Topic: Intercept shield

[badon]

Comeaux, poconopenn's advice is pretty good. 

[fractalfate]

So what size baggies for the longer NGC 5-coin multiholder slabs and the the giant kilo slabs? Thanks.

[mrslick32]

So what size baggies for the longer NGC 5-coin multiholder slabs and the the giant kilo slabs? Thanks.

For the kilo slab you may use the 7X9 poly bag. I have some for sale that I offered on the thread I posted below. I am not sure about the 5-coin multiholder. If the holder is the same size as the oversize holder for coins over 45mm in diameter then it will fit in the 7X9 poly bag.

http://china-mint.info/forum/index.php?topic=3724.msg18224;topicseen#msg18224

[KeepOnTrying!]

Given the cost of coins and medals we collect I believe it is right to continue exploring ways to preserve their integrity for years to come. I have recently packaged some coin slabs using a combination of intercept bags and vacuum sealing. There are proponents for each type of preservation process. I thought maybe I could utilize the presumed benefits of both methods. Whether this works at all or works better than other approaches including leaving in OMP can only be determined with time.

I placed each coin slab in an intercept bag but did not close the clasp of the bag. I then placed six such coin slab/intercept bag sets in a “food safe” vacuum bag followed by vacuum sealing.

Below is attached a photo of the assembled sets before sealing.

[KeepOnTrying!]

The attached image shows the slab/intercept bag/“food safe” vacuum bag setup following vacuum sealing. The vacuum sealing also answered my need for moisture protection when storing slabs. Prior to this I would normally place the slab in an intercept bag followed by double bagging with added desiccant sachets because both home and bank safes do not guarantee zero humidity.

Again, this is just an empirical endeavor but waiting for 5-20 years to find out who is right may not help the fence sitter. This is not necessarily an original thought; there may be others who have already used this “double” protection approach. I initially placed slabs in a plastic coin slab protector followed by vacuum sealing in a food safe bag and then placement in a large intercept bag.

Yes I know; the people who made money during the Californian gold rush (and others before and afterwards) were those who sold the shovels, pans and other supplies needed by the prospectors!

[NBM]

I placed each coin slab in an intercept bag but did not close the clasp of the bag.

Why not seal the intercept bag?

[KeepOnTrying!]

Why not seal the intercept bag?

I left it open so that the air that is inside each Intercept bag and around each slab is vacuumed out. The sealed food safe bag maintains the seal for all the intercept bags so to speak.

[NBM]

I see, thank you.

[Mirkkanen]

I left it open so that the air that is inside each Intercept bag and around each slab is vacuumed out. The sealed food safe bag maintains the seal for all the intercept bags so to speak.

Your use of the bag in bag WILL NOT ACHIEVE THE DESIRED OUTCOME.

According to my understanding of intercept bags, they MUST BE CLOSED/SEALED in order to be effective. They NEUTRALIZE harmful gasses enclosed WITHIN the seal and PREVENT harmful gasses outside of the bag from ENTERING.

If you have left the Intercept shield bags OPEN, then you have rendered BOTH Intercept benefits INEFFECTIVE.

As Chris will likely explain, the vaccuum seal bag does not perform either function of the Intercept bag and serves NO PURPOSE for coin preservation.

[KeepOnTrying!]

Your use of the bag in bag WILL NOT ACHIEVE THE DESIRED OUTCOME.

According to my understanding of intercept bags, they MUST BE CLOSED/SEALED in order to be effective. They NEUTRALIZE harmful gasses enclosed WITHIN the seal and PREVENT harmful gasses outside of the bag from ENTERING.

If you have left the Intercept shield bags OPEN, then you have rendered BOTH Intercept benefits INEFFECTIVE.

As Chris will likely explain, the vaccuum seal bag does not perform either function of the Intercept bag and serves NO PURPOSE for coin preservation.

I have to stress that what I have described is not how the manufacturer of the Intercept bags has recommended for the bags to be used. Therefore failure of the "experiment" to produce results that are similar to those claimed for the ideal use of Intercept bags cannot in this instance be blamed on the said Intercept bags.

Vacuum sealing of the whole assembly as I described above has the net effect of removing most of the air between the bags and the coin slabs and between individual bag/slab components and the food safe bag. At the end of the air withdrawal process the two leaves of the Intercept bags above each slab are closely and tightly apposed to each other to the point of providing a virtual seal of each bag.

But that is not the main closure mechanism in my set up; heat sealing of the food safe bag provides an additional barrier to air entry into the vacuumed space. I do not have any data regarding the coefficient of diffusion of air and toxins across the plastic material of the Intercept bag compared to that of the food safe bag. I don’t know which is a better barrier. But virtually all plastic sheets are somewhat permeable to the diffusion of gases.

Equally important to me is that vacuum sealing these bags and slabs like I have done protects them from ambient water vapor in addition to accidental water immersion. Furthermore, a plastic bag with a sealing clasp may be waterproof (or water retardant) but cannot guarantee 100% exclusion of water from the contents in cases of total water immersion compared to the vacuum sealed food safe bag set up I described.

[jc888888888]

 I once had a big part of my collection Vacuum sealed and stored in the bank vault............  but the problem was I kept opening them to look at them when I went there  :) part of the enjoyment of collecting for me ... is to almost forget you had a certain coin and then come across it again ....like an old friend coming for a visit you get to enjoy it again.

[1668Chris]

Your use of the bag in bag WILL NOT ACHIEVE THE DESIRED OUTCOME.

According to my understanding of intercept bags, they MUST BE CLOSED/SEALED in order to be effective. They NEUTRALIZE harmful gasses enclosed WITHIN the seal and PREVENT harmful gasses outside of the bag from ENTERING.

If you have left the Intercept shield bags OPEN, then you have rendered BOTH Intercept benefits INEFFECTIVE.

As Chris will likely explain, the vaccuum seal bag does not perform either function of the Intercept bag and serves NO PURPOSE for coin preservation.

This is correct and explained on my site

[1668Chris]

But that is not the main closure mechanism in my set up; heat sealing of the food safe bag provides an additional barrier to air entry into the vacuumed space. I do not have any data regarding the coefficient of diffusion of air and toxins across the plastic material of the Intercept bag compared to that of the food safe bag. I don’t know which is a better barrier. But virtually all plastic sheets are somewhat permeable to the diffusion of gases.

This data is also available on our site in an easy to read chart.

[KeepOnTrying!]

This data is also available on our site in an easy to read chart.

Do the two leaves of the Intercept bag (i.e. the clear transparent leaf and the brownish translucent leaf) both contain the Intercept material/matrix?

[KeepOnTrying!]

I once had a big part of my collection Vacuum sealed and stored in the bank vault............  but the problem was I kept opening them to look at them when I went there  :) part of the enjoyment of collecting for me ... is to almost forget you had a certain coin and then come across it again ....like an old friend coming for a visit you get to enjoy it again.

You can cut below the heat sealed line to liberate the slabs and repeat the vacuum sealing when you are done, as long as you have enough of the sheet above the coin slabs to allow this. It is usually advised when initially cutting out the length of bag you need for your slabs that you should leave several inches/centimeters of the plastic sheet to allow you reseal the bag up to 3-4 times.