Anybody familiar with this? I have been watching some YouTube videos by Rarity7 coins, including ones where Noah unboxes CAC submissions and reviews the anointed coins and the rejects (usually wearing a sticker from John Albanese explaining why no bean). In one video, a number of MS Walkers in OGH's had been sent for approval, and a surprising number came back with a dreaded red sticker marked "pvc." Noah commented on a sort of haze on the coins from the pvc. I am familiar with the green stuff on coins from PVC flips, but have no experience with the haze. With that on my mind I was looking at some coins in a raw box and spotted this Peace dollar with a sort of foggy look: especially notable in the fields on the left; tilting the coin around there was definitely a hazy look. I could not see the classic pvc green color though. I went ahead with an acetone soak for a few minutes. after rinse and dry this is how it looked: Sorry, I accidentally repeated the pre-soak photos. Anyway the haze was gone, and the coin much brighter, I had to reduce the exposure in the second set of photos. Has anyone else observed this kind of haze? Can it be caused by something besides PVC?
Good work with the acetone. Without the telltale green gunk, I confess I could probably not diagnose PVC contamination. Nor do I know what was going on in the specific case of that coin, but I think the acetone was a good precaution. PS- lovely better-date coin, BTW. Seems pretty decently struck for a '21 Peace. You really liberated its luster there without messing up the natural color.
The color of PVC can vary based on it's age, how the coin is stored and the type of coin. The thing to keep in mind about acetone is that the surfaces under the PVC may be really ugly.
Definitely a lot better looking, the luster much better. I have ran across many coins stored in old pliable plastic flips, Yes some have a green tint or spots, but some just were just hazy. No discernable color.
Now that the film is gone, I'd call it an AU58 there is a trace of rub onthe high points of the cheek and neck. It also revealed a light scratch on the cheek only visible at certain angles (you can see it in the photos if you look closely) which might or might not preclude a straight grade.
The coins I got from grandpa were all originally just piled in a box. He was a heavy smoker, and their house was heated with coal at least for 5-10 years after he'd acquired the coins. Then I stored them in Mylar (I think?) 2x2s in album pages about 1972-2023. I think the album pages have PVC, so I don't know how readily that would get through the 2x2. None of the coins had developed the green gooey stuff, but many were dull, and some with hazy spotting. So my possible causes were tobacco smoke, coal, PVC, or? I submitted them to ANACS and included conservation. I don't know what ANACS did but they turned out great. Examples:
I imagine this may have belonged to a smoker, but I’m just guessing. The oily cloudiness was obviously organic in nature so the acetone worked great. Original on left, After acetone bath on right. It may help to expand to full size.
