This is probably a stupid question...but as my old water polo coach used to say "There's no stupid questions, just stupid people" - so here goes. I have some of my coins in those common cardboard 2x2 flips which have been stapled closed (thats what they were in when I bought them and I have never removed them). Anyway, is there an easy way to tell if the plastic window in them contains PVC or not. Or, would the best thing for me to do is just order some that don't have PVC for sure. None of these coins are that valuable, nor would the he hard to replace if they got ruined. But, I would like to take the best care of them as I can because I like them. Also, I'm planning on putting a custom type set together using a binder and pages with 2x2 flips in them. So, I want to make sure that there is no PVC in those because I want to only go with higher grade coins. Therefore, I want to make sure those are safe. So, any advice would be great. Thanks!!!
I've never heard of PVC staple holders. I always though the windows were Mylar. If you want to put your coins in flips SAFLIP, IMO, is the best. You mentioned higher grade coins. SAFLIP or any Non PVC flips are hard material for the very reason that they are PVC free. For Unc or Proof you may be risking rubs trying to get them into a hard flip, especially with large coins. The larger the coins the more difficult it is get them into hard flips. I only use SAFLIP but I rarely buy an Unc coin so rubs are not an issue for a EF coin. And I usually buy circulated tokens anyway that are 20mm so SAFLIPs are perfect for these. There's also Air-Tites. I don't use them but they seem to have a loyal crowd and they're not that expensive either.
Well, I just don't these coins to get damaged. I bought many of these coins from an older dealer several years ago and sometimes I don't know if he was that worried about such things. So, I was affraid that these holders might contain PVC. So, were there holders like this made with PVC and if so, how would I tell? To be honest, until I joined this board the thought of PVC damage had never crossed my mind-so maybe 'm just being paranoid and ignorant as to how this damage occurs. But, I want to be on the same side. :smile The Kennedy half below is an example of this. I don't have any valuable coins storred like this but I still don't want them damaged mainly because I like them. Also, one of the reasons I am asking is I want to make a custom type set like I said before and I don't want to damage those. I haven't found a commerical made album that includes all the coins that I would want in MY type set, so I thought I would make a binder set with pages because I have seen others do that before. I was wondering what the best way of doing this would be and where to get the supplies (pages, best holders, ect...). I have never put together a custom album before so I really have no knowledge of the best way to do it. I do want to be able to lable each holder, but thats about it.
I am not really sure of the material of the plastic that is included in the 2x2's but I've had coins in them for well into 30 to 40 year range and no problem yet. However, that may just be a short term reaction. I'll let you know it there is any adverse effects in the next 100 to 200 years. Same is true of the plastic in my Dansco and Whitman albums. Not sure of the material in the plastic in them either. Now remember that all plastics are composed of synthetic organic materials that are basically non reative with metals unless exposed to a catalyst and proper temperatures to facilitate the reactions. PVC is a stable compound of Poly Vinyl Chloride and will not readily react with coins. In other words if you leave your coins in the plastic 2x2's and do not expose them to very high temperatures, very high humidity, other possible catalysts, nothing should occur regardless of the plastic materials components. That is usually mistaken on coins as a PVC reaction is usually caused by exposure to extreame heat leaving only a residue of the PVC there which did not react with the matal itself. Other items on coins is usually caused by exposure to the elements of our atmosphere. Not to get to tecnical but for instance the oddly misundersatanding of sulfur reacting with copper coins is absurd. The Copper in coins reacts with CO2 in the air first. The resulting compound is what reacts with Sulfites and Sulfates to create the geenish stuff we see on coins.
