Storage of notes

News: Welcome to the Canadian Paper Money Forum.

I noticed today that the notes I have at home have a stinky plastic smell. I am concerned that this might affect the notes. Would the plastic affect them?? is the a safe brand to buy that anyone knows of?? I am afraid after 20 years or so something happens..... ?

Mylar holders are generally considered to be the safest.  Avoid soft vinyl holders - the plasticizer eventually seeps out of them when the plastic starts to break down, and a yellow oily liquid soaks into the notes.  As far as I know it can't be removed, and the note is severely damaged, becoming translucent in the affected areas.  The smell you noticed makes me suspect this is what is happening with your holders.  I'd put the notes in something else immediately until you can acquire some good holders.

Hi Bob,

Could you provide a scan or an example of the mylar holder that you recommend since I'm not an expert in plastic.  

Thanks !

Here is how you can test your holders.
http://rarenotes.net/beilstein.html

Tom

I don't think a scan would tell you much.  They are rather thinner than the usual kinds of plastic holders.  The plastic is not soft.  You can get them from Denly's of Boston; I don't know whether there are Canadian suppliers.  If not, maybe I should start up a little business
I generally get a hundred at a time and so I don't need to buy them very often.

I use Lighthouse Vario brand pages.  

I did the Beilstein test as described above, a couple of years ago on 4 or 5 different holders - including the type eyevet uses. Sadly, the only one that didn't burn green was the one from Denly's of Boston.

I use a hard cover book (The best of James Harriot).
Is there any major problem with this?

Notes are almost 100% prone to becoming "pressed" if stored this way.  I'm sure pressed vs. original has been discussed in other threads already, so I won't elaborate here.

Skylark,

Unfortunately, by placing your notes in a book, you are exposing them to the acids present in the paper.  It is really no different than using one of those unsuitable plastic holders.

In my experience, it would be wise to seek out some Mylar folders (as previously suggested by others in this thread).  You should then keep the notes in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight.

If you own some older notes which are hand-signed, the inks in those signatures may contain Iron or Copper that will corrode over time. This may result in what appear to be "burn" marks directly in the area of the signature.  If you notice something like that, it is best to seek the advice of a professional conservator. (museums are a good place to ask around)

Hope this persuades you to take your notes out of your Encyclopedia Brittanica or favourite novels!

Cheers,
Dean.

Ok thanks thats good to know. I'll get right on moving them.  

I need a lot too... Perhaps twice what Cdn_Guy is planning on getting.  If anyone wants to coordinate a bulk purchase, maybe we can get a bit of a price break on an order of 1,000.  You can put me in for half that.

What store do you buy from?

What store do you buy from?

What store does who buy what from?

You can get the good ones from Don Olmstead.

Tom

I thought those ones had the same problem as most of them?

I bought some from Don Olmstead and did the belstein test and they are find. They are more expensive than most other brand.

I'll be talking to Don shortly by phone and asking about these holders.  Hopefully he will be able to have an inventory of them at Torex.  I'll post information here.  If anyone has some direct questions for Don, let me know here and I'll ask him when I talk to him.

I've spoken to Don about the holders and I will start a new thread specific for the purpose of ordering these holders.  This thread should keep to its original topic.

I also use Lighthouse Vario products.  Been doing so since they said "Made in W. Germany" on them.  Luckily for me, their Canadian office/warehouse is in Montreal and they give me a good price.  I like their robust 4-ring binders.  Very classic looking too.

Hey Mark

Does this company you mention have a web site to browse?

This is their North American web site:

http://www.lighthouse.us/

Yikes! Personally, I prefer keeping it in Canada. These people are great!  

http://www.collectorssupplyhouse.com/about.htm

Ted Bailey used to get his sleeves from CSH, but he was dissatisfied with them because they were (according to Ted) poorly made.  Ted is looking into getting some made up to his specifications, but I don't think the timeline is any time soon.

Don Olmstead has (or will have in time for Torex) some of the sleeves that do not contain the harmful plasticiser compound that burns green in the Bielstien test.  I've made a separate post asking if anyone wants in.  The price is 75c each for the medium holders.

For those of you with a stack of sequential notes; do you store each individual note in a separate holder or are there bulk note holders.
I currently store sets of 10 sequential notes in old bankbook holders.  They have enough room to accommodate the stack but I figured there might be something better available.

Interesting. Whenever I had a problem with CSH, or wanted something special, I found them very understanding and helpful.

I'd still rather fix the Canadian product then buy elsewhere.

I bought some note holders only a few days ago and have just now come across this thread.

I got the Uni-Safe brand acetate holders...are these OK?  I would hope so, since I bought them from the Bay's coin section in Yorkdale mall; just thought I would check if acetate and mylar are equally safe (I suspect these are just two different words for the same material, but I can't find anything definitive on the web).

I'm a bit disappointed with these holders as the description says "Rigid, crystal-clear holders" and a pack of 10 was $4.75 + GST + PST, however they are not at all rigid - but as long as there is no PVC or other gunk that is going to leak out later, I guess I can make do with them for now.

As this thread refers to storage of notes, maybe this question I asked yesterday belongs under this thread: is it advisable to use silica packages when you are keeping your notes in a safety deposit box at the bank, or is silica unnecessary?  Thanks!

I have been storing my bank notes (mostly polymer) in "rigid vinyl" currency pages from Collectors Supply House (http://www.collectorssupplyhouse.com/c_album/standard.htm). The type of holders I have is CPR3.

I wonder if anyone has done the Bielstein test on these rigid vinyl pages. Are they safe to store notes, or should I be using mylar pages instead? How about very similar pages from Lighthouse (http://www.lighthouse.us/epages/lighthouse.sf/en_US/?ObjectPath=/Shops/leuchtturm_us/Products/GRANDE3C)?

Thanks
Alex

Got a bit impatient and did the test myself, to see a bright green flame. So I guess "rigid vinyl"=vinyl=chlorine in the plastic. With that in mind, should I take the notes out of these pages and into the Lighthouse ones, advertised as clear archival polyester (100% acid- and chemical softener-free)? Has anyone tested the Lighthouse plastic?

After 5+ years of storage I haven't noticed any change in the plastic of the pages I have now, they are as clear and rigid as before. Would it mean that they are perhaps safer for storage than soft vinyl?