I agree with the first post about acetone. Acetone will not affect the toning; it will not react with the metal. It WILL react with PVC if that's the problem, and also will lift off oils and other potentially harmful chemicals without affecting the integrity of the coin, its toning, its surface, or any other thing important, but will get rid of a lot of other dirt, oil and crap that you don't want on the coin in the first place. Let the coin dry, which won't take long because acetone evaporates quickly.
As for rubber or plastic tongs, NO! Use your fingers, for God's sake. This coin isn't a virgin! If you want to use something between you and the coin (if it were BU), DON'T use rubber or anything plastic (one of my first high school chemistry experiments was destroying the plastic barrel of my prize Parker pen when it rolled into the acetone I spilled); silicon gloves will work.