Remove Shellac On Large Cents? - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 8 / Views: 2,292
Alex A Pillar of the Community 710 Posts	Posted 10/21/2013 5:47 pm I have some Victoria large cents that appear to be coated with shellac. The surface is sticky/gummy and will scratch easily with your finger nail. Is there a *SAFE* way to remove the shellac? Or should I leave "as is". Most of these grade VF-EF so I do NOT want to damage the coins. Thoughts? Report this Post to the Staff

trout1105 Pillar of the Community Australia 7096 Posts	Posted 10/21/2013 5:49 pm Do a search for "Acetone" on this site . There are many threads on the subject and I imagine this will do the trick on these coins without harming them in any way Report this Post to the Staff
SPP-Ottawa Moderator Canada 10464 Posts	Posted 10/21/2013 5:52 pm Acetone will not hurt VF-EF cents. However, mint state red lacquered coins are another matter entirely... "Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert Oppenheimer Content of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_US My eBay store Report this Post to the Staff
billfrak Valued Member Canada 496 Posts	Posted 10/22/2013 10:53 am How long would you put a copper cent in acetone for? Report this Post to the Staff
jello_g Valued Member Canada 108 Posts	Posted 10/22/2013 11:35 am How long likely depends on how much shellac or other contaminant is on the coin. If a little, then a few seconds should do it. But for thick, layered, hardened coats of lacquer, may require a few minutes or longer in a "bath". Report this Post to the Staff
billfrak Valued Member Canada 496 Posts	Posted 10/22/2013 11:38 am Thanks I won't toss it in overnight. Would it hurt? What would happen? Report this Post to the Staff
jello_g Valued Member Canada 108 Posts	Posted 10/22/2013 11:55 am Overnight? Won't your coin disintegrate? Oh wait, that's what happens when you use Coke. I can't say for certain if overnighting it is safe, never tried that myself. Perhaps experiment with a lesser value coin first to see how it goes. Report this Post to the Staff
Alex A Pillar of the Community 710 Posts	Posted 10/29/2013 09:02 am The acetone did the trick! I left the pennies in the bath for minutes to hours depending on how much gunk was on the coin. It may take a few baths to remove so be patient. The good news is that the cleaning revealed a couple of large cent varieties. Thanks for the help. Cheers! Report this Post to the Staff
DEVLEC Pillar of the Community Canada 3234 Posts	Posted 10/29/2013 09:07 am Why not post some pics of these vicky varieties now that you can distinguish them? Report this Post to the Staff
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