PAMP bars tarnished - What to do?

P

Preciousmetal

New Member
I have my PAMP kilo bars stored inside some furniture, so I took a look at them after they had been in this place for about 10 months. I was shocked to see that many of them have become black, blue and red due to tarnish. I live in a very humid environment.

My question: Should I polish them now, or wait until I am going to sell them and do it all at once? If so, should I keep them in sandwich bags (or any other suggestions) in the meantime, or polish them now and then put them in sandwich bags?

Also, as far as polishing is concerned, I found something at the following website which does not involve scrubbing the silver, but instead, dipping it in a sink along with hot water, baking soda, salt, and aluminum foil for under five minutes. Is this a good way to 'polish' silver? It sounds convenient.

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/silverdip.htm

Thanks
 
There is a thorough thread here on SS about cleaning silver coins with baking soda ( does a great job - far better than lemon juice :) )

would love to see the colors on the pamps - are you able to photograph them and upload?
i wouldnt be worried about some color on them bars.
 
Don't throw them away just yet. They are not entirely worthless ;) Honestly, don't worry about it. With a bit of polishing (with dip or a microfibre cloth) you'd probably never know the difference. It's not like they are proof coins. I'd just wait until you intend to sell them to polish them up if you're in a damp climate. In future store silver in a drier place.

There are some tips in this thread:
http://forums.silverstackers.com/topic-13956-shining-up-silver-page-1.html

If you don't like silver's tarnish, buy gold.
 
Thanks guys for the replies.

Sorry, I don't have access to the right technology to show the tarnising.

I came across the following regarding storing the silver in zip-lock bags:

"Refrain from storing your silver coins in Zip Lock or plastic bags... Another reason is that the material used for storing the notes and coins should be acid-free. Thus we should not use PVC material as it traps moisture and releases acidic gases."

Any thoughts?
 
tarnish is fine. it means it is silver. no need to dip them now, dip only if you want to sell.

the method you mentioned works very well. no need to scrub or rub at all. just soak. never polish - silver can be removed.
 
I am convinced on the non-polishing route (aluminum foil, baking soda etc), and that I can do that when I'm about to sell them.

What do you think about the passage I quoted above warning against putting the bars in zip lock bags, because I'm not planning to sell for another year or two, and the ones on the top got really dark, so I would love to bag them in the meantime so they don't rust or get really bad...
 
ziplock is fine. it is not pvc but polyethylene. so it's ok

ur bars wont rust. why not just dip one and see magic transforming back to silver.

some people love the tarnished look. may pay more for it.
 
Have you got air conditioning? If so bag them up in the ziplocks (I used Glad Bags) after the ac has taken the moisture out of the air, I also add the little sachettes of silica that I get for 'free' each time my wife buys a pair of shoes.

I have quite a few numismatic items sealed up in Glad bags and they are recomended on a few numismatic sites as well.
 
oh they are useless now. But me being a guy who likes to help ppl out i'll take em off ya - 20% off spot :)
 
What Maggie said.

If ya want to keep ya bars/rounds shinny, milk spot free, use a food grade Vacuum.....They work a treat in high humid enviro's

Me! I just live with the beauty of the tarnish, Ahhh the old school days ;)
 
Your furniture will leach out over time all sorts of nasty chemicals into the air and these will react with your beautiful silver.
The black will be caused by sulphur mainly - does anyone smoke indoors ?
A tarnished bar will never look as good as a shiny polished one so clean very carefully with a proprietary jewellers' silver polishing cloth.
You might want to wash the bar first in warm soapy water to ensure there is no grit present otherwise you might introduce some fine scratches.
 
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