I was putting some coins away in my safe and I realized that I have a couple of stacks of 2X2’s rubber banded together. Reason it jumped out at me is because I think I suddenly remembered a thread a while back where rubber bands had done damage to coins. I know my brain is becoming addled but did I dream that? Do rubber bands damage our coins?
IIRC, rubber bands contain sulfur and sulfur will tone coins. Even when not in direct contact, like when the coin are in a 2x2 and the rubber band is around the 2x2, if the coins are in an enclosed space I imagine the bands will emit some sulfur. I make a point of not keeping any elastomers in with my coins.
Every time I see them they have a similar look to this. 2014 1 oz Silver American Eagle - Rainbow Rubber Band Toning - BU - SKU-E2938 | #4661867520
If you still want to bundle those coins together for a particular reason, you can tie them up with string, Randy.
I just need to go see my coin buddy and talk him out of another one of those boxes he has. I needed an excuse to go pester him anyways.
@Randy Abercrombie You see not imagining anything. You are correct and those rubber bands will soak through a 2 x 2 flip or even a plastic flip. In one B of those boxes that I didn’t open for years was this. I bought a stack of these silver rounds and the one is from the top of the stack and the bottom photo is from the opposite end of the stack. A nice rubber band was holding them together. The rest were find.
Here was a thread on the PCGS forum where someone had an Eagle tone from the rubber band. It's better to avoid them on any coins in flips that you want to keep untoned. https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1122248/rubber-bands-and-ases-don-t-mix
Mobilon rubber bands are latex-free and sulfur-free. They are made of polyurethane. Polyurethane bands can be bought from ULine. Mike
Yeah, I was wondering about silicone rubber bands. From some quick research, they're unlikely to offgas anything very bad for very long - but they can absorb stuff from their surroundings, and then let go of it later. Seems like wrapping coins with anything that presses their flips or holders against their surfaces would be a bad idea, though?
Here's an example that I actually like. 1877-CC PCGS VF30 (color corrected to better represent the coin in-hand)
I'm a contributor to that thread over there, thanks for the reminder. I need to update the status of my experiment. Some time ago I put some latex-free rubber bands on an impaired maple leaf i had laying around. No sign of toning from it yet.
Sulfur is often used in manufacturing items made of synthetic rubbers including SBR, EPDM, nitrile, and neoprene. All are latex free. However, some items made from synthetic rubbers are sulfur-free. There is a simple test using lead acetate paper that can determine whether a sample of rubber contains sulfur. Mike
Don't sweat the small stuff. My experience has been that the offending objects deteriorate to the point of abject dissolution.....they fall apart and disappear.
I remember reading that thread a long time ago ... and I directly went to my 2x2s and removed all the rubber bands ... just to see the destruction left behind to some of them.
