pvc damage or toning?

Hi there, new to coin talk and I have a question for you guys. A few years back I bought a few thousand worth
of coins off of an eBay member
that I thought was selling coins at a
fair price. It turned out though that the seller was sending them to me in pvc plastic flips. Me not knowing any better left them in until I noticed
some of them were turning green.
After finding out why I took them all
out and put them in 2x2's and now
some of the coins I'm having a hard
time telling if there toned or
damagd. Can anyone tell me if this
coin is toned or damaged? And how
does one tell the difference? Sorry
about the quality of the pic it's the
best I could take with my camera
until I figure out how to take better
ones and I'll probably have pics of more coins coming.

 

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The green gunk looks like PVC

 

Flip, I thought it was toning. I know this coin is not worth much but now I'm worried about the others. I was really hoping I got to them in time.

 

In my opinion, that's not PVC damage. Try an acetone soak and then use a Q-Tip. Should come right off.

 

Looks like the green slime from pvc soak in acetone it'll didsolve

 

Doesn't the pvc attack the coins by contact? I had a franklin half dollar that had green slime on the high points. A deep in acetone removed it but the pvc kinda etched the surface.

 

If you mean instantly, then the answer is no. It takes time. And technically, PVC is safe, it is the plasticizer (softening agent) that is the problem. By the time you see green slime, the damage has already begun.

And to the OP, acetone will remove the green almost instantly if it is PVC. If the color remains, it is not PVC.

 

Im talking about actual contact surfaces. The green on this coin is on the field, which is protected from making contact with the flip.

 

The plasticizer vaporizes and will cover the entire coin in time regardless of whether or not it is making direct contact. Hence, why you can smell PVC. It smells like shower curtains. Does that answer your question?

 

Yes. And luckily my coin wasn't in that flip long enough for that to happen. That's why I asked the qyestion. Do you see why I asked that question now?

 

Btw, I'll go smell my shower curtain now, so I know.

 

If the OP is referring to the field around the perimeter (recessed areas around the wreath), that actually is tarnish/toning.
I'd still give it an acetone soak though, because the flip has left PVC residue.

 

I would drop it in a bath I had that problem once and gave it a acetone soak and cleared right up. Post a picture after the soak

 

Thanks for the responses guys I guess an acetone dip is the only way to know for sure. And since I have more questions about this pvc stuff I thought I'd post another pic of another coin that I have. It's a 1888 Newfoundland 50 cent coin that looks like it has alot of pvc all over it. Does anyone think it could be salvaged with an acetone dip or is it too ruined? I'd like to try to save it and get it graded by iccs if possible. And what would you guess the grade to be vf20? f15? I was thinking an f15. Lastly, would cleaning the coin lower the grade? I'd be happy to get this coin into a vg8 iccs flip instead of it only being worth metal value. Man am I ever ticked off this ebay seller sold me these coins in pvc flips. I really don't know if I should be kicking him or kicking myself.

 

sorry Bryant were you referring to the newfoundland coin or the first one?

 

Both. The Newfoundland one should clean up but it will affect the grade because of the pvc damage kinda causes small pitting you will see under magnification.

 

The acetone soak won't damage your coin just LIGHTLY rub it with a q-tip I normally do it while its in the bath. Don't try to rub it with your thumb or dry it with a paper towel. I normally dab dry with a micro fiber towel just air dry.

 

Here is one that is about a VF-20 and you can see how it is starting to "tone". See the difference?