I have a few ounces of gold coins that I store in air-tites. I am considering buying a vintage, hand-tooled leather pouch to keep them in. Am I at risk for damaging the coins?
Yes, you could accelerate toning on them. That isn't really damage, and it it is just bullion they will retain their value, but if it is unattractively toned it may make them more difficult to sell. See here for pictures of toned gold coins, some of which may have been stored in leather: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/old-anacs-graded-toned-gold.294544/#post-2708819
Ugh. Don't like the looks of that at all. Well, it was a good thought... Thanks for the reply, I think I'll pass on the leather pouch.
I pay a premium for toned gold.... just saying I tried storing some $2 1/2 Indians in leather for a couple years and they didn't change at all. If leather DOES tone gold, in takes YEARS
Since chromium is a product often used in tanning, most leather is processed overseas in countries that allow it ( usually flows to the ocean or ponds. Acidic products can be in the leather, such as tannic acids, so not a good idea for most coins. Gold would take a long time. Faux leather might be OK as usually texile+plastic mix.
Someone could always get Tom from "Mountain Men" on the History Channel to process the leather. He doesn't use any chemicals and tans all of his leather products by hand. Chris
I bought this to store Mexican 2 pesos gold coins... no coins in it yet, other coins coming first lol
The only way I know that doesn't use chemicals is the old chewing it as it is rawhide at that point. How are Tom's teeth ( if he has any ?) The skulls from ethnic groups that did this ( mostly women) are worn down to the nub. Jim
The show does have segments showing him tanning elk, deer & beaver skins, but I've never seen him chew on any. Wait a minute! On second thought, I do recall that he used a solution to help remove fat from the hide. After applying it, he scraped it off. I may have been wrong in my earlier comment. Chris
He probably uses brain tanning. This is the way the native americans did it: https://www.leather-dictionary.com/index.php/Brain_tanning
In reality, it depends. When it comes to the toning of any coins we must always remember that there are a great many different variables all of which have an effect on the speed of which something happens or doesn't happen. A leather bag is but one variable !
