Checking on my jarred pipe tobacco, I discovered some old tins of Gawith Hoggarth snuffs I’d squirrelled away–a nice surprise, except a few of the plastic poptop “tins” were degraded–the gold-colored “metallic” had gone brown, entirely on one tin and in big blotches on the other. They were just stored in ziptop baggies on a shelf in the basement, so I worry a bit that it’s mold, but my better half thinks it’s only oxidation or chipping. The snuff inside seems okay, but it’s hard to know as they aren’t varieties I’ve tried yet, so I have no control group. Have any of you had a similar experience with the GH poptop boxes? Is it benign? The last thing I want is to accidentally spread mold to the rest of my collection and/or my nose.
I have received many GH snuffs that have been like this. The paint is almost peeling off, bubbled looking. Most of them I cleaned up so now they are half gold and half brown.
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Thanks, good to know I’m not alone. I took a swipe at the discoloration with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, and does seem to be oxidation. The guts of the box are plastic, the snuff should be fine, yes?
The entire box is plastic, so no rust to worry about.
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I would worry if the plastic is starting to rust. Send me the snuff so I can take samples for testing and disposal (!).
Contained incremental disposal via nose… strictly in the interests of science, of course, sandy?
Gawith Hoggarth should change their shiny gold dispensers. They are prone to discoloration, and tend to make me question the freshness of the snuff within.
I have received GH boxes with most of the gold rubbed off from Mars. I just snuffed them up and I am still standing.