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In a recent Wood magazine they had an article about a set of Fostner bits (designed to drill nice flat holes in wood) that have been designed specifically to match the diameters of US coins. It seems that the standard sizes while accomodating many of the € coins quite well are a bit too large for US coins. These allow you to make plaques and displays that hold the coins without glue. I think it's Rockler that has them.

 

Ah, here they are.

 

US Coin Sized Fostner bits

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In a recent Wood magazine they had an article about a set of Fostner bits (designed to drill nice flat holes in wood) that have been designed specifically to match the diameters of US coins. It seems that the standard sizes while accomodating many of the € coins quite well are a bit too large for US coins. These allow you to make plaques and displays that hold the coins without glue. I think it's Rockler that has them.

 

Ah, here they are.

 

US Coin Sized Fostner bits

 

 

It would be a mistake to place coins in wood. Almost all woods contain large amounts of tanic acid and it is quite harmful to coins. At the very least it causes unsightly and ugly toning. Don't place coins in, on or anywhere around wood.

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It would be a mistake to place coins in wood. Almost all woods contain large amounts of tanic acid and it is quite harmful to coins. At the very least it causes unsightly and ugly toning. Don't place coins in, on or anywhere around wood.

 

Out of curiosity, do you happen to know the affects of prolonged contact to teflon with regards to coins of varied metal content? In creating a wooden "coin case", it should be possible to neutralize or lessen the effects of the tanic acid by first neutralizing the acid with acetone, then apply a coating of teflon based Master Seal into the coin grooves.

 

And, though maybe on the slightly costly side, anyone desiring to truly manufacture wooden "coin holders" (I don't see why you would want to spend $100US+ for drill bits unless you were doing it to manufacture on a small scale), a coating of some form of inert plastic substance could be used in the holes, although at that point the "snug fit" offered by the drill bits defeats the purpose.

 

Even the very air we breath is dangerous to our beloved coins, yet we find ways around the bad and come up with ways to accomplish our goals without hurting our coins. :ninja:

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Teflon is inert so I doubt it would have any effect. I also doubt it would any good, since unless you cover the entire piece of wood with the teflon, the wood is still going to affect the coins.

 

Coin cabinet makers discovered this centuries ago. That's why all good quality coin cabinets are only made of one wood - mahogany. It has the least effect of all woods on coins, but even it still has an effect.

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GDJMSP - this tool doesn't mean that it has to be used for wood, does it. It can be used on wood, plastic, cardboard etc like Dansco and other major companies.

 

I actually would like such custom made sets though - would look great on other foreign sets that I am working on :ninja:

 

A forstner bit used on the cardboard of a coin album would likely shred the album. With plastic, it would get very dull very fast. These bits are made to be used on thick wood and generally when you are planning on drill all the way thru to the other side. They have a starter point on them that can be 1/4 to 1/2 long - wouldn't work on an album at all.

 

What you need to drill out albums are hole saw bits, but getting them in the sizes you want would be tough. You'd have to have them custom made.

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A forstner bit used on the cardboard of a coin album would likely shred the album. With plastic, it would get very dull very fast. These bits are made to be used on thick wood and generally when you are planning on drill all the way thru to the other side. They have a starter point on them that can be 1/4 to 1/2 long - wouldn't work on an album at all.

 

What you need to drill out albums are hole saw bits, but getting them in the sizes you want would be tough. You'd have to have them custom made.

 

Forstner bits don't have the long starter point so that they leave a flat bottomed hole. They are for NOT drilling all the way thru the wood.

 

I recently bought a set (not the coin sized ones) for a project and love them.

 

Also, I imagine if you can find metric bits, you could get the right sizes cheaper than those. Maybe.

 

Fatcat

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Forstner bits don't have the long starter point so that they leave a flat bottomed hole. They are for NOT drilling all the way thru the wood.

 

I recently bought a set (not the coin sized ones) for a project and love them.

 

Also, I imagine if you can find metric bits, you could get the right sizes cheaper than those. Maybe.

 

Fatcat

 

 

Really ? What do suppose these are then ? Forstner bits

 

I've been in the construction business for almost 40 years, I know rather well what they are and what they are used for.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Teflon is inert so I doubt it would have any effect. I also doubt it would any good, since unless you cover the entire piece of wood with the teflon, the wood is still going to affect the coins.

 

Coin cabinet makers discovered this centuries ago. That's why all good quality coin cabinets are only made of one wood - mahogany. It has the least effect of all woods on coins, but even it still has an effect.

 

I don't think a bit of cabinet toning would be all bad for certain coins. Plus, coins with nice patinas wouldn't be that impacted. isn't there some coating these days that would virtually make the wood imert?

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Not sure why anyone would want to insert a coin in wood unless just for asthetic purposes only. And temporary looks at that. All woods are pourous and contain many, many different substances and many of them leak out over a period of time. Not good for coins. Note that all woods are similar but due to climatic differences, invironment, animals and even people, the actual chemical substance analysis of all woods are different. Placing a coin in a slot of wood can produce a meriad of different results. Lumber companies spend a lot of money drying out woods for just general usages and even more so if the woods are to be used for specific needs. Summation is it is just not smart to have coins come in contact with wood.

As to Teflon. Remember that that is a trademark name by DuPont. Not all things called Teflon are in reality Teflon. As patents run out others begin to produce those products. Occationally other manufacturers will produce a similar product but change many ingrediants to avoid law suites.

True Teflon is a Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene and there are presently many studies on the long term efffects of this product on everything including us. Although it was stated that Teflon is INERT here, that is not true. Inert is something that does not combine with other substances.

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In a recent Wood magazine they had an article about a set of Fostner bits (designed to drill nice flat holes in wood) that have been designed specifically to match the diameters of US coins. It seems that the standard sizes while accomodating many of the € coins quite well are a bit too large for US coins. These allow you to make plaques and displays that hold the coins without glue. I think it's Rockler that has them.

 

Ah, here they are.

 

US Coin Sized Fostner bits

 

Great info Art.

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Perhaps we need an inert gell to cover the coin with.

 

I have first hand seen wood damage on my coins. I keep my mint and proof sets in a wood box. Well one mint set had a small hole in it, and the wood did its damage. I have since taped the hole, not much better, but it is protected from the wood.

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I don't think a bit of cabinet toning would be all bad for certain coins. Plus, coins with nice patinas wouldn't be that impacted. isn't there some coating these days that would virtually make the wood imert?

 

The wood could never be made inert, but I suppose it is possible to completely encase the wood so that the gases & chemicals it contains could not reach the coins. But if you were to do this, wouldn't it defeat the purpose of using wood to begin with ? I mean, why use wood if you are going to completely encase it so it cannot be seen ? Why not just use an inert material to begin with to make the cabinet out of ?

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Would lining it with felt protect the coin from the wood?

 

 

No, it doesn't protect them at all. It is the gasses that the wood puts off that harms the coins and the gasses go right through the felt. Also, you then have the issue of the felt itself - the felt harms coins as well. Think of an unc coin sitting in a coin cabinet on that felt - what do suppose that felt does to the surface of a coin ? What is the first thing you learn about handling coins - never touch the surface, only the edges. This is precisely where the term "cabinet friction" comes from. All old coin cabinets were covered with felt and sometimes velvet. As the coins moved ever so slightly every time the cabinet was opened the surface of the was slightly scratched by the felt or velvet. And of course then you also have the issue of the glue or adhesive that is used to attach the flet to the wood. This puts off harmful gasses as well.

 

No, I'm afraid that every possible variation there is for using wood as a storage medium for coins has been tried many, many years before any of us were born. And they were found to be lacking. The reason we have modern acrylic & plastic coin holders today is because they are the best things there is to use for coin storage.

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I keep my coins in airtight Lighthouse capsules so it is harder for the wood to damage them if they do at all. Even then my cabinet is mahogany with rosewood inlay and so more inert than other woods.

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As long as the argon was inside a modern and hermetically sealed coin holder - you would have the ultimate coin holder.

But then by removing the coin's physical interaction with the environment, it becomes a bit less real.

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