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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;-jeffB, post: 2913626, member: 27832&quot;]I was going to reject this, but I think I can see a mechanism for it.</p><p><br /></p><p>If there&#039;s acid in the paper, it&#039;s going to attack the staples, producing metal salts -- not just iron oxide, but iron sulfate, or chloride, or something else, depending on what acid is in the paper.</p><p><br /></p><p>Those salts are often <i>hygroscopic</i>, which means they attract and concentrate moisture from the air. More moisture, plus remaining acid from the paper, produces more damaged coins. In fact, depending on what acid is there, you <i>could</i> get sulfurous gasses coming off. (Check my work, chemists, but what about iron reducing sulfate to sulfite, which easily disassociates in an acid environment to give off SO2?)</p><p><br /></p><p>I feel more science projects coming on...![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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