Cardboard 2x2 Question

There aren't any with PVC.

I should have posted this in the numismatic forum.

Some 2x2s dating from the 70s used PVC. And some cheap'n'nasty Chinese imports might also use PVC, you never know these days.

As for "How can you tell", well, unfortunately, the only way to be sure is to put some nice Unc coins in them and wait a while to see what happens.

PVC isn't the only "nasty plastic", it's just the one that grabbed the headlines in the numismatic press back in the 1980s. ANy plastic has the potential to be "as bad as PVC", because it isn't actual PVC that causes the damage to coins: it's the acidic plasticizers they put into the PVC to make it less brittle and more transparent.

All that being said, there are chemical tests you can run to test for chlorine in the plastic, which is usually a good sign of either PVC and/or acidic plasticizer. A simple, 19th century test you can perform for yourself is the "Beilstein test": take one of the suspect 2x2s and tear it apart to take out the film. Get a piece of copper wire and bend the end of the wire into a small loop. Wrap (or melt) a piece of the film around the loop. Get a bunsen burner, propane torch or similar flame, and hold the wire loop with the film attached to it in the flame. If the flame turns bright green, there's chlorine in that thar plastic. Here's a Youtube demonstration.

I'd stick with buying 2x2s and supplies from your reputable LCS. There are some questionable products online that have been posted in this forum in the past.

Hello. Very good question. Seriously, does this really matter? It seems as though it might the way it is talked about. Again, very good question. J

Don`t forget the first and simplest test of all. If it smells like a shower curtain it contains PVC.
It`s not the 2x2`s you should be concerned with, they are extremely unlikely to contain PVC.
Album pages, soft plastic coin folders, plastic flips, and even the outer layer of ICCS flips, usually do contain PVC.

As an aspirational Canadian when I retire, I am glad to help. Maybe someday we will be neighbors, though if we are I am sure I will be cranky by that point in time and just tell you to get off my lawn, kidding of course. . .

My chart will work for PS, PP, and PETE no problems. Almost all major plastics are on the chart. Only problem is probably finding PETE on the chart, it is just polyester, it is right beside the polystyrene on the bottom of the chart in the middle. PETE is basically the same as PET or aPET or cPET or PETg. Just a basic polyester.


I will say this, PVC is basically the only plastic problem I know of with coins and even if you didn't care about safety or product quality, it would never be contamination in another plastic part on purpose. I have been to a PETE recycling facility (curb side recycled pop bottles made into pellets for more pop bottles or green strapping for shipping departments). They have some PVC contamination issues due to the label and some PP contamination issues due to the bottle cap. If you do run it mixed with PVC, it shuts down the machine as it burns at a much lower temperature. Almost zero chance of having PVC contamination and a visually appealing part. It would have pepper like black marks in the clear plastic if it were contaminated and you wanted to check.


I don't see where you have rubber. I am not a rubber guy, just a plastic guy, but rubber is cured / vulcanized by sulfur and sulfur would tone coins. I wouldn't use rubber, but that is just gut feeling. I don't have the experience to say on rubber honestly. Never worked with it other than Nitrile Rubber as a PVC additive I used to make pellets that ended up in cars in the form of pull cords and hoses.


If I was making my purchase, I'd avoid the polystyrene as it is cheap and brittle relatively. Probably fine for a coin, but if I am using it, I want it cheaper as PS is generally cheaper unless benzene is doing its rocket fuel imitation on price like it does from time to time. It could also have a white oil plasticizer in it too, but I highly doubt it as it would be extra cost for no practical use. Only way I could see white oil getting in there on accident would be using recycled material (which is how China got a bunch of lead in kid's toys roughly 5 - 10 years ago). PET is very tough.


Short version.
My chart (not mine, but my link) will work no doubt.

I'd avoid the PS part and use the PET or PETE part as long as the clarity is good enough on the PET parts. No concerns with the PP on the inside of the slab. That's probably what I'd use too, that or PE. I never worked much with PP and only a little bit with PE though honestly.

Assuming it isn't hollow, does the white piece float?

If it floats, it isn't PVC, that will prove it out 100%.

I'd guess it is PP or PE. They are generally moderately rigid when that thick though. Maybe a TPO or TPE (basically PE or PP but modified and the modifiers aren't issues with regard to coins either).

When burned did it drip? If it did, it isn't PVC.

When burned did it produce a white smoke that smelled awful? If it didn't, it isn't PVC.

When burned and you move the flame away did it self extinguish or continue burning. PVC will self extinguish.



Short version, if it floats without an air bubble, you have no concern as far as I can tell.