Vacuum Packed Silver, anyone tried it?

[ChrisF]

Anyone tried vacuum packing silver?  Im curious to know if it works and if so what equipment would you recommend?  Obviously my aim is to stop tarnishing over long term storage.

[AlphaBeast]

Looking to do thisl, was considering getting a machine tomorrow...

[silversky]

Yes.  However, just vacuum sealing does not prevent oxygen and sulphur compounds from entering a standard food vac sealer bag over time.  Therefore, I recommend using the slightly more expensive Mylar bags that block the transfer of oxygen.  You can put in an anti tarnish strip and a silica sachet (not touching) to keep the environment inside the bag completely stable.  You can also keep your spares of these items fresh by sealing them in another bag.  Is a great bit of kit a vac sealer.  I have considered adding an oxygen absorber as well but so far have not tried that.  The only downside is that the decent Mylar bags are a little pricey and they are foiled so you can't see inside!  Good for long term storage though and you can always open the bag and then reseal it slightly smaller if you use large bags.  Be aware that most Mylar bags are NOT suitable for use with a vacuum sealer but if you hunt around you can get some that are shaped for use with a vac sealer and these are the type you should go for.

[silversky]

I use a middle of the range Andrew James vac sealer and these bags below which it manages to suck out nicely and seal.  Other mylar bags are smooth so they don't vacuum well.

https://www.mylarshop.com/mylar-bags/vac-seal-mylar-bag-20cm-x-30cm

These bags are not too big and also not too small to use for other things.  I used these recently to seal up my home grown hops.  Looking forward to making some nice homebrew soon!!

[JohnA]

How well do slabs protect from tarnish?

[ChrisF]

@silversky Thank you very much for your input.  I am really surprised how little attention this has gotten.  Id have thought there would be more interest from lovers and haters of the idea.  I have done a little more research today and it seems to be a Marmite subject.  There are those that tried it and say their silver went cloudy and those that say it worked great.  Of the ones who said their silver went cloudy they did not specify what material the bag was made of.  Those that said it works great seem to suggest Mylar.  

Those textured Mylar bags are rather expensive thought they do look the part.  Apparently there is a way to use the much cheaper non-textured bags and that is to cut a strip off a normal textured bag and place it between the flat mylar bag sheets and that will create enough space to remove the air.  As the strip is after the heat sealer it wont get sealed with the bag.  

As I have my first ever tube of silver Britannias on the way I want to seal them up for 20 or 30 years then sell them  

I think I will give it a try with some single coins in a cap and leave it sealed for a month to see what its like. 

[ChrisF]

@JohnAnsink

They do delay but do not stop tarnish.  There is no way of stopping the inevitable, only delaying it.