Blister packs for uncirculated coins

I recently bought a few Canadian Silver Wolf half dollars (0.9999 fine silver) and a few 1982 US George Washington Commemorative Half Dollars. They were both sent to me in the original mint-packaged pastic blister packs. (see attached scans).

My question is whether they should be kept long-term in these packs. The scan doesn't do justice to the Washington coin, but after 25 years, it's in perfect condition. MY inclination is to leave well-enough alone.

 

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I have a few Canadian Maple leaf silver bullion coins from the late 1980s that are still in the original mint plastic and look the same as the day they were minted. I don't know if there is any theoretical danger of PVC but I haven't experienced any problems.

 

Same here Dreamer. I have the Canadian Maple Leafs from the late 80s to date and they all look like they were just minted. I can't say for the US coin though. Don't know if it's a different type of plastic or not. Maybe "just leave well alone"? Hope that helps. Probably should not listen to me though. Maybe someone with more knowledge on plastics or PVCs?

swick

 

Does anyone know what these blister packs are made of?

 

Do you know if that is PVC and if not, is it safe to be in contact with silver for decades?

 

Short answer: no. It's not PVC or made from PVC. -- STRIKE that. Rephrase. Pliofilm is made *from* rubber and PVC is made *from* something else. *HOW* it's made is a different matter altogether. There are other things such as "plasticizers" and I don't know what they are or what they're made from.

Long answer: um, read this cuz I don't know chemistry. http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Plastic-Wrap.html

What worries me now is that Pliofilm is made from rubber. If you've ever had a rubberband break and land on a silver bar in your safe you already know why I say that. It pits the bar and makes it turn black. However, in this day and age, "rubberbands" may not be made from rubber. Or maybe rubberbands have a plasticizer or something.

However, pliofilm has been used with coins (actually touching the coin) and it doesn't seem to affect it.

Hopefully a chemist will happen along (JustCarl? MrBrooklyn?) and explain this to folks like me who don't speak chemistry.

 

The US mint sets are composed of four layers of plastic. (pre-'84)

The inner layers contain PVC and are likely to hurt the coins in time. You can't
find a 1968 cent in the mint set anymore that doesn't have carbon spots and
95% of them are terrible.

 

It's the sulfer used in vulcanizing rubber that causes rubber bands to put a black line on silver.

 

It's been years since I've seen a 1968-P cent in a mint set that doesn't have carbon spots.
Even in 1985 the vast majority were affected. I've sampled many hundreds of sets in the
last few years and about 98% have spots on both sides. You might think this would leave
a few unaffected but it apparently doesn't work that way because all of them are damaged.
There are several other coins and dates that are close on its heels. The '68-S cent is getting
up to around 95% damaged though not as many are ugly. Even the '84-D is getting close to
60%.

Every once in a long while you'll get a set that's been exposed to water or moisture and has
delaminated. It's most common on the '75 but I've seen others as well. The interior layers
are extremely thin and pliable and would appear to contain PVC.

People figuring there will always be a good supply of gems in the mint sets are in error for
four reasons. First, these sets are disappearing and won't always be available. Secondly
some gems don't exist or are rare in mint sets. Thirdly, the coins in the mint sets are disin-
tegrating, and finally, many moderns (including most varieties) were never placed into mint
sets.

Generally damage to coins in the sets is not of critical importance to date, but if you've ever
tried to find a nice 1968 cent without carbon spots then you'll be much more concerned with
the condition and availability of the sets.

 

This problem is hardly unique to US mint sets nor are the US sets the worst. The
old New Zealand sets have a lot of PVC and the Japanese sets from the mid-'70's
are probably the worst. The coins in these sets are usually just about destroyed
by the plastic. There may not be many survivors since it was necessary to remove
them and clean them in alcohol or acetone. Few people have cared enough to do
it and it is probably to late for most of the sets still around.

Some of the packaging is stable and generally the proof packaging fares better. The
hard plastic blister packs mostly look OK but you can't tell with any of these except
by watching them over a long period of time.

 

Well, I don't really know for a fact that these internal layers contain the
harmful plastic. I've just assumed they do since they are soft. I have
seen what looks like deposition on coins in the sets if stored under harsh
conditions but this might not be a plasticizer.

I just tried to burn some but it was inconclusive since the sample was so
heavily weighted with the outside layer. These are exremely difficult to
separate.

 

Dreamer,

In the FWIW category, I've moved all my Canadian Wolves to the 34mm AirTites, simply because there was too much of a chance of banging and nicking of the coins if left in the original sheet of 10 that I purchased. Besides, mounting the wolves in a black ring Air-Tite and then mounting the Air-Tite in one of their 3x3 black boards makes a darn fine display, IMNSHO. :thumb:

 

I was worried about nicks also. They are beautiful coins and the Air-tites will show them off better.

 

That makes it very unlikely that they contain PVC. PVC is a hard rigid plastic that has to have added plasticizers to make it flexible. Since the mint set packaging is VERY flexible that would tend to indicat a significant addition of plasticizer. After this amount of time the oily plasticizer would be clearly evident on coins removed from the holders I would think.

 

I have 3 1968 sets in prestine condition ...should I remove them from the original packaging ...they were kept separate in a collection for a reason each set has full red pennies with no spotting and at least one double die in each pack ...came from a superb collection recently...do u think I should cut them out and store them better or would the value hold better as a set in original packaging

 

Hi Koda. Welcome to the forum. Folks here are helpful as can be but don’t often pay much attention to these old threads. You can start your own thread and you will get answers galore.... Myself I like to keep mint sets together. As long as the plyofilm is intact and no spotting is on the coins, I keep them together.