How many decades will TPG plastic hold up?

[CSdot]

Was just wondering what it would be like if my interests changed or life interfered, and I put my collection away for 50 years as if it were in a time capsule.

 

How many decades will TPG plastic hold up? Would I come back to find lumps of time dissolved plastic encasing and possibly ruining the coins forever? Seems ironic. Have the TPG companies studied and tested this yet?

 

Recently I was in my attic helping my daughter find the Easter stuff (she wanted one of those plastic Easter Eggs to play with), and the plastic storage container was sticky, as if the plastic was slowly deteriorating. If you put your coin collection in the attic for 50 years, would the TPG plastic slabs react similarly to the ravages of time? Do they hold up better in a bank SDB?

[Kurtdog]

I just keep mine in my safe in my bomb shelter that was built in the 1960s in case the Soviets attacked and change the desiccant every 3-6 months.

[TonerGuy]

You might also want to post this on the "Ask NGC" board. Im sure they can tell you what tests they have put their plastics through and an estimate of how long they will last in different environments.

 

Im curious to see their response as well.

[Walkerfan]

If stored in a cool, dry environment and left alone they should easily be fine in 50 years.

[johnny9434]

If stored in a cool, dry environment and left alone they should easily be fine in 50 years.

agreed

[CSdot]

Too bad if live on the coast in the Southeastern US.

[halfpint]

 

How many decades will TPG plastic hold up?

 

...it's hard for me to imagine anyone keeping them that long without at least one time having them re-slabbed or re-submitted for an upgrade..

[coinman_23885]

How many decades will TPG plastic hold up?

 

...it's hard for me to imagine anyone keeping them that long without at least one time having them re-slabbed or re-submitted for an upgrade..

 

+1

 

With this said there are plenty of rattlers and NGC soapbox holders still around from the late 1980s.

[BROADSTRUCK]

I helped build a greenhouse with clear acrylic panels around 1985 to 1986... I saw it last year and it's still standing with the only maintenance being re-caulking. The panels are just hazed over and yellowed from UV exposure and the elements. I think a slab kept in a dark dry place would last for centuries especially one as dense as Segs which could double as a deadly weapon if tossed at someone.

[Conder101]

Most acrylic plastics will last a LONG time if not exposed to extended periods of heat or strong UV light. The storage containers probably deteriorated because they were stored in the attic. Attics are typically very hot, especially in the summer. As long as you don't store your slabs in the attic, or fastened to the roof of your house for 50 years, they will probably be fine.

[RWB]

Also, do not store your plastic slabs under an elephant's foot. They will not last long there.

[Mr.Mcknowitall]

Also, do not store your plastic slabs under an elephant's foot. They will not last long there.

 

Not scientifically proven. Facts only, in research.

[CSdot]

Or in coffee tins under a tree near a dog path in gold country, CA.

 

If the Saddle Ridge Hoard coins had been slabbed coins buried either in a tin can, or even in NGC/PCGS slab boxes, would the coins be in as good a condition as they are now? Would time, weather, heat, cold, moisture, etc. take more of a toll on coins in TPG plastic than what they experienced raw in their tin cans? I suspect moisture can get into a slab, and extreme cold (freeze) would lead to cracked brittle plastic, but my main concern would be the effect of heat.

[RWB]

"Not scientifically proven. Facts only, in research."

 

I saw a photo of a human who was stored under and elephant's foot (wild version) for just a few moments and the poor fellow had not "held up" well at all. If we extrapolate the pressure placed on the squished human and the strength of a plastic slab, it will likely be found that storing plastic slabs under an elephant's foot may be injurious to the slab's structural integrity. I would not speculate on the elephant's integrity.

 

If you care to supply the slabs – high value coins only, please – the elephant, a test location and measurement devices, plus peanuts and a mouse. I will examine the results for you - for only a small fee. Also, I just bought a certified genuine “Walter H. Breen” rubber stamp complete with his purple ink, from the AnyGrade Coin Grading service in Russia. They also sent me a supply of Breen stationary so I can issue real Breen letters of authenticity. Thus, a certified letter from Breen can be issued on the results of the elephant test.

 

[RWB]

...are they "real Breen" or "has Breen" ... ? Hmmmmm.

[Mr.Mcknowitall]

"Not scientifically proven. Facts only, in research."

 

I saw a photo of a human who was stored under and elephant's foot (wild version) for just a few moments and the poor fellow had not "held up" well at all. If we extrapolate the pressure placed on the squished human and the strength of a plastic slab, it will likely be found that storing plastic slabs under an elephant's foot may be injurious to the slab's structural integrity. I would not speculate on the elephant's integrity.

 

If you care to supply the slabs – high value coins only, please – the elephant, a test location and measurement devices, plus peanuts and a mouse. I will examine the results for you - for only a small fee. Also, I just bought a certified genuine “Walter H. Breen” rubber stamp complete with his purple ink, from the AnyGrade Coin Grading service in Russia. They also sent me a supply of Breen stationary so I can issue real Breen letters of authenticity. Thus, a certified letter from Breen can be issued on the results of the elephant test.

 

[Mr.Mcknowitall]

...are they "real Breen" or "has Breen" ... ? Hmmmmm.

 

I've breen there,, when I shouldn't have breen there....

[RWB]

"Breen there, brun that?" Let's hope not...

[PerryHall]

I just keep mine in my safe in my bomb shelter that was built in the 1960s in case the Soviets attacked and change the desiccant every 3-6 months.

 

Why would the Soviets want to change the desiccant?

[RWB]

"Desiccant" was very rare in the old Soviet Union. You could be thrown into the Gulag for just a little desiccant such as complaining about scratchy toilet paper or questioning why party leaders had country dachas and all you had was a lousy one-room apartment for 12 people. The Soviets wanted to remove all desiccants – even from U.S. bomb shelters.

 

Does that help?

 

[Kurtdog]

I just keep mine in my safe in my bomb shelter that was built in the 1960s in case the Soviets attacked and change the desiccant every 3-6 months.

Why would the Soviets want to change the desiccant?

I just wanted to see if anyone was paying attention.

[orifdoc]

RWB, your sense of humor aligns well with mine....... that should probably make us both nervous.....

 

To the OP, keep in mind that there are many different kinds of plastics out there. Many are manufactured with volatile plasticizers. These generally don't hold up well over time, but those wouldn't generally be used for a slab.

 

Gold coins and gold/copper coins are essentially inert, so storage conditions don't matter as much as with copper, copper/nickel, or copper/silver. Almost any plastic will degrade if subject to high temperatures, UV radiation, or with direct contact with active environments (soil, underwater, etc.). In a clean, dry, dark environment slabs probably protect a coin better than anything else except for perhaps a coat of lacquer or varnish.

 

To me, the rigid outer part of the slab isn't much of a worry. I'd be more concerned with the paper insert, the inks on it, and the soft, plasticized gasket in many designs which is in direct contact with the coin. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to find rim gasket toning patterns on many coins in 40-50 years.

 

The perfect slab would be inexpensive, tamper-proof, completely inert, optically clear, scratch-proof, impervious to damage or fracturing, and allow visualization of the entire coin. I'm assuming the TPGs have arrived at a reasonable compromise. The very existence of their companies demand long-term survivability of their product. I assume they've at least given it some thought....... 10,000,000 warranty submissions for conservation and re-slabbing would be a bit of an issue.

 

Compared with other alternatives, slabs still seem a better bet than albums, rolls, flips, or tubes. Even with those "primitive" methods, many coins we enjoy today are in pretty darn good shape for their age. You won't look as good in 50 years as your collection will, especially if you're ever stored under the foot of an elephant, even briefly.