Can You Buy Acetone At A Local Pharmacy?

you can also buy it a lowes, home depot, or hardware store

You forgot Menards, Walmart, Kmart and almost any paint store. Sure wonder why they don't have it at the Dollar stores yet.
Regardless of where you purchase Acetone, note that it is a real great absorber of other substances. Therefore inspite of any container claims of purity, always try the simple test with a small sample prior to any usage. Placce some on a erally clean glass dish and allow it to completely evaporate. Naturally outdoors is preferable. If there is any residue at all, your Acetone is contaminated.

Ok thanks for the advice, I just bought some at a Home Depot. My question now is should I pour the acetone into a bowl and then dip it, or put it on a cloth and clean the coin that way? And if I touch the acetone, can it harm me?

Ok, thanks for the advice. Do you think it'll be okay if I do it outside? And do you think a paper towel folded on the bottom of a bowl would work too?

Absolutely. Do it outside if you can. In terms of health dangers, there are several things to be aware of. Inhaling acetone fumes for a length of time can give you headaches, a significant amount of time can give you liver problems. Also, as a molecule, it is small enough to leak into your skin. But the key thing is that small and short contact like an accidental inhalation and small splashing shouldn't be a major problem.

If you are new to using such chemicals, I suggest you do a search on this web site for Acetone. Also, try cleaning coins, coin cleaning, etc. I also suggest you use such items only outside. Do not take a chance inside your home if you are not completely aware of the potential dangers with Acetone. And never use it on a gas stove with a pilot light. Carefully read as much as you can about such chemicals prior to their usage. ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY.
Number one suggestion is to wear safety glasses. Burned fingers, hands and even a house is nothing compared to the loss of your eyesight. You can always check the ATSDR, Agency for Toxic Substances and Diseace Registry, for addtional precautions.
Again, as I mentioned priviously, to test your Acetone for purity just place some on a very cleaned glass dish, outside and allow to evaporate. There should be no residue at all.
To place and/or remove coins from Acetone, you really should use only glass utinsils. Never plastic or metals. The plastic may melt and the metals may contain contaminates. You only need to place a coin in the Acetone for a few minutes. As noted a double dip is worth the effort. Make sure you rinse the coins with Distilled water to completely rid the coin of any possible residue left from the evaporation of the Acetone. Remember that as the Acetone evaporates, any substances it hsa absorbed will be left over as a residue on anything it is on.
Most people say to lay the coin on a cotton cloth and blow dry to get rid of the moisture. Try not to use your fingers in the Acetone. Not that it will harm your fingers but you could be adding contaminates to the Acetone thet will not help your coins.
Again, I stress being carefull with such highly flamable substances. We need you here and a careless attempt at using Acetone may make that difficult. Wear safety glasses.

I know the local CVS has 100% acetone not the 40% acetone most finger nail polish remover is because I have bought it from there because they are at the end of my road and anything else is at least 15 minutes away

I think the difference between acetone at the drugstore and acetone at the hardware store is that the drugstore acetone is formulated to USP standards. I presume that means it is approved to be applied to the skin or blended into beauty products or somesuchthing. That process and certification makes it more expensive. If you are interested in trying acetone and don't want a gallon jug, go for it.

-wheatiefan