How common is minute rust on Goldenage staples?

[CW]

I was looking at my collection which is all but entirely slabbed Gold. I noticed that some of the books have small pinpoint sized rust marks on the staples. I have been monitoring them for several months. I am still unable to verify a change in the rust so I am thinking they were like this before I got them.

 

So my question to you experts is how common are small amounts of rust on the average Goldenage book? or what frequency of books you come across have small amounts of rust present? Also are more of those with the rust slabbed or raw? Is there a particular publisher that has notoriously bad staples? Is there a way to differentiate between new rust and aged rust? Many of the books I noted were Quality Publications.

 

(AS a note these books are stored in a safe but it is a big gun safe that has the humidity monitored and is around the 50-55%RH inside and out at all times. The room that holds them also has a dehumidifier in it and air conditioning (coolant type not swamp cooler). Any input would be awesome.

Thanks Guys

-Chris

[CW]

Nobody?

[nearmint]

My understanding is that 'Tec #31 and Fantastic Comics #3 are particularly susceptible to small amounts of rust on their staples.

 

[CW]

Son of a

 

But seriously just wondering. The tec's clean it is mainly the Spirits. I am not talking full blooms but 1 or 2 tiny brown specks that are present on the otherwise clean staples. If you look carefully at your Goldenage books how many have even a speck of rust on the staples?

[sacentaur]

Chris, I collect books with off-white to white pages so a smalll amount of staple rust is, on occasion, the by-product of the comic having been stored in a humid environment. Some Larsons are like this (a worthwhile trade-off, IMHO).

 

I've heard stories of books getting rusty staples in a bank vault or a home safe, but I've never experienced such a thing nor has any of the collectors whom I've known for many a year.

 

I crack every single CGC book that I buy, so our collections are directly opposite in that regard. Maybe in 25 years or so someone will do a comparison study!

 

Anyway, I wouldn't say that staple rust is especially common or uncommon on GA, but is just "out there".

 

STEVE (Luvin' Larson)

[CW]

Makes sense. I have eliminated Humidity from my equation as the room and safe (the equivalent size of a closet) are always around 50-55% Rh inside and out. The safe is made of steel and to my knowledge not airtight. It shows no rust. Further evidence. I was wondering (and let me preceed this with COMPLETE SPECULATION NO HARM INTENDED) if the fact that the books are slabbed in an area with rather high humidity(Florida (also this doesn't account for climate control within the CGC facility which I assume they have)) results in the slab's inner well holding a higher RH for a long enough period to propogate rust?(maybe a weeks worth of exposure). OF COURSE IT COULD SIMPLY BE THAT THE BOOKS HAD SLIGHT SPECKS TO BEGIN WITH.(Hence my question about the frequency of rust in any given collection. All I can think to do is monitor them carefully taking monthly inventory and descriptions and looking for change. It would be interested to run some tests with vintage staples and see what affects them.(ie: pressing with temperature and humidity, abrasive cleaning, sealed in various containers etc.) Keep the input coming.

-Chris

[ciorac]

Was the rust noted on any of the labels?

[CW]

No It wasn't on the labels. Maybe the notes had something. I was just thinking, I never really paid much attention to staples unless they were obviously really bad. If anybody is thumbing through their Gold collection just see how many staples have rust.