10-23-2002, 07:30 AM
Ibaya,
Interesting comment about stuff in drawers tarnishing faster. I keep my collection in a "haberdashers" cabinet with glass-fronted drawers. (Or at least I did keep it that way when I was at home in Canada, it is now in a bank safety deposit box.)
Maybe there is something acidic in there - I doubt the wood of the cabinet, the black velvet they sit on, the plain cotton stuffing under the black velvet, or the other orders/medals/badges. BUT, maybe the Soviet papers - award docs and ID books I have in there are acidic enough. Maybe also the award boxes - I only have a few Soviet but I have many Bulgarian, Polish and even one DDR.
The stuff did tarnish even faster than the silverware which sat on an open shelf.
Alexei,
My place was not humid and warm (Canada, eh) although what you say makes sense. It was in fact dry and occasionally warm. But it is an old house and was quite dusty. I found that on the silverware the dust contributes greatly to the tarnishing - maybe the dust carries the acidic elements to the silver faster or in a more concentrated form. But I don't know. (To paraphrase "Damn it Jim, I am an historian not a scientist.")
Shawn
Interesting comment about stuff in drawers tarnishing faster. I keep my collection in a "haberdashers" cabinet with glass-fronted drawers. (Or at least I did keep it that way when I was at home in Canada, it is now in a bank safety deposit box.)
Maybe there is something acidic in there - I doubt the wood of the cabinet, the black velvet they sit on, the plain cotton stuffing under the black velvet, or the other orders/medals/badges. BUT, maybe the Soviet papers - award docs and ID books I have in there are acidic enough. Maybe also the award boxes - I only have a few Soviet but I have many Bulgarian, Polish and even one DDR.
The stuff did tarnish even faster than the silverware which sat on an open shelf.
Alexei,
My place was not humid and warm (Canada, eh) although what you say makes sense. It was in fact dry and occasionally warm. But it is an old house and was quite dusty. I found that on the silverware the dust contributes greatly to the tarnishing - maybe the dust carries the acidic elements to the silver faster or in a more concentrated form. But I don't know. (To paraphrase "Damn it Jim, I am an historian not a scientist.")
Shawn
