Coins In Holders And Plastic Sheets Sticky And Green

Yep, it definitely sounds like PVC damage. Most likely it came from the plastic in the 2x2s. It could have come from the pages as well if they contain PVC.

Pure acetone is your friend in this case. Remove all of them and soak in acetone. I also use a q-tip with acetone to manually remove any residue after the soak.

After that of course, purchase new 2x2s that are sold specifically as Mylar or non-PVC. If you're unsure about the pages, replace those as well with non-PVC ones.

Check out the Mexican 50 centavos in this batch I did:



As soon as I put it in acetone, chunks of that green gunk started to lift off.

Acetone is the safest thing to use and will not classify your coins as "cleaned". It is inert to the coins and will not harm them. Just make sure it is pure acetone and not something like nail polish remover with additives. You can find it at hardware stores in the paint section.

I use small wide-mouth glass canning jars for acetone soaks. It's important to keep it sealed while soaking or the acetone will evaporate quickly. If you wish, you can place a paper towel in the bottom to avoid coin to glass contact.

You will have to be very careful using any mechanical methods (like the q-tip I mentioned). That can possibly leave scratches on the coin and may lead to a "cleaned" designation.

Also, for the plastic sheets I am holding my coin holders in, they smell distinctively like a petroleum based product. Very chemically (is that a word? Doesn't matter... I just made it up lol). Would you say they are PVC as well and should look at getting new ones or are they fine. My wife said they distinctly smelled like rubber while I smelt cheap petroleum based products.

How old are they and do you remember where from? If same as 2x2s, hmmm....I'd get all new, from a credible source, I use http://www.jakesmp.com, nice family run business, always good stuff, great service.

The cotton itself on the q-tip is not the concern. If you are moving it around on the coin surface, it can pick up harder debris and run it along the coin's surface as well, causing hairline scratches. There is a method I've had some success with and that is rolling the q-tip head over the surface, not wiping or scrubbing. A lot of remaining residue/debris will stick in the cotton fibers. That way, you're not actually scrubbing, just lifting the debris. If the coins are circulated, this is less of a concern.




If in doubt, get new ones for sure. They're not expensive. I have used a couple different types and really like the Guardhouse 20-pocket "thumb-cut" pages. They're made of polypropylene (safe) and can be had for less than $0.50 each online depending on how many you buy. I get mine off ebay.

I've also used the BCW 20-pocket and 12-pocket pages. They're safe but have a tendency to tear and I really like the thumb hole on the Guardhouse pages. Also, the Guardhouse page design is easier to use and less likely to tear.

I recently had some experience with old Cowens pages and I wouldn't recommend them unless they've changed their formulation. This was a small collection that sat for probably 20 years and the pages were hard as a rock and some of the larger denomination 2x2s had to be cut out because they were stuck to the 2x2 plastic.

Since all of your coins obviously have the same issue, I would start with two containers of acetone, one for soaking and one for rinsing (by "dunking"). Once the soaking acetone looks nasty, replace it with the rinse acetone and get new acetone for rinsing. Alternatively, you could use something like an eye dropper to use fresh acetone for the final rinse of each coin and catch that acetone to replace the dirty soaking acetone. You shouldn't rinse coins with water as the final rinse. Water is the enemy. Fresh pure acetone will be very dry, so the coin will be also when the acetone evaporates. If you are in a humid climate and you notice water condensing on the coins as the acetone evaporates, introduce a little air movement to prevent the water from condensing.