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 Replies: 21 / Views: 3,127 |
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Valued Member
146 Posts |
No I did not; however, I KNOW by actual experience with actual coins that IN MANY CASES acetone, heck even soapy water will remove skin from coins, lighten some coins, AND TURN some of them UGLY. Thanks for your help.
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Valued Member
146 Posts |
PS The reason I did not bother to read (until a quick look just now) is misinformation like this: Paraphrase: "Cleaning of any kind will hurt the mint luster." NUTS!...LOL
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Valued Member
United States
215 Posts |
Oh heck!,, got one in the basement right now,, been there for 3 weeks!
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Valued Member
United States
215 Posts |
1951 20 franc, jar was dry, looks no different than when I put it in
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3210 Posts |
Acetone is harmless to coins. If the coin has dirt, gunk, anything organic acetone will remove it without damaging the surfaces. I have used acetone on over 100 silver coins and it has had zero negative effect on the coins surfaces,
Edited by Imthealphaomega
04/20/2016 6:21 pm
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
800 Posts |
Quote:
looks no different than when I put it in This was one of my concerns. If it doesn't look any different .... then why do it?  |
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Valued Member
United States
215 Posts |
n the past, if I get to it when it is still wet, some of the caked on dirt is easy to flake off. Yes, I do clean 'junk' coins sometimes.
I am not sure, someone will answer, but does it not also neutralize any fingerprint oils that may be lurking on the surface? These oils, if left untreated, may not show up as 'damage' for years?
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
If not sure, best leave well enough alone.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4594 Posts |
Lot of dangerous (mis)information here for a newbie. Just Carl is right - if you aren't sure, do nothing.
Broad general rules:
/1/ DO NOT CLEAN COINS ... while there are certain specific exceptions those are only for when you learn what you are doing. At first do nothing.
/2/ That grey color is called patina, it comes from the coin being used in circulation and is highly desirable.
/3/ Acetone is MOSTLY safe, but do not rub the coin, etc. Read the instructions you were pointed to carefully and ask questions before you risk damaging a coin.
Why MOSTLY? Because while acetone will remove organic junk from the surface and not disturb the metal, that can leave the coin with a blotchy appearance where the organic junk protected the surface while the rest acquired the nice grey patina. It's like going out in the sun wearing a shirt, and when you remove the shirt, the unprotected and protected skin have different tones..
-----Burton 50+ year / Life / Emeritus ANA member (joined 12/1/1973) Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, EveryCountry (online) coin club Owned by three cats and a wife of 40+ years (joined 1983) Author: 3rd Edition of the Sample Slabs book, https://www.sampleslabs.info/ |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
Acetone does not alter the surface of the metal, it merely dissolves any contaminants present on the surface of the metal. It's a strong solvent, so it is useful for removing oils, dirt, etc. without needing to physically touch the coin and risk scratching it. I would caution against using it on copper unless you plan to follow it up with a Verdi-Care or Blue Ribbon treatment to protect the surface.
However, like any solvent used on coins, there's a chance that the surface UNDERNEATH the dirt might be less attractive than the dirt. Test on coins you don't really have any attachment to, such as dirty junk silver.
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10044 Posts |
Similar to a former post of mine in a similar thread. For coins:Acetone lacks mettle to meddle w/metal. or: Acetone lacks mettle to meddle w/ your coin's metal. For tokens:
Acetone lacks mettle to meddle w/ the metal of your medal., ...yes, I am me(n)tal  |
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CCF Advertiser
United States
1533 Posts |
Acetone will remove skin oils that would damage the surfaces in the future. It also contains traces of acid. I would not finalize with an acetone rinse for that reason. Your final rinse should be in water, distilled if possible, pat with a dry cloth and let air dry for a bit.
The problem is coins sometimes get things adhered to them. You remove that stuff and what is under the gunk is worse than if you had left it there. Old black stuff on copper coins is generally something I would not try to remove. You might find the surface below the gunk to be pitted and corroded, which is worse than what you started with.
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Valued Member
146 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4989 Posts |
Most circulated Morgan dollars do not require any type of cleaning. There are rare cases where a coin may have some glue or tape on it that can be aided by an acetone dip but those are rare. Acetone will not remove toning. An acid dip can do that but circulated Morgans are almost never dipped since a lack of natural color will, very often, result in a "details" grade which reduces the value to melt. So long story short - DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CLEAN YOUR COINS. If you find a rare date in bad shape, you can send it to a conservation service such as NCS. Before doing that post pictures because, more likely than not, your coin is naturally beautiful and already appealing to collectors. Most collectors love natural toning. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5828 Posts |
Earle42...  |
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Posted 04/20/2016 5:00 pm
