I work in an archives lab and my co-worker and I are not understanding why it appears that a few rolls of film seem to have the "shiny" side on the emulsion side and the "matte" side on the base side. All other/majority of rolls have the emulsion side being matte, and when viewed from this side the lettering/text on the film roll itself appears backwards (and the opposite also true, with typically shiny being on the base side with text reading correctly).
This film is Kodak Safety Film 120 and was used/processed around the 1950s.
Some of our film is very clearly damaged, appearing cracked and bubbled (real tiny ones). We replaced the initial sleeves these were stored in and the original sleeves are filled with white-ish crud and residue from these. However, regardless of the damage present, the seemingly flip-flopped film appears consistent throughout with the shiny and matte sides (not just blotches or areas of shiny/matte).
Could this be a defect in some film rolls? (it would be several, hence why we think maybe unlikely). Is this a defect in developing? Would really just love to know more on this/what caused this.