Acetone

Or the hole could hole the coin ..

My grandpa was talking about this, hmmmm, doesn't cleaning the coin lessen the value for all you purists out there? I've never used acetone, and I think that the 100% label is stupid, another marketing strategy.

Big difference between cleaning a coin and conserving a coin. "Cleaning" is typically used to describe an act that damages a coin, either through abrasive or acidic means. "Conservation" will only remove surface residue and not interact with the coinage metal or affect the patina. Acetone is an organic solvent and will not remove toning or harm coinage metal under normal circumstances.



Why would you say that? You certainly do not want to use nail polish remover that contains acetone as it has many other ingredients that can be harmful to a coin. My reagent-grade acetone is 99.5% pure with the balance mainly water along with traces of methanol and isopropanol.

Actually nothing on Earth is really, really 100% that is just sold in stores but would you believe 99.999999999999999%?


BUT do you really, really know that? What if you had been growing smaller all those years and just never knew?
What if you've been loosing your hair and just blamed it on age? Have you been getting wrinkles on your face and again thought it was age?
Hopefully you realize I'm kidding.

As to the purity of Acetone from a store. On this forum many times it has been explained to just test it. Pour some on a clean glass dish. If it evaporates and leaves no resido of any kind, should be close to 100%. IF there is a whittish substance left, possibly not 100% pure or you didn't clean that plate.

@just carl....Just the other day I was looking in the mirror and thinking to myself $#@% your getting older...you might be on to something

As I noted, are you sure? Look into a mirrow and see if that is the same face you saw over 28 years ago.
Now you've brought up a possible reason so many Chemist are actually dead. Without Acetone, could they have lived longer?

To the point I made earlier that I know the lack of problems with acetone, I have also used for years as a solvent for poly vinyl acetate for use in fossil prep. It also unglues my fingers very nicely when I squeeze too hard on the super glue tube.

In my mind, the term "cleaning" refers to any mechanical method used to remove something form a coin that damages a coin. Proper dips, use of acetone or xylene, careful use of toothpics and q-tips to remove gunk are not "cleaning" in the bad sense of the word IMO.

Give it a go, but if the fingerprints aren't fresh (perhaps a day or two?), most likely those fingerprints won't come off with acetone, and are probably etched on to the coin's surface forever. Natural chemicals in the human body act as an acid and are imprinted on the coin. Sorry to be the bearer of bad new. But give it a try... you have nothing to lose! Good luck and let us know.