Collectible

Faux 1922 Peace silver dollar with skeleton head: 1,639 ppm Arsenic. Please don’t use collectable coins as fidgets.

July 30, 2020December 3, 2023

Introduction (for those new to this website): Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005). Since 2009, Tamara has been using XRF testing (a scientific method used by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety…

Vintage faux-antique coin from Greece: 542,300 ppm Lead [54%] + 2,144 Cadmium + 2,705 Antimony. Bad news all around.

July 29, 2020June 10, 2023

Faux-Antique Greek Coin The owner of this coin told me she got it at a shop in Greece. She said there was a bowl of them at the shop and the owner of the shop was giving them away to patrons of his shop as a souvenir. Souvenirs like this are especially concerning as the…

Seattle Space Needle collectors token. Tested positive for 1,245 ppm Arsenic using XRF technology.

June 14, 2020December 7, 2023

Seattle Space Needle Collectable Token Arsenic (As): 1,245 +/- 164 ppm Selenium (Se): 11,000 +/- 800 ppm Zinc (Zn): 153,700 +/- 2,400 ppm Copper (Cu): 824,900 +/- 4,200 ppm Bismuth (Bi): 985 +- 168 ppm Chlorine (Cl): 7,018 +/- 3,099 ppm Some additional reading that may be of interest: More coins we have tested and…

California mug purchased at Oakland Airport in 2020: Free of Lead, Cadmium, Arsenic, Mercury & Antimony! Woohoo!

March 20, 2020December 7, 2023

5 Comments

Posted: Friday, March 20, 2020 Introduction: Tamara Rubin is an independent advocate for consumer goods safety, and she is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children. She began testing consumer goods for toxicants in 2009 and was the parent-advocate responsible for finding Lead in the popular fidget spinner toys in 2017. She uses high-precision XRF testing (a…

Franklin Mint Heirloom Collection dish warns “Not to be used for food consumption. Pigments used for color may be toxic.”

March 20, 2020March 20, 2020

3 Comments

Posted: Friday, March 20, 2020 Introduction: Tamara Rubin is an independent advocate for consumer goods safety, and she is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children. She began testing consumer goods for toxicants in 2009 and was the parent-advocate responsible for finding Lead in the popular fidget spinner toys in 2017. She uses high-precision XRF testing (a…

1983 Pizza Hut Care Bear pink “Cheer Bear” glass: 115,900 ppm Lead (90 ppm is unsafe for kids — do you have these?)

November 23, 2019January 2, 2024

5 Comments

For those new to this website: Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005). Since 2009, Tamara has been using XRF technology (a scientific method used…

1983 Pizza Hut Care Bear “Grumpy Bear” glass: 122,900 ppm Lead when tested with an XRF instrument (90 ppm is unsafe — did you have these?)

September 25, 2019January 2, 2024

6 Comments

For those new to this website: Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005). Since 2009, Tamara has been using XRF technology (a scientific method used…

Coming Soon: XRF test results for 1983 Pizza Hut Care Bear collectable glasses. Did you have these?

September 22, 2019January 2, 2024

1 Comment

I bought both of these sets (pictured below) on ebay tonight and I look forward to testing them to compare how the XRF detectable Lead levels are different between the very worn blue one and the blue in newer condition! Stand by (I will probably be reporting the test results for these a month or…