Hello there everybody. Hope you all are well. I am relatively new to collecting old banknotes. I was wondering if anybody knows if Lighthouse (aka Leuchtturm)(German) Basic banknotes sleeves are safe for long term archival storage ? As i just found out that they are made from durable rigid PVC (Safe-Vinyl). (https://www.leuchtturm.com/banknote-sheets-basic.html)(for your reference). Also they are listed as being free of acids and free of chemical softeners. Now i understand PVC are never recommended for archival storage of banknotes or coins. I have stored my old banknotes in this and sealed them. I am not quite sure what to do, may i please have your advice and expertise on this matter? This and Lindner are only brands that are reputable enough that are available in my country and the rest are Chinese brands.
I have used Lighthouse sleeves before without issue. I suspect a typo (or miscommunication between the co and the website you posted) the link to since all currency sleeves should be PVC-free (not made with PVC). As I understand it, it is the acid in the PVC which will react with the bank note paper over time. Oddly enough, there are still some sellers who sell PVC & old currency sleeves online so it is wise to be cautious as you don't want to be stuck with poor quality sleeves.
Here's a link to ebay sellers who sell PVC-free currency sleeves.
I have never used Wizard Coin Supply myself but I have had many friends who have & they swear by them. I have used Safeguard, BCW, Supersafe, & other mylar museum or archive safe semi rigid holders & they have been great. The few times I attend shows (or visit my LCS) I usually pick up a pack of 50 or 100.
I might add that typically the costs is usually around 50-75 cents per top-loading holder (for 50-100). Do not buy bulk holders for less than this as they're usually side-loader PVC garbage that will be too flimsy to protect your banknotes. Some Asian countries sell world notes & send them in these terrible cheap holders so you must get your new acquisitions out of these asap.
Quote: "Serial_Number_8"Welcome to Numista.
I have used Lighthouse sleeves before without issue. I suspect a typo (or miscommunication between the co and the website you posted) the link to since all currency sleeves should be PVC-free (not made with PVC). As I understand it, it is the acid in the PVC which will react with the bank note paper over time. Oddly enough, there are still some sellers who sell PVC & old currency sleeves online so it is wise to be cautious as you don't want to be stuck with poor quality sleeves.
Here's a link to ebay sellers who sell PVC-free currency sleeves.
I have never used Wizard Coin Supply myself but I have had many friends who have & they swear by them. I have used Safeguard, BCW, Supersafe, & other mylar museum or archive safe semi rigid holders & they have been great. The few times I attend shows (or visit my LCS) I usually pick up a pack of 50 or 100.
I might add that typically the costs is usually around 50-75 cents per top-loading holder (for 50-100). Do not buy bulk holders for less than this as they're usually side-loader PVC garbage that will be too flimsy to protect your banknotes. Some Asian countries sell world notes & send them in these terrible cheap holders so you must get your new acquisitions out of these asap.
Hope that helps!
Hello there! Many thanks for your reply. I have check numerous sites as well it was stated as "safe vinyl rigid PVC" for the basic sleeves and polyester for the premium ones. Hence the confusion i do not wish to damage any of the precious banknotes. The word PVC just scares me especially coming from Lighthouse and hearing the horror stories from other collectors. Usually i get them in a physical store here instead and they didn't tell me what material it was even the packaging doesn't state anything. Only says free from chemical softeners.
I'm pretty sure those are okay. I bought some (same brand) from a dealer a couple years ago & he reassured me that they were mylar sleeves (the new pvc free sleeves).
I think they can be made from pure PVC but that is even more brittle then Mylar.
The problems with PVC come from the softening agents which lower the solvent resiliency quite a bit leading to the leaching and off-gassing.
Photo-oxidation of PVC just makes it brittle not a sludge.
Many thanks for your responses. I only have the choice between Lighthouse and Lindner both of which are made out of 'rigid PVC film' which is of course free from chemicals etc. But heard that they are very reputable company as well. I would love to get those Mylar Sleeves but the shipping prices are horrendous. They are always more then double the price of the items themselves. But i appreciate your help thank you.
I'm only getting onto this topic now, I was not aware about PVC sleeves being bad.
I have bought a bunch of these, now I am worried they will cause damage to my notes over time:
Will those be okay or should I discard?
The other thing I would like to know is: does anybody have semi rigid sleeves that are clear? BY this I mean that you can leave the note in the sleeve when checking with a UV light. These Uncle Paul sleeves diffuse the UV and you end up with a bright blue haze.
If you know where I can get regular and larger sized clear sleeves I would be grateful (as I am a UV junkie)
Leuchtturm Basic banknote sleeves are not safe for long term archival storage. But what is considered a long term? Sooner or later, any plastic begins to react with the material and inks of the banknote. It's a matter of time.
Soft PVC kills banknotes quickly enough. Rigid PVC is better, but I do not recommend keeping a banknote in it for more than three years. Then you need to change the holder. This is my personal experience.
PET (and mylar) holders are even better, but even manufacturers do not recommend keeping banknotes in them for more than 6-7 years.
The problem is that you may not immediately suspect something is wrong with your collection of banknotes when it is stored for a long time. Everything may seem intact, but the banknote sticks to the walls of the holder and when you try to remove it, stains of ink from the paper and security stripe remain on the walls. The banknote will be hopelessly damaged. I am not into polymer banknotes, but I have seen how polymer banknotes in some bad holders curl after a few years.
I have my display collection in Hagner albums, and bulk notes are kept loose together in Mylar-type holders. My notes have been stored for 30+ years in these conditions without issue. My £1 note date collection is in an album in use since the 1980s - I bought the core collection with its album and retained the album in use - so you could say that this album has been tested for over 40 years.
UNC notes and rare or fragile notes are stored in mylar holders inside the albums.
As to UV diffusion or reflection, I just tested a current issue Bank of England polymer £20 with a 365 nm torch, both inside and outside the holder. The fluorescence was the same in both cases.
Do you have a link to a reputable seller of the mylar sleeves? Especially wanted are the larger sleeves, 20cm x 10cm or near.
Always try your local dealers first. Go and see and feel the product yourself. And when I buy, I buy in bulk and I always ask for a discount. The worst answer they can give is a NO, and there is no harm asking.
I started buying currency sleeves in the 1980's and used the early generation of sleeves & had no problems with the sleeves. I'm not in support of leaving your notes with “whatever” but I have discovered that there are many different quality sleeves out there (made with a wide variety of quality control standards). I also learned first hand about the acid & fumes which can leach out of PVC holders in 2000. I have been in workshops where they used that Bell-(whatever) test which shows how much acid will burn once you light up your sleeve (to test if its a problem). It's not PVC but the acid which can leach from them (that can cause damage). Not one of my 1980's sleeves caused any damage but I replaced them on faith of the new info we learned back in 2004. I have also seen some discoloured sleeves that are clearly no good so I know it can happen. I would never promote being lackadaisical about what you store your notes in but some of the posts/threads on the subject borderlines towards hysteria. The damage takes 15-20 years to occur.
I attended a 2019 RCNA workshop by a museum curator which had several experts discuss the subject at length. The curator said that the PVC isn't the problem but the acid (& the gases which may react with oxygen) that can leach & react with the note's inks. There has to be certain elements in place for the reaction to occur. She recommended Mylar or “museum safe” quality sleeves but stressed that the notes must be stored in a dry place. She stressed that oxygen & moisture are the #1 culprits to paper damage & has witnessed it all. If your notes are stored in a dry place & oxygen is kept to a minimum, then you should be okay. You also need to have your notes stored in a dark place (you don't want light damage either). Rigid or semi-rigid depends on how much you handle the notes (more rigid if you like to take them out & eyeball them frequently). I would never recommend you buy cheap flimsy sleeves from China. Only go for the big brand names.
That seems also to be the consensus of most seasoned veterans I've met over the past 40 years (go for the big brand names & you should have no issues). I still stand by the sleeve companies I endorsed in my earlier posts.
The other thing that caught my attention recently is notes bought in presentation folders. I got two of those Bhutan commemoratives, where the note comes in a folder sandwiched between two pieces of plastic.
I don't know what plastic that is, but my thinking is that it will be better to take the note out of the folder (carefully mind you) and put it in a known good sleeve.
Does anyone have any comments or experience with things going wrong with the plastic that came with a presentation folder?
For large notes I couldn't find anything rigid that was good quality. There were a bunch of low quality sleeves I got from Amazon, the right size but I don't know what the material is.
So I bought these soft sleeves:
And I put the note first in the soft sleeve and then in the rigid holder. That's just for the large notes. The ones that were in folders, I put those in the soft sleeves and put those back in the folder (but not in the plastic pouch that was originally in the folder).
And then the last bunch I am leaving as is in the Uncle Paul holders.
I haven't found any info yet that says those are bad. These soft Storage Boutique sleeves look okay to me.
I always buy a box of sleeves at shows I attend or even sometimes at my LCS (which is actually a 45 minute drive 2 cities away from where I live) b/c I rarely buy notes in most coin shops as they're poorly graded & overpriced. But I can't help myself from browsing now & again 🤣
