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 Replies: 14 / Views: 3,412 |
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Valued Member
294 Posts |
I've been using these to properly store all coins I thought needed better treatment than just lying exposed since I got into coin collecting a year ago. just recently I had a look at some of my coins, most of which had considerable or full lustre, and found them somewhat dull.
I'm not sure if I remember correctly the degree of lustre on the coins in question, and although I make it a point to take pictures of the coins I receive, they don't always show up exactly as it appears to the eye, so there is no sure way of determining if indeed these 2x2's dull coin lustre. what I remember for certain is that my uncirculated and beautiful Irish pennies appeared to have turned an opaque bright orange, a Weimar 3 reichsmark show up hazy spots on its fields, my 1954 Australian florin lose some of its original blazing lustre and my German Empire 1 Mark coins lose their lustre in the middle.
Has anybody noticed such things happening, using 2x2's? I keep them all in Ziploc bags and in covered containers and I thought I'd be able to rest assured regards toning.
Come to think of it though, I notice that the Mylar film look hazy too...
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
It is NOT the Mylar in the cardboard flip that can cause tarnishing.
It is the PVC of the PVC album pages that are used to hold the flips.
Unfortunately, that's what most coin dealers in Australia sell over the counter.
Get rid of the PVC album pages, and use either Mylar or polypropylene archival quality album pages; they won't cost you much more to buy, just a little harder to find.
Purple Penny has them in Australia, Google to find how to buy them.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
It is NOT the Mylar in the cardboard flip that can cause tarnishing.
It is the PVC of the PVC album pages that are used to hold the flips. Note he never said they are in Album Pages. Just in 2x2's and then in Zip Lock Bags. However, you should check the 2x2 flips. Some may well be made with PVC. Unfortunately most are made with no manufacturer's info on them so you really don't know who made them or when. And since your not in the USA, difficult to say anything about where you got them from. My suggestion would be to try ordering some from a USA company. Then replace those your now using with new ones. And remember that when you open a Zip Lock Plastic bag you allow new air and moisture to enter. Always push out as much air as you can before closing. |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
My bad; I guess that I am relating my own experience.
Anyway, NON pvc pages are preferable.
From my experience, ALL zip (clip) lock bags I have come across are made from polyethylene. This material, as I understand it, is quite harmless as regards the tarnishing of coins.
Perhaps a tiny silica gel packet (recovered from pharmaceutical tablet bottles), could be included in each clip lock bag.
There remains the possibility that there could be some remaining food particles or whatever in the clip lock bags or sealed containers. Such should be cleaned out thoroughly before re use for coin storage.
Edited by sel_69l
10/15/2014 09:38 am
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Valued Member
 294 Posts |
yep I only put them in mylar BCW pages or in Ziploc bags, air always pushed out when re-sealing. I use Leuchtturm 2x2's, and I haven't heard of any PVC cardboard 2x2 flips produced by them. I think I remember seeing no such haziness on the Mylar windows of the 2x2's I got from the US, or in one case from an English speaker based in Greece. perhaps that might explain it actually, but I don't know, maybe someone with experience with Leuchtturm 2x2's could chime in?
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Moderator
 United States
187702 Posts |
Where do you keep these covered containers?
You will have a problem if it is not climate controlled (low humidity and stable temperature).
How well do the containers seal? Do you have a desiccant material in the containers to help remove moisture?
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Valued Member
294 Posts |
in the bedroom, where it is airconditioned at least overnight and I leave the door closed in the day to try to maintain at least a cooler temperature and smaller temperature deviation. don't use desiccants though. for the Irish pennies they are in BCW pages kept in 2 layers of Ziplocs, the other coins mentioned in decorative boxes, probably very dense cardboard, which do not seal air-tight actually, but then again these are the only coins showing such a reaction.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19931 Posts |
It sounds like you're doing everything right. My only suggestion would be to add a sacrificial copper cent to each bag to adsorb any incoming, harmful gasses. Generally, I like to scrub these clean with steelwool so they readily absorb stuff.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3692 Posts |
That's an interesting tidbit about the copper, Thad. Coming from you I suspect this is good advice, I'll have to check that out, although I never have this problem.
Cool, dry place for me. Toolbox (the red kind), has holes here and there, I also add dessicants.
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Valued Member
294 Posts |
yes, that's a pretty interesting idea too. i'll try that. does anyone here use Leuchtturm at all or am I a minority by the way?
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Valued Member
United States
70 Posts |
From working in the photo industry for many years, I was taught the smell test for any plastic used for storage. If it has a chemical odor don't use it, you want a nice plain type odor.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
yes, that's a pretty interesting idea too. i'll try that. does anyone here use Leuchtturm at all or am I a minority by the way? Unfortunately that is a problem. I've been using 2x2 cardboard flips for a real, real long time. I've purchased them in coin stores and coin shows and so far, NONE have a brand name on them. AND they are not all the same. I've noticed some are thicker than others. Some are fraction larger or smaller than others. Some have that plastic duller and some have that plastic thicker. Obviously all are made by different companies or the one company that makes them all changes them all the time. IF yours has a name on them, that is good since at least you have someone to discuss them with if not satisfied. Again, Just make sure you push out as much air as possible in those Zip Lock Bags. And you may want to consider using a 3M type clear tape on the edges instead of staples. That way nothing can get to your coins. |
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Valued Member
294 Posts |
Ok, so I've just taken another good look after a month or so of this topic's creation and I think I might have misjudged, the coins are actually not affected at all. The Irish pennies mentioned are not opaque orange, it must have the lighting doing some weird things at that time somehow. Maybe the 3 reichsmark already had those milky spots when I received them, only that I might not have noticed it at the time.
all the capsules I've bought just to holder my better coins after this false alarm haha...
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Pillar of the Community
United States
767 Posts |
Hey remember the saddle ridge hoard? Those coins were buried in rusty old cans with dirt and rocks surrounding them for 100+ years, and some of them became the highest grade examples known.
Maybe we should start putting our coins in rusty old cans, then pour dirt and gravel on top of them for safe keeping.
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Valued Member
294 Posts |
haha maybe, but those were gold coins and only the likes of Aqua Regis would harm them. whatever I have now would just rejoin the earth gradually. and at any rate I'm not contemplating having someone else enjoy my collection by a stroke of luck, unless they put down some particularly rare coins in exchange... but what do I know, maybe decades in the future i'll really resort to rusty old cans and burying them with a little note to the lucky devil who digs them up centuries later
speaking of the saddle ridge hoard, wouldn't that just make one envious with all that gold? I know I'd like to make such a find myself too haha
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Replies: 14 / Views: 3,412 |
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Posted 10/15/2014 09:06 am
