1, Is cellophane/plastic wrap (the ones you can get from supermarket to wrap food) OK for coins? Is it as bad as PVC or worse? I want to use something to wrap one of those coin presentation cardboards. I hate having those coins falling off all the time. If plastic wrap is ok, what brand is good? 2, How do you tell between bagmarks, hairlines, scratches, or wears from circulation? 3, Can you grade a lightly to never circulated coin (one you get directly out of a new roll) as a MS+? I have plenty of coins that i got from postoffice/bank or "rescued" off circulation early in the year that it was minted, but they were stored/handled improperly before i knew any better. Should they be graded as circulated? But they do fit the description of a MS-60 coin according to the Charlton Standard Catalogue (of Canada). The grading guides i've run across are conflicting at best. I guess the key is to tell between circulation wears and the intrinsic bagmarks. Scratches are pretty obvious and should put a coin at grade between AU-50 and AU-55 at best (right?). 4, So i know cleaning is a taboo subject. But is there any way to remove old finger print? Soap and water don't seem to work. Has the grease on the print actually become part of the coin's toning process? The ones on bronze coins are most evident, and the ones on a large field are especially annoying. That's all for now, thanks.
If I understand your intended use - yes it would be OK. Food storage products are not allowed to contain PVC. But I might suggest that you use something else - mylar. You should be able to purchase mylar in sheets at larger copy shops or at any blueprint shop. The product is more durable and will offer better protection for your coins in a display.
Which begs the question: If cellophane/plastic wrap intended for food products do not contain any PVC, then how is the product made pliable? And why cannot coin envelopes be made of the same pliable product. I have never been comfortable with the very stiff, brittle, but non-PVC coin holders. Would like to see something with both advantages; pliable and non-PVC.
This is really something that comes with experience. There is no good way to describe the differences with words - you really need somebody to show you the difference in person. But you can get a pretty good idea by looking at pictures. Yes - coins found in new rolls can be correctly graded as MS. Any coin that does not show signs of wear can be correctly graded as MS. In what way are the grading guides conflicting ? As I stated above, if a coin does not show signs of wear it it can be graded MS. I know of no grading guide that says anything different. Scratches on coins are considered to be damage. And damaged coins are considered to be ungradeable. Now many people have a problem with that - they do not consider it to be reasonable. Nonetheless - that has been the standard practice among numismatists since even before the third party grading companies came into being. ANACS, and some collectors, use what they call net grading for damaged or problem coins. Using this system you assign a grade based on the condition of the coin excepting the damage or problem. Then you reduce that grade according to the severity of the damage or problem. The worse the problem - the lower the grade. But many, many collectors will have nothing to do with net graded coins. It's pretty much a personal choice.
Thank you Doug. Do you have any brand names? Don't want to mix this up for sure; I treasure each and every coin I place into a coin envelope.
Yeah, just to wrap up the presentation cardboards that host the US states quarters and the Canadian 1992, 1999, 2000 quarter sets. Given that they are inert material, I guess typical food wrap is an affordable option. They wrap things tugly when stretched. I heard some brands are made of biodegradable material though, great for the tree huggers but a big no-no for the coins.
No problem - they are known as Saf-Flips, manufactured by Kointain. You can find them HERE Click on the Kointain link of the left - then scroll down a bit
Interesting. Most of my scratched coins look better than any of the EF-grade coin examples i've seen online in terms of the relief defiinition EXCEPT for the one of two scratches on a region of a coin, in most cases the lustre is still present. For my coin collection documentation i have given a grade each to the obverse AND the reverse. Now the overall grade of the coin should be according to the lowest grade or somewhere between the two? Is that consider net grading as well?
No not really - there was a time when coins were graded by each side and given grades like EF/VF. Some collectors still do this. But it was found to be confusing to many and most stopped using the practice. Today coins are graded by the side with the lowest grade for the most part. Net grading is only used on problem coins - coins that have been damaged, harshly cleaned or artificially toned.
On the topic of PVC. How can someone tell if the plastic container, etc. has PVC in it?? I store many of my Commem sets and misc. coins in plastic storage boxes. These boxes are the type that you see at Hobby Lobby that are used for storing artist brushes, hobby items, etc.(hard plastic, hinged, carrying handles). I always store the sets and coins protected in their orig. boxes, flips or airtites and then put them in the plastic cases which stack neatly in the safe. I also use the stackable storage units with pull-out drawers like you see at computer stores which are also made of hard plastic. Are these cases, units, etc. a no-no? Do coins have to be in direct contact with PVC to be contaminated? These are storage questions I have always wondered about.
If it were me I would be more worried about the flips you got the coins in than I would the storage boxes. Most dealers use the PVC flips because they are cheaper. My basic rule is this - NEVER store a coin in the flip in which you receive it. If you are going to use flips at all - make sure you only use the non PVC brands. But then I never use flips to begin with - even the non PVC type have their own sets of problems. Coins are frequently scratched placing the coin into or removing it from the flip. Flips are charged with static electricity, this causes dust particles to stick to them which may then scratch or otherwise mark the coins. And the coins can easily fall out causing damage to the coin. But that is my personal choice. As to your other questions, most hard plastics do not contain PVC. But then there are different types of hard plastics too - and some do contain PVC. One way to tell, although it is not foolproof, is to smell it. If it smells like a new shower curtain, even remotely - do not use it for coin storage. If you can - check the labels on the boxes in the store to see what they are made of. If you are unsure - don't use them, it's not worth the risk. The reason for that is your other question - for no, coins do not have to be in direct contact with PVC for it to harm the coins. When PVC breaks down, it puts off a gas. And it is the gas that is harmful. It is what settles on the coin and turns to an oily film which will literally dissolve the coin. Storing coins in original boxes is not always advisable either - assuming the coins can be removed with damaging the packaging. Cardboard, like most all paper products, contains sulphur. It also typically contains various glues and resins. All of these things are harmful to coins. So if possible - remove the coins from the boxes and store them separately away from the boxes. And yes this includes all boxes & paper envelopes for US Mint products.
I only use non-pvc flips and all I store in them are tokens. When I store coins in the original package, I only do so when the coin is encapsulated (proof, mint sets, commem., etc.). Thanks for the great info. Now I feel a lot better knowing my coins are being stored as best as I can. Out of curiosity, I checked some of the coins that I have had in my collection for over 20 years and they look as good as the day I got them. They must "like" their environment!
Valuable info! thanks! Yeah, i'm beginning to question those 4.95$ oval presentation cardboards and those cardboard folders for the US state coins. They fit snugly and nicely organises all the coins but you can't see the obverse and the cardboards is mostly likely harmful.
I asked a plastics chemist who know of the old problems with PVC. He said, the brake down of PVC or (PolyVinyl Chloride) cased a chemical that eats coins and other things like photos. Also, most plastics contain chemicals called plasticizers witch makes plastics soft. These plasticizers will over time damage coins the same way as PVC does. He couldn’t tell me what to buy but he would guess that most houses hold plasics would be bad for my collection in the long term. He recommended I stay with the holders made for collectors or for keeping photographs, as they would not have such harsh chemicals (not all plasticizers are bad). If I wanted to order materials to make coin holders he recommended using Acrylics that are not modified to be shatter resistant or clear Mylar.
