Storing plastic

Colin Williamson <smileplas [at] aol__com> writes

>We have several hundred plastic tokens dating from about 1900 to
>1985. Typically these are transport, credit, shop or advertising
>tokens about 25mm diameter and 2-3mm thick. They are variously made
>from vulcanite, cellulose nitrate (celluloid), cellulose acetate,
>urea-formaldehyde thermosetting material, or polystyrene. ...
> ...
> ... Does anyone have any
>recommendations for an alternative storage solution whilst retaining
>visual access to both sides of the tokens?

While there may be some issues with degradation in closed
environments as discussed by the previous responses, I would suggest
that you look at polyester film encapsulation. Or, another
alternative is polypropylene film, the type used for photographic
slide-holders. A university library asked me about sealing the
polypropylene slide-holders for a coin collection that they had. The
sealed slide-holders allowed the  "visual access to both sides" that
you desire. Obviously, there are degradation issues that need to be
addressed as well.

Bill Minter
William Minter Bookbinding and Conservation, Inc.
4364 Woodbury Pike
Woodbury, PA  16695
814-793-4020
Fax: 814-793-4045


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 20:33
                Distributed: Tuesday, December 19, 2006
                       Message Id: cdl-20-33-003
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