I was looking through my silver coins last night, i have around 350 of them, and noticed something that i am wondering about. The coins are all stored the same way, in the same place. they are in stapled 2x2's and put in pvc free binder pages that hold 20 2x2's per page. Some of the coins are keeping lustre very well, and some are turning very dark, almost black, or getting very dark specks on them. The main ones i noticed coloring this way the worst were a 1934 Fiji Florin, a 1997 Portugal silver proof, a 1941 New Zealand 1/2 crown, and a 1934 German 5 Marks. At first, i thought it may have only been the lower purity silver coins doing this, but the 5 mark is 90%, the rest are 50%. What would the reason be for these few to be coloring this dark so fast? Could it be something that was on them before i got them? or do i need to store them differently?
It could be how they were handled or treated before you acquired them, but from your explanation, I'm inclined to think that your climate control may be the culprit. Also, if you don't already have any dessicants, I'd suggest that you get some for each album. Chris
Look at where in the folder they are. What kind of binders are they, what is stored nearby? I am with Chris, its possible your environment is the culprit. It could be what happened before you, but it could be your conditions.
it possibly could be the binders, all they are next to are other coins in 2x2s and a binder of paper money, the enclosure they are in is all glass. theire positions in the binder of the ones darkening are in random spots not close to each other.
Do you smoke in the house? Maybe it could be the paper money being in the same enclosure. Best case, they've always looked like that but you now just noticed it. Did you holder these specific coins only and not the others? If so, it could be an acetone treatment (doubtful I'd think), old holders, etc.
