Do zip-lock bags hurt coins?
byergo
Posts: 586 ✭
I've found it convenient to store coins individually zip-lock bagged in a cedar cigar box. This includes both raw and slabbed coins.
Is this storage method going to cause me problems down the road? I want to "head off" any problems before they start!
Is this storage method going to cause me problems down the road? I want to "head off" any problems before they start!
Buy/Sell/Trade Rainbow Morgans
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Comments
B.
A Tax is a fine for doing good.
Wood boxes can produce colorful toning also, BTW.
For coins that already slabbed, you could probably get away with storing them in zip-lock bags and a cedar box as long as the box was kept in a cool, dry place. I would not however put individual pieces in bags and a cedar box though unless they are inexpensive circulated coins, and I definately wouldn't use this method for untoned proof coins or untoned MS coins if you want them to remain untoned. IMO, a wood box is generally not the best place for storing coins unless they are already in an inert, virtually air tight holder beforehand. A better idea may be to first put the coins in air tight holders or at least mylar 2X2s before putting them in the zip-lock bags, and then put the box in a cool, dry place and check on the coins every few weeks just to make sure.
Dragon
and most are airtight like the zip lock an excellent place to store slabs in a cool reasonably dry place with intercert shield protection
simply the best sincerely michael
Tony
Proud of America!
I Have NO PCGS Registry Sets!
Joseph A. Levitt
Director, Center for Food Safety
and Applied Nutrition, HFS-1
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
200 C Street, SW
Washington, DC 20204
Dear Mr. Levitt:
We are writing to bring to your attention the results of recent tests conducted by Consumers Union that bear on the safety of foods wrapped in certain types of plastic packaging.
As part of a project on endocrine disrupters in foods (see CONSUMER REPORTS, June 1998, pages 52-55), we tested cheeses wrapped in several kinds of plastic, to determine whether plasticizers present in the wrapping had migrated into the cheese. We found various results with different types of plastic packaging. Samples of individually-wrapped slices of American cheese and of products in laminated foil/plastic wrapping (e.g., Cracker Barrel cheddar cheese) contained no plasticizers attributable to packaging. But cheeses wrapped in PVC film in stores contained very high levels of the plasticizer DEHA [di(2-ethylhexyl)adipate]. Seven samples with this type of wrapping contained 51 to 270 ppm (average 153 ppm) of DEHA, which clearly had leached from the PVC film.
Many of our samples contained phthalate plasticizers, in particular dibutylphthalate (DBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP). The DEHP concentrations were as high as 3.7 parts per million (ppm). However, the wraps used on these cheeses did not contain either phthalate as a primary plasticizer, and concentrations in the cheeses could not be clearly attributed to migration from the wraps. Other possible sources include glues and inks used on the printed labels, and background environmental contamination in the cheese itself. Both DBP and DEHP have been shown to be present in dairy foods independent of contact with plastic wraps.
Our sampling was limited; we tested only 19 products, purchased in a variety of supermarkets and smaller stores in the New York metropolitan area. Despite that limited scope, we found evidence that plasticizers occur widely in cheeses. In particular, the consistent high levels of DEHA we found in cheese packaged in PVC cling-wrap deserve priority attention.
While there is no conclusive evidence that the levels of DEHA we found in cheese are harmful, per se, there are reasons for concern about the potential health effects of this plasticizer. DEHA is a teratogen and causes reproductive effects in animal studies. In the NTP carcinogenesis bioassay, it induced liver tumors in mice. It has not been adequately evaluated for its potential endocrine effects—a risk we consider potentially more significant than carcinogenicity. Because of its reproductive and teratogenic effects at high doses, we believe it needs careful evaluation for possible effects on the endocrine system, and that a precautionary approach is appropriate until better data are available on that question. Frankly, we consider 153 ppm a startlingly high level of a packaging migrant in any food, let alone one like cheese that is consumed in large quantities by children.
In Europe, the EEC Scientific Committee for Food has recommended a tolerable daily intake of 0.3 mg/kg/day for DEHA, and the Commission of the European Communities has established a provisional specific migration limit of 18 ppm for DEHA migration from plastic wraps into foods. DEHA levels we found in cheeses exceed this health-based SML by a wide margin, and could result in many consumers' exceeding the TDI.
The problem of DEHA migration from PVC wrap into cheeses has been documented in several other countries. In the UK, where the issue first was reported in 1987, the problem was largely eliminated in a few years by substituting polymerized plasticizers for DEHA in PVC film.
The phthalates, principally DEHP, that we found in most cheeses at levels up to 3.7 ppm, also raise some health concerns. Among other effects, some of the phthalates have shown estrogenic activity in animal studies. It is not possible, given the limited state of current knowledge, to specify a safe level of exposure to hormone-mimicking chemicals—especially, again, in foods like cheese, which is consumed in large quantities by children. The levels of DEHP we found cannot be presumed to be free of risk, and in our view efforts to keep phthalates out of foods like cheese are worthwhile. On the other hand, since there are multiple sources of potential contamination of cheeses with these compounds, simple changes in packaging materials are unlikely to solve this problem. Nevertheless, our results suggest that it may be possible to reduce phthalate migration by paying attention to factors like the inks and adhesives on packages and labels—some of which may be sources of the phthalate contamination we found.
We offer you here the details behind our magazine report. We request that the FDA and responsible sectors of the food and packaging industries promptly investigate the problems our testing has brought to light, especially DEHA migration from PVC cling-wrap into cheeses, and take appropriate steps to eliminate these avoidable exposures to plasticizers in our food supply.
A report on our tests and findings is attached. We will be happy to meet with the FDA and other interested parties to discuss effective solutions to the problems our tests have revealed. If you have questions or would like additional details, please call Dr. Groth at 914-378-2301.
Sincerely yours,
Edward Groth III, PhD Mark Silbergeld
Director, Technical Policy Co-Director
And Public Service Washington Office
cc: Jerome Heckman, Keller & Heckman
Dane Bernard, NFPA
Courtney M. Price, CMA
Dagmar Farr, FMI
I do recall, however, reading that Ziplocs are explicitly free of PVC, in response to someone who asked the manufacturer directly. At least I think so... hope I'm batting .500 here.