Zinc rot, can it be stopped or slowed, sorry if this subject has been covered before

Ringgy

I have been goin through my 1983 cents trying to find the best uncirculated examples I have , I can't find any without some sort of black spot starting, and in reality, I have not seen any on line for sale either. Will any be around in 20 or 30 years? Or will they be just a memory, would something applied to them like a light coat of thin oil do any good? like butcherblock? or once the smallest amount of zinc is exposed it's over? has anyone tried to conserve them in some way or are they all doomed ? one more thing, is zinc rot contagious? Will it spread if the coins are stored in tubes? Thanks everyone!

291fifth

That looks more like corrosion of the copper plating than zinc rot. Once it starts the damage is done since the surface is being permanently pitted. The coins may have been subject to humid conditions even though they were in tubes.

Shamika

Zinc rot is inevitable. At best you can delay it by storing these in cold dry environments.

Anyone paying premiums for Zincolns is inevitably in for a rude awakening.

Namvet69

Me thinks that once the zinc is exposed, the chemical reaction begins. The copper layer is extremely thin. The best source might be out of mint sets. Good luck.

asheland

That’s a shame.

BillJones

@Shamika said:
Zinc rot is inevitable. At best you can delay it by storing these in cold dry environments.

Anyone paying premiums for Zincolns is inevitably in for a rude awakening.

I owned a nice 1983 Doubled Die Reverse Cent years ago. I saw some pieces that had the zinc below exposed when I was shopping for it. I figured those coins were goners and ran away from them like Forest Gump.

I sold the piece when I was dealer. I had gotten in certified, and it was an NGC MS-66, Red holder. In one way I miss it because it was a net doubled die coin, but for reasons cited above, I really don't.

Mr_Spud

I recently started putting my mint rolls of zinc Lincoln’s and magnesium golden dollars, along with other modern mint products, into mason jars each with a large desiccant cartridge in them. I’m using humidity meter lids. This picture was right after I put the jars together, the relative humidity is now reading 10% after they were in there a couple of days. Prior to this I had them in larger airtight containers with lots of desiccant but I’m thinking the smaller mason jars should work even better for long term storage. Someday, about 20 years or so, most of these coins made with corrosive metals will all be totally full of spots and I’m hoping mine will still look nice.

The mason jar lids are available on Amazon and are called Hylids. I’m using this type of desiccant cartridges

batumi

Hoping they stay corrosion free, Mr. Spud, though I shy away from the coins made with zinc and magnesium alloys.

jmlanzaf

Shellac

Ringgy

Wow! thanks everyone! I like the mason jar lid idea, might just give that a try! my favorite coin is the cent! By far the most fun to collect as far as I'm concerned, but the way things are going the cent may not be around for much longer, with inflation the way it is, that will be a sad day!

gumby1234

I have owned this one for about 30 years. No zinc rot.

emeraldATV

It's better to burn out than to fade away. Zinc.

PerryHall

I've heard of people storing raw coins in cans or jars of oil to prevent any surface corrosion. I'm not sure what kind of oil is used but I would imagine pure mineral oil would work. Sounds messy and it's not something I would ever try.

ricko

It is a sad situation we have with the zinc based cents. Any damage to the copper plating - even porosity - will allow the humidity/temperature etc. to begin the rot process. The modern cents collected in albums will mostly be doomed. Cheers, RickO