Public Service Announcement about PVC

I'm sure everyone here might know this, maybe I'm preaching to the choir, but watch out for PVC coin flips. I checked my twin's collection which was sitting in his basement for about 20 years, and the results are in the YT short linked below if anyone wants to see.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Oh8305k5uSo?si=qpcTtS4LScUxwxt5

Green ooze stuff... fun fun fun!

 

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Most anything you buy now is advertised as being non-pvc. I thought the industry had mostly gotten away from this years ago.

 

Good point! Maybe it only affects the collections sitting in basements for 20+ years. I imagine there's probably some less reputable suppliers on Amazon or Temu that might not pass the test, but unsure.

 

Are you able to take care of the PVC problem?

 

So those coins were luckily all worth face value, I sent them back to the bank except one SBA wide rim that I gently wiped. It will not regain its luster. It's a details coins at this point, but luckily not ultra rare. This was my brother's collection that he got when we were kids, he isn't a collector so he wasn't hurt by it any.

 

PVC flips are very much available and are seen often on coin supply sites. It does seem though that most are now archival safe.

Bruce

 

I'm glad these were not really important coins. Cleaning up that many coins would have been a long process.

You don't see much of this anymore but many years ago it was common to run into binders full of flips with PVC problems. Countless nice coins were damaged. Even the auction houses were using the nasty things.

 

I'd be too scared to trying them... even if they were 100% perfect and scientifically proven. My simple brain wouldn't move past it. It's like saying, don't worry guys we figured out how to stop asbestos from causing cancer, who wants to use some in their home?

 

YYYYYYEEEEEEESSSSSSS! Thank you for adding that! I learned this too, luckily not at the expense of a MS 1914-D. That had to have been a bad day for someone.

 

I thought they were cool when they came out, all clear instead of the standard cardboard 2x2s...

 

I've been looking at advertisements for 2X2's and notice many people selling "Un-plasticized" PVC flips and calling them archival! I think the soft PVC flips were (and some still are) used by dealers to ship coins due to the softness of the flip (and they are cheaper)

 

I mean what you saw in the video was 20+ years worth of PVC storage. Wonder if just a few days are ok over the long run... not willing to find out though.

 

I think years are OK depending on the storage conditions.

 

Short term the soft PVC flips were best for shipping. There was less rub to the high points of the coin. Swings in temp and humidity made the flips start breaking down. The newer flips that are safer are more stiff like mylar but still require proper control of storage conditions.

The problem with the new flips is that they turn brittle over time and have to be replaced.

 

The Mylar ones do too