Seed lots of the dry beans cultivars 'Carioca' and 'Rosinha G-2' were threshed by hand and through a stationary thresher. Each seedlot was divided in two parts being one stored under room conditions and another under cold dry storage (12oC and 45% relative humidity). Germination tests were executed up to 9 years of storage and vigor tests up to 4 years. Initial seed misture was about 12%, but decreased and stayed stable at around 10% under controlled conditions and an increase to around 14% was observed under room conditions, after one year of storage. Seeds stored under controlled conditions showed high germination values, over 80% up to seven or eight years, while those stored at room conditions were dead after 2 or 3 years. Seeds threshed mechanically and stored under controlled conditions showed germination percentages over 70% after 5 or 6 years and under room conditions, values around 30% germination were observed at 2,5 years of storage. The effects of treatments upon seed vigor were similar to the effects on seed germination, observed, however, in shorter period of time. In general, mechanical threshing and storage under uncontrolled conditions were deleterious to dry bean seed quality. Long term storage up to nine years, for dry seeds, is possible, if conditions are of low relative humidity and temperature. In this experiment, cultivar Rosinha G-2 showed a better longevity than 'Carioca'.