Thanks, Don, there's a lot of good information in your post.

You may want to scan the hot-stamp images while the dice are still readable and keep them as reminders of what your pile of dust used to look like.

You said a mouthful, right there... . Jeff Laudeman always said that scans and photos were the best way to preserve your dice.

Keep the items ventilated so the acetic acid dissipates as quickly as possible

That's something that most of us (including me ) are doing wrong. We have our collections in boxes or baggies or closed-in display cases, which hastens their demise .

This lamp is a good example:

The dice are from the Boulder Club (1931-1960); Pioneer (1942-1995); Monte Carlo Club (downtown, 1945-1955) Santa Anita Turf Club (1948-1952); Thunderbird (1948-1974); California Club (1951-1970); Wilbur Clark's Desert Inn (1951-); New Frontier (1955-1967) (please forgive me if I have any dates wrong...I just did a quick check)

Based on the dice and the wiring and fixtures I think the lamp probably dates to the late 1950's-early 1960's...YET there is virtually NO deterioration of the dice. I don't think the dice are fake, and they don't appear to have been treated or coated with anything (except a thick layer of nicotine and dust, when we bought the lamp! ).