Need PVC exposure advice

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by VRSilver, May 11, 2023.

  1. VRSilver

    VRSilver Member

    I'm filling out a collection of modern Canadian coins, and I just received the cents in the mail. They're all housed in what I expect to be a PVC-heavy storage page though. Do they all have the plague now ? I just wanted to reholder them into 2x2's and put them in my own non-PVC stockbook pages. What should I do ? Thanks.


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  3. Lon Chaney

    Lon Chaney Well-Known Member

    I say put them in your pages and hope for the best.
    I had a similar Canadian nickel set in an old folder with the same type of pages. They all seem fine still. I sold most but kept the better dates.
     
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  4. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    Unless they are getting sticky, I think you are "good to go"
     
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  5. VRSilver

    VRSilver Member

    Ok ty. it doesn't seem like they've rotted in there or anything.. I'm more concerned that they'd be contagious in some way to other coins stored with them than I am over a filler penny set.
     
  6. mpcusa

    mpcusa "Official C.T. TROLL SWEEPER"

    You got to watch out for PVC ! it can create a nasty film inside the holder and
    even ruin a coin, look for mylar and as a goos alternative.
     
  7. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Not necessarily. The PVC residue is released and deposited on coins in gaseous form. In the beginning it's very small amounts, but as time goes on it accumulates. So what really matters is how long those coins have been in those pages. So they could be fine, or not.
     
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  8. kanga

    kanga 65 Year Collector

    As I understand it, gooy green means PVC.
    Dry or crusty green means verdigris.

    PVC can be removed with an acetone bath.
    Don't wipe; just let it air dry.
    And if not long term exposure you should be okay.
    Just follow the acetone warnings on the container.

    Verdigris is a bit of a different story.
    That actually involves cleaning (bummer).
     
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  9. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Yes, PVC residue can be transferred from one coin to another, but only by direct coin to coin contact. The point being, as long as the coin/s with PVC residue on it/them is in a holder - that can't happen.

    Your biggest concern when it comes to contamination would be if you stored those coin pages in the same container as you do other coins. You do not want to do that.

    But, if you do happen to put a coin or coins in a holder while it/they still have residue on them, then those holders have become contaminated and can never be used on anything else. Keep that in mind.
     
    Last edited: May 12, 2023
  10. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    PVC residue, when it's first deposited, and for a while after, on coins is crystal clear and usually cannot even be seen. It is only after it has been there for some time that it begins changing color, and it can change to several different colors. It can change from clear to various shades of green, tan, brown, and black. And as it dries out it can be any of those colors. And once it does dry out it becomes flakey and crumbly and is no longer filmy, slimy, or gooey at all.

    Yes it can. But I strongly recommend that acetone never be used on copper coins as it can sometimes cause them to turn weird colors. With copper coins use xylene instead as it removes PVC residue just as readily and easily, evaporates just as quickly, and does not sometimes cause the weird colors on the coins.

    I also recommend that once the xylene rinse is completed that each coin be rinsed in clean distilled water and allowed to air dry overnight with the coin standing on edge on a soft towel while leaning against a countertop backsplash or something.
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2023
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  11. kanga

    kanga 65 Year Collector

    I was aware that xylene behaved very much like acetone.
    And your "weird color" comment explains a past problem I had on a half cent coin.
    The coin came out with a blue tint on it and when I sent it in for slabbing it came back as a "detailed" coin.
    So, in the future I'll use xylene on copper.
    Thanks for the heads-up.
     
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  12. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    ...on Funk and Wagnall's porch :)
     
  13. Mountain Man

    Mountain Man Well-Known Member

    Just to be safe, and have peace of mind, I'd put them in a known folder. Why take a chance for a couple of bucks?
     
  14. VRSilver

    VRSilver Member

    Thank you guys for the feedback and info. Since my initial post, my problems have multiplied. I now have a set of Elizabethan Nickels in a similar situation.. so I think I'm going to have to rethink my housing options.. -_-

    Idk whether to just acetone everything "just in case" or not.
    I was planning on 2x2ing everything and organizing in a stock book with other coins, but if that's hazardous it can't happen now.
     
  15. VRSilver

    VRSilver Member

    They sell Whitmans for Canadians, don't they ? Are Canadian coins reactive to the cardboard in them like our steel cents and Zincolns are ?
     
  16. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    All coins are, regardless of where they are minted.
     
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  17. ldhair

    ldhair Clean Supporter

    I'm not sure but I have been told that high humidity will allow PVC to be released faster. Any truth to that?
     
  18. Player11

    Player11 Bullish

    They seem ok from the photo. Me - I would put in 2x2 and go from there.
     
  19. johnmilton

    johnmilton Well-Known Member

    I had a number Lincoln campaign pieces sent to me in PVC holders that were breaking down. The guy had bought them in an auction and never taken them out of the auction holders.

    I got the stuff off with Goo-Gone and the pieces were fine ... no problems. They were all white metal pieces.

    I would not leave those coins in those holders, but that's me.
     
  20. VRSilver

    VRSilver Member

    They aren't going to remain in the PVC, I'm just not quite sure how I'm going to deal with them yet. I have a whole set of pennies and nickels both like this now and that's more than a couple coins.. I've never heard of using goo-gone before but idk much about treatments. I've always been fully against cleaning coins.. except, as I say, with the exception being for actual conservation. And this may fit my rule I never actually use.. so I'm debating the use of acetone. My Elizabethan dime set is on the way now and I'm 110% sure they aren't coming in shower curtain plastic so lesson learned..
     
  21. VRSilver

    VRSilver Member

    That's a bummer.. I've only ever had problems with certain ones so I assumed it was due to composition. I'm not a big fan of the albums with plastic pieces on both sides either bc I've experienced slide-marks first hand and they suck.
     
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