Best way to store coin rolls?

[Goldseeker]

OK Fulvio you appear to be the expert.

What is your opinion of using the Aluminium Mylar Bags as indicated above for the storage of coins?

[kchan1111]

OK Fulvio you appear to be the expert.

What is your opinion of using the Aluminium Mylar Bags as indicated above for the storage of coins?

Good question.... I just figured they'd be the same as chips bags. No?

[kchan1111]

Looking at it - I think its too hard to work out if it's OK or not. I mean mylar is fine. What about aluminium? It's bad idea to wrap coins with foils alone. Who knows what other substance is in it. I might seal a few normal coins as an experiment first. Better be save than sorry.

[Fulvio]

OK Fulvio you appear to be the expert.

What is your opinion of using the Aluminium Mylar Bags as indicated above for the storage of coins?

Good question.... I just figured they'd be the same as chips bags. No?

Pretty much, yes. The main difference is the printing, obviously.

The film is multilayered, with ink and metal in the core, which is why you can heat-seal them. And the combination of mylar and metal stops pretty much anything getting through, unlike say LDPE, which as I discovered is not 100% impervious to corrosive gasses.

Of course, the big downside of metallised bags is that they're not transparent. And without the metal, the film is not impervious.

Looking at it - I think its too hard to work out if it's OK or not. I mean mylar is fine. What about aluminium? It's bad idea to wrap coins with foils alone. Who knows what other substance is in it. I might seal a few normal coins as an experiment first. Better be save than sorry.

No, you wouldn't want to wrap coins in foil. But keep in mind that metallised film is two layers of mylar with foil (and possibly printing) in between. So you don't have metal to metal contact.

[kchan1111]

Good stuff. Thanks Mr Fulvio!

[Fulvio]

Found this thread again after searching for chip bags.

I went shopping in between picking up my coins at the post office and crashing the car (Panelbeater has booked it in for 4 days on the 28th BTW), and I picked up 5kg of cocktail franks for $15! Half price, no less.

Anyway, obviously we're not going to eat that lot in a couple of days, so I figured I'd better go on a hunt for dad's missing Aldi Vacuum Sealer. Finally found it, but he had no bags! And it was getting a bit late to nip out and throw fifteen bucks at Aldi.

SOooo I figured I had nothing to lose with the chip bags, right? I've been stockpiling these things for a couple years now, pending future research, and I reckon this qualifies as research.

It mostly worked like a charm. 8 snags across the bottom of the bag, fold over, put another 8 in, and if its a long bag, fold over and get another 8 in as well. Stick it in the sealer, lock it down, make sure the snags are lined up right (I plan on putting a seam across in between the 2 or 3 rows later, so we don't have to cook 24 in one hit), and push the button. In a couple of cases it went straight to seal, probably because the bag had a pinhole in it. But those just went in the fridge to be used this week, while the rest went in the freezer.

And then... :diablo:

I was thinking about cooking a bag unopened (yes, it works very well, actually.. tried it for lunch), and the mind wandered to microwaves. Hmmm.. what would happen if you put this stuff in the microwave, I wonder?

Enquiring minds NEED to know!

I'm not going to bore you with pics, cos basically I didn't take any. But a couple of square inches of chip bag for two seconds was both more and less impressive than a CD! Less impressive because you don't get the sparkly little fireworks shooting off, but more impressive because the aluminium flashes into vapour instantly, has nowhere to go, so explodes out of the plastic. Blink and you miss it. And you end up with a shrivelled up piece of hard plastic, kind of like dried-up orange peel.

Try it. Its kinda fun.

Now the plan is to try it with a variety of other films I have lying about, and see if I can finally sort out the perfect coin solution.

[JeffH]

what would happen if you put this stuff in the microwave, I wonder?

If you asked me I would have strongly advised against it. Big LOL before I even read further.

[Fulvio]

Having done the CD thing years ago, I kinda knew what to expect.

[trout]

It's No wonder your Dad hid the sealer , After seeing what you do with the microwave :angel:
Have you had a crack at the zip seal bags yet Mate, I ran out of mine bagging a 10kg box of prawns the other day :dash1:

[kchan1111]

What materials are these vacuum sealer bag rolls made out of? I have looked through many online they simply said BPA free.

[trout]

What materials are these vacuum sealer bag rolls made out of? I have looked through many online they simply said BPA free.

I don't know what the plastic is but it doesn't have that PVC "Smell" to it :ok:

[kchan1111]

What materials are these vacuum sealer bag rolls made out of? I have looked through many online they simply said BPA free.

I don't know what the plastic is but it doesn't have that PVC "Smell" to it :ok:

Is PVC the only bad plastic you need to watch out for? I see bags and containers that say no PVC but that doesn't mean it is made out of "safe" plastics right?

[trout]

Fulvio is the "Go To" Man for plastics Mate.
He did explain the vaccy bag plastic to me once and I am pretty sure there is nothing coin nasty in it :ok:

[robbiegal]

remember years ago when the pckets came as shrinkies or something and you'd pop it in the microwave an it would shrink? kids thought it was great

https://youtu.be/-Bcfp5_8bz4

works better in an oven
https://www.madaboutscience.com.au/store/index.php?main_page=page&id=45

[Fulvio]

What materials are these vacuum sealer bag rolls made out of? I have looked through many online they simply said BPA free.

We covered this in another thread recently. They're a sandwich. LDPE on the inside for easy sealing, and PA (polyamide, AKA Nylon) on the outside for strength. There may also be extra layers including metal and/or printing.

remember years ago when the pckets came as shrinkies or something and you'd pop it in the microwave an it would shrink?

PS (Polystyrene)

http://www.csiro.au/en/Education/DIY-science/Chemistry/Shrinkie-Shapes

Is PVC the only bad plastic you need to watch out for?

Pretty much, yeah. Because PVC is naturally hard and white, and they add plasticisers to make it soft and clear. The plasticisers leach out over time, and basically soak your coins in acid.

That said, there are all manner of coatings applied to food packaging, basically to kill bugs and not people. Some of these antimicrobials may not be something you want around your coins long term. Just like you don't want timber products including cellophane around them either. Just stay away from organics entirely to be safe.

PET, PP, LDPE, HDPE and the 'hard' plastics are safe, but if its a bag that came with meat or fish in it, and it feels slimy, I'd avoid it. I'd also avoid PS, because its pretty fragile, and not pretty when it breaks down (try pouring some acetone into it! :diablo:)

The other thing to consider is gas and moisture permeability. LDPE, as I found out very expensively, lets both through really really easily. PET and PP are the best of the films, generally in Biaxially-Oriented form (BoPP, as in album pages or BoPET, aka Mylar, as in 2x2's, Saflips and the like). A BoPET mount in a BoPP page is probably as good as you're going to get, unless you add a metallised layer, as in the legendary Chip packet! Not exactly see-through though.

I am pretty sure there is nothing coin nasty in it :ok:

Quite so. See above.

Have you had a crack at the zip seal bags yet Mate, I ran out of mine bagging a 10kg box of prawns the other day :dash1:

Ziplock bags are LDPE. Which I no longer trust for long-term storage unless enclosed in something else that's more impervious.