Doug, I have no issue with letting a coin air-dry after rinsing with distilled water. I've done it often, mostly with ancient coins. If there is a need for speed, a pure form of acetone (about $30/liter from eBay or Amazon) will do the trick. However, acetone will also remove lipid-soluble substances, like oil, grease, plasticizer, etc., as well as water. And you're right; the coin surface will equilibrate with whatever gases, including water vapor, that are in its atmosphere. Cal
Not to argue, Doug, but THAT SPECIFIC BRAND of bag is NOT air permiable. It is layered and air tight. I have one of these machines and they will hold air-tight for years on end, or until you open them.
Crud! Okay... then I'll take the vacuum bag and encase it in clear-cast resin! There! All set! Hmm. Doesn't seem like I'll be able to enjoy my coins very much anymore, though.
Yer right Mikenoodle...these Foodsaver Vacuum sealed bags are completely airtight that is the whole purpose in buying & using them in addition to the fact that they're PBA free. And MLOVE43 you've a great sense of humor...and the pic you've chosen looks like a young Mickey Rooney!
not to get too off topic, but I have put Food Saver bagged steaks in my freezer for over two years, and when thawed they were just as fresh as new!
I do not know what the foodsaver bag are made from, but the comparison below seems to have saran plastic as one of the best plastics to prevent permeability, both oxygen and moisture. When viewing the chart remember that thickness is one of the factors, so figure that into the calculations. http://www.faybutler.com/pdf_files/HowHoseMaterialsAffectGas3.pdf
@desertgem What's the chance of you putting a picture of a pretty gem or mineral back into the box on the left? Your "new" photo is what I imagine Doug looks like in person!
Is there a difference between saran wrap and saran plastic? I would think in the wrong conditions saran wrap would contaminate the coin?
That's exactly the way I was taught to do it. I only brought it up because so many threads have little to say about the neutralizing step. To me that's where many mess up. A question for the chemists here. What actually works to neutralize an acid dip? The only thing I trust is baking soda and water. Are there options?
Tell ya what Mike, since you have some of those bags do a little test for me. Go buy a package of Oreo cookies, just about everybody likes Oreos so it won't be wasting money. When you get home, put the cookies in one of those bags and seal it up. Then just sit the the bag on top of your fridge and leave it there overnight. When you get up in the morning, go pick the bag up, put it right up to your face and smell it. I'm betting you'll be able to smell those Oreos. That's air permeable. But if ya can't, I'll certainly take your word for it.
Ok, One of the hard and fast rules of coin collecting is not clean any coin for any reason, BUT what is a safe and undetectable way of cleaning crud from circulated coins (pocket change, CRH)?
I find all of your comments about my profile picture to be offensive in the extreme. That is a cropping from my WEDDING PHOTOS, people!! Due to the low-res image, what you can't see is the toothpick hanging out of the corner of my mouth.
Not in any book I ever saw. They're your coins, do what you want to them. Now realistically if you take a REALLY rare coin and use a wire brush on it, the value will be very diminished. Circulated coins...wash them. If you want to be cautious, inspect them before washing to see if you have any that are old or might be valuable, and take more care with these. Otherwise, I would suggest separating copper and non-copper and soaking each in a container with water and a mild detergent for a few hours and then rinsing thoroughly a few times with hot running water.
In the USA, we loosely call all tissues "Kleenex" even though they aren't made by that company. It is common to call all plastic wraps "Saran Wrap", even if they aren't. Saran is the tradename of a specific plastic...polyvinylidine chloride...which was one of the early wraps in the USA. The current Saran Wrap, as most products on the plastic wrap shelf, is either polyethylene or polypropylene. I recently bought some plastic wrap in a Japanese store which said on the label "Polyvinylidine chloride".