumco.com are for your edification and amusement only. It is not the intent of realcent.forumco.com or its host to provide investment, medical, matrimonial, legal, security or tax advice and nothing posted here should be considered to be so. All rights reserved.
Think positive. |
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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 19:21:53
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quote:
Originally posted by TXBullion
Ardent, its my understanding you have quite a hoard of nickels. Do you also sort them? I was wondering if people just keep them in boxes and stack em rather than store them in containers. I was thinking of trying to fill up a 5 gallon with Nicks just to have one and have something to look at Whats the benefit of keeping them in containers (just privacy)
No, I'm too lazy..err....I mean busy to sort them now. I plan to do so when I retire someday.
5 gallons of nickels would be dam heavy to move and might break the bottle if you tried.
I have most of my nickels in sealed boxes. About $1000 is in rolls that I put into the plastic containers that weigh about 40 pounds each.
If you sort them of course you would have to open the boxes. You could just re-roll them and put them back into the boxes. But if you didn't want to re-roll them you could just dump them into containers and wait for the melt ban to end.
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All posts either by the members, moderators, and the administration of http://realcent.forumco.com are for your edification and amusement only. It is not the intent of realcent.forumco.com or its host to provide investment, medical, matrimonial, legal, security or tax advice and nothing posted here should be considered to be so. All rights reserved.
Think positive. |
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TXBullion
Penny Collector Member
374 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 20:48:20
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| I think the 5 gallon is more long storage as if you fill it to the top, you need to either dolly it or empty half of it before moving (if its about the same as pennies) |
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misteroman
Administrator
USA
2565 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 22:52:28
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Mark,
Go to any pizzeria where you order food from and ask them for their hot pepper jugs(empty of course) or bleu cheese jugs if they get in the one gallon jugs. They will be large enough to hold quite a few but not too large where you can't lift them. All plastic as well |
Buying CU cents!!!! Paying 1.2 unlimited amounts wanted. Can pick up if near Ohio area. |
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wolvesdad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2164 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2010 : 02:54:55
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| 75 years from now some lucky kid in a space suit is going to be metal detecting in the area formally known as Northern Illinois and he is going to come upon a massive primitive stash of pre-Confederation, US era monetary disk units! S C O R E !!! |
"May your percentages ever increase!" |
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markshell
New Member
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2010 : 09:26:00
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quote:
Originally posted by wolvesdad
75 years from now some lucky kid in a space suit is going to be metal detecting in the area formally known as Northern Illinois and he is going to come upon a massive primitive stash of pre-Confederation, US era monetary disk units! S C O R E !!!
Well, after all, "it's all about the kids". 
Always willing to get the next generation interested in monetary disk unit collection... |
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TheSilverTiger
Penny Sorter Member
USA
25 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2010 : 14:36:53
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| I'm not sure if anyone here has suggested the use of old liquid laundry detergent bottles before. They are made of thick plastic and have a very sturdy handle built into it. Unlike one gallon milk containers, they are very rugged and can handle the weight of the coins. Everyone does laundry, so you can get them for free from multiple family members and friends (I tell them it is for school projects for our three year-old). Once they are filled you can carry them to there final hiding spot. I place the partially filled bottles in the laundry room next to the washing machine. It blends in very well there. I think as long as you wash all the bottles cleanly, there shouldn't be any type of chemical reaction with the coins. |
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AGgressive Metal
Administrator
USA
1937 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2010 : 20:18:41
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| The Nickels themselves won't be damaged even if the lids rust. I'd just put a tarp underneath and around everything so they can't drift away down into the earth. Things have a way of settling downward over the years, as I found when burying "dead" GI Joes as a kid, haha. |
And he that hath lyberte ought to kepe hit wel / For nothyng is better than lyberte / For lyberte shold not be wel sold for alle the gold and syluer of all the world.
-Caxton's edition of Aesop's Fables, 1484 |
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Aristobolus
Penny Sorter Member
76 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2010 : 23:58:35
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quote:
Originally posted by TXBullion
Ardent, its my understanding you have quite a hoard of nickels. Do you also sort them? I was wondering if people just keep them in boxes and stack em rather than store them in containers. I was thinking of trying to fill up a 5 gallon with Nicks just to have one and have something to look at Whats the benefit of keeping them in containers (just privacy)
I have been filling up a 5 Gallon for the last few years. But you TX Folk always think big! What about a barrel? I remember when I was a kid, one of my friend's dad had one filled with Wheats. It looked cool. |
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wolvesdad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2164 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2010 : 02:26:30
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| I've heard of those barrels on ebay! |
"May your percentages ever increase!" |
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Cody8404
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
602 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2010 : 16:33:27
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I have had this idea to take a large PVC pipe, 8-12 inches in diameter in a section 1-3 feet long storing what I need in it and plug the ends with the PVC end and then bury it.
It you bury it right, and some one accidentaly finds it, no one would crack it open thinking they have just reached a plugged pipe unless they uncover the whole thing at once. Large area to store if you pack it right.
Haven't priced this, but I have looked at it a time or two. |
Awake, O kings of the earth! Come ye, O, come ye, with your gold and your silver, to the help of my people, to the house of the daughters of Zion, to the help of the people of the God of this Land even Jesus Christ. |
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wolvesdad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2164 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2010 : 23:22:36
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I know that PVC would be a bad idea for SILVER. Not sure though if PVC does tarnish nickels also.
I think it does tarnish Copper.
Good thinking, but I think it may not be that great after all for coins. |
"May your percentages ever increase!" |
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Klark Cent
Penny Sorter Member
USA
68 Posts |
Posted - 07/21/2010 : 21:32:00
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Hello,
So what all reasons are there to bury your nickels?
1) to avoid having them stolen
2) to avoid provoking a home invasion (like if a plumber sees them)
3) save space above ground
Anything else?
Just curious. |
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Long Term Nickel Storage Underground
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