Acetone/Vinegar

I hope you folks don't use vinegar on anything of value. It's an acid and it will kill luster. It's no big deal on a dateless nickel but past that it's just not a good idea.

Acetone is your best bet on silver. It's a solvent, not an acid. You can soak silver in it for days and it won't hurt real luster or real toning. It will remove anything organic. For the most part that's a good thing. Keep in mind that the surface of the coin under that organic stuff may not look any better.

As coins circulate and are handled, they collect stuff in the tiny scratches and hits. Acetone will remove some of this stuff and make the tiny scratches and hits show more.

As you can tell, there is no sure thing when you start trying to clean coins. Every coin is different. Picking a coin that can be helped is the tough part.

Acetone on copper is a different story. Be careful.

Larry

Hello,

In the majority of cases whenever I see a Buffalo nickel that has had its date uncovered using some type of acid it really bothers me that the acid has spread significantly outside of the immediate area adjacent to the date.

I can envision neophytes performing this task for the first time using an eye dropper producing an unnecessarily over-sized drop of acid that will inevitably spread way too much over the limited area containing the hidden date.

May I suggest that Buffalo nickels appearing to have a smaller area affected by acid will most likely bring more money upon resale compared to ones where the acid has spread excessively over the obverse surface.

My solution to this dilemma is to acquire a standard length wooden toothpick and then clip the pointed tip off of one end.

Then dip this clipped end into the bottle of muriatic acid (a great idea by the way) about one (1) inch into the liquid.

Then the drop to be 'placed' will be significantly diminished in volume resulting in a more controllable application of the acid.

After the acid is on the coin's surface I then just use the 'now flat' tip of the toothpick to accurately distribute just enough acid to cover only the date: a process which permits this acid to subsequently dissolve the material covering 'only' the area directly above the date etc.




For the above case a one-quarter inch-only dip of a toothpick(with a non-cut 'pointed' tip) into the muriatic acid would conceivably allow one to only ‘place'(not drop) a minute amount of acid over just one or two of the digits of the date...

For what it's worth.

mdpmedia

Can't figure out how to quote.
I would not mess with the Oregon Trail posted above.
In my opinion It's not a coin that can be helped.

Acetone would not damage it but it may really change the look of the coin.
That can be good or bad. It's a gamble that I would not take if I owned the coin.

Hello,

I neglected to look up the KB value definition but did check out the MSDS (material safety data sheet) for both MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) and acetone.

The following two documents clearly show some detrimental effects that all users (especially non-degreed chemists) should be made keenly aware of.

I underlined, italicized and bolded the most important INHALATION and SKIN CONTACT sections in both documents:





Since I too am a degreed individual (biology and chemistry) I cannot stress enough the importance of always having adequate ventilation and avoiding skin contact with both of these products.

The last thing anyone needs is to find out 20 years later that one of both of these products cause cancer or some other type of long term detrimental effect that would definitely adversely affect one's quality of life later on...

I personally would use acetone over MEK from a cost factor and because the MSDS for MEK reads slightly more threatening compared to acetone although both are similar to one another.

Make your own decision but ALWAYS keep a fan pulling these vapors away from the work area when using either chemical...

IMHO,
mdpmedia

Another chemist...COOL!

I'm surprized you use CoinCare, it's nothing more than napthenic oil with a citrus odorant.

MEK may be a better technical choice, but it's not widely available for the average consumer. It's also a bit nastier to work with than acetone. For the intended purpose with coins, acetone is "good enough".

Thank You All for your replies...Keep em coming because I eventually want to do a comparison with all methods if I can get the different things that people have tried. Also I will have photos of before and after. At least that is my battle plan. I find all of this extremely interesting.

I used Vinegar on some pennies and it really ruins the appeal of them.....

AND from a chemist? You are cetainly aware of the numerous varieties of Freon as a chemist. Which ones are you referring to. And as to no longer available to the common consumer? Not sure exactly where you look but I only have problems acuiring F-12 for older cars. All others are readily available in numerous places although some are being completely eleminated such as 22. It is odd that when adding to a home system and the excess gets on the Copper piping, it really doesn't clean that at all.
Meanwhile back to Acetone. It is safe for all metals. It is highly flamable and should only be used in open or well ventilated areas. Keep sparks and flames away while using.
Only use clean glass for containing if using for coins.
Do not drink this either. Will not clean out your system.
AND as I keep saying we need a sticky type forum for coin cleaning and/or Acetone.