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 Replies: 23 / Views: 1,973 |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19229 Posts |
Some clarification of the term water spotting. The water--or some other fluid--evaporated, leaving behind what was in solution--whether it be dust, fine dirt, or some mineral/chemical concoction. If the spot was formed some time ago, the material(s) involved will have likely bonded with the surface metal, making it very difficult to remove, if at all. You ask a good question.
Edited by ijn1944
07/14/2021 1:08 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10635 Posts |
NEVER clean your coins. Never.   to the CCF!  |
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New Member
 United States
4 Posts |
While I appreciate your time in replying, Oldfordman, I disagree with you. As someone new to this hobby and eagerly trying to learn about what I am looking at, the stain/damage etc does matter. I'm asking the question because I want to learn about what it is.
Thank you, ijn1944, for going more into depth on the water spotting for me. I looked up all sorts of different coin marks or spots last night before posting this and couldn't find anything that resembled what I was seeing. Definitely makes sense. As a newbie it looked as if it was a 0 from the 2016. Again, thanks for the reply! Can't wait to find my first true error!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
575 Posts |
Kudos to you for being willing to do the hard work and research topics to further your understanding. Far too many people just want to know without having had to learn. Quote:
A water spot would come off if I cleaned it, would it not? Unfortunately, no. The spot you are seeing is actually an area where the copper has reacted with something and changed from copper to a different substance (i.e. copper sulfate or copper oxide or any of a hundred other possibilities). As a result, it's permanent now in the same way the slight darkening visible on Abe's shoulder is also permanent. You can conserve your coins by rinsing in distilled water or acetone (or xylene), but they will only remove surface contaminants that are causing the copper to react and will not change the metal back to copper. Good luck with your hunting and with your learning. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19229 Posts |
Quote:
Can't wait to find my first true error! Hang in there! For those of us who've been immersed in coin collecting for many, many, many years, most of us have learned that error coins found in circulation are rather few and far between. They're out there, but not mountains of 'em; not several examples per roll of coins. As has been pointed out, keep learning (most of us are still learning), and keep your eyes peeled. Since you're in SoCal, be sure to drop in on a local coin shop and check things out. Edited by ijn1944
07/14/2021 2:32 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
549 Posts |
I just want to say that we do clean our coins. It was here that I first learned about acetone and have read that several others use it. Is that not considered cleaning?
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Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
Quote:
Is that not considered cleaning? No,it it considered conservation. John1  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2869 Posts |
No. It would not result in a details grade. The acetone does nothing to the actual coin but it does remove debris from the coin. If you bought a straight graded coin you cracked it out, acetone dipped it, then resubmitted it (in theory) it should come back straight graded.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
575 Posts |
Quote:
I just want to say that we do clean our coins. It was here that I first learned about acetone and have read that several others use it. Is that not considered cleaning? Some of us prefer to make a distinction between conservation and cleaning. In conservation you are arresting the effect foreign substances are having on the coin, most commonly by removing the offending substances. But you are doing so in a way that does not alter or remove any of the underlying metal of the coin. You are taking the coin as it is and preventing future damage, but not doing any present damage. The results can improve the appearance of the coin sometimes (but not always), but the key is not altering the original coin itself. In cleaning, your goal is to improve the appearance of the coin, even if that means removing or altering existing metal. If I conserve a coin by soaking it acetone and it doesn't look any better than it did before, I've still helped the coin because it won't look any worse 10 years from now (assuming proper storage, of course). But if I clean a coin by mechanical or chemical means, not only have I altered (damaged?) the original metal of the coin, but I've virtually assured that it will look worse in 10 years than it does now. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2869 Posts |
HGK3 explained what I meant perfectly.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
549 Posts |
Thanks for the clarification.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19229 Posts |
Next time I scrub the shower I'll remember the difference between cleaning and conserving.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
549 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
Interesting to see how this discussion has evolved.
Perhaps not so relevant to this discussion, but worth considering as a 'side':-
Almost all ancient coins have been cleaned after recovery, and sometimes preserved as well.
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Moderator
United States
56855 Posts |
HGK3 Nailed It!!! Very well put. John1 |
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Posted 07/14/2021 1:47 pm
