Interesting Article: How To Test If Your Coin Protectors Contain PVC

That test is a long known test,for me anyways. I do not agree with how they said to treat it though. They should have said to use 100% pure acetone,not nail polish remover which most readers would most likely use.
John1

They tried but they clearly do not know what PVC is, and in the test they have you do if you do it the way they say you may get false positives. You DO have to thoroughly heat your probe at first, red hot or better. What you are doing when you do that is burning off any contaminants that may be on it before you melt your plastic sample. You should heat it til the flame burns clean, then collect your sample.

The name of the test is the Beilstein test and it is a test for halogens, Florine, Chlorine, Iodine etc. PVC reacts because of the Chlorine in the PolyVinyl Chloride.

It is actually a combination of the two. The plasticizer leaches out of the plastic and gets on the coins. As the PVC ages it outgasses HCl Hydrogen Chloride. The plasticizer absorbs the HCL, and it is also slightly hygroscopic meaning is absorbs water vapor from the air. The water and the HCL combine to form Hydrochloric acid which the plasticizer holds in contact with the coin. The acid attacks the metal of the coin, mostly the copper, forming Copper Chloride which is green in color and which provides the green color associated with the "green slime" of PVC damage.