Indian Cent Acetone Problem (1891) - Coin Community Forum

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Hi,

I made a mistake and was too quick to put a coin in acetone instead if inspecting the coin more....

I don't have pictures right now but it is an AU coin dark brown with some blue in it and a little red showing in some places. Maybe it is AT, I don't know.

The problem is that there was "alot" of gunk around the devices that didn't come off but instead went from black to grey/white wich now makes the letters look awful.

I don't want to try and scrape the gunk off since it's likely I'll scratch the coin.

Would it help to put the coin in acetone again for a longer time? I hade the coin in for about 20 min.

Any other ideas?

/denkan

*** Edited by Staff to Add Year to Title. Titles are Important! ***

I hate to offer advice without pics.

Edited by Coinfrog
01/28/2022 11:41 am

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Here are some pictures.
Picture 3 and 4 is most representive for how the coin looks. Picture 5 and 6 show the flat greywhite halo around the letters and in the shield.

When acetone evaporates, it likes to take all the water with it. There is a chance your coin's gunk was something like soil that looked dark as long as there was moisture. The coin may have turned a different color because all of the moisture was removed from the gunk. More acetone will probably help loosen the gunk, although it may have a hard time removing it entirely.

Edited by jacrispies
01/28/2022 12:12 pm

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I'm no expert but when I've worked with acetone, I need to replace the old acetone with fresh acetone. I'm not sure if the correct term would be 'saturation' but at some point, the acetone will no longer dissolve the glue. I removed a political figure from one of my Liberty Eagles. This took numerous fresh acetone baths before all the color was gone.

Agree. Carefully using a Q-tip or a wood toothpick after soaking may loosen some of the debris as well.

I had a similar experience one of the only times I've tried to acetone a coin, this on a silver dime. What was formerly black and green turned white and sort of sticky looking. I first did a few minutes, then an hour, then 2 hours, then gave up. I suspect it might be PVC residue but not sure.

I'd leave them as is. I don't mess with coins that already look that good.

It looks like a Mikes Mountain Values coin.

I had the same thought that it looked like a Mikes Mountain AT job, and the acetone is reacting to the artificial toning causing the grey/white halo around the letters. I have had some luck with coins that have been messed with or unwanted toning by making them a pocket piece for a couple of weeks. Try the following for a couple of days: Get as much skin oil on the coin as possible two or three times a day and put it in your pocket without other coins or keys. Your skin oil might darken the grey/white areas. If you start to see results that you like, continue until desired look.

Definitely has the look of a coin that took an MS70 bath (Mike's mountain).

I'd go another round with acetone, if that doesn't work then I'd go the route of xylene. Very similar and safe to use like acetone (safe for the coin, not so much for your health). Xylene is slightly greasier and I feel does a better job at removing some of that unwanted organic haze. I usually just dip a qtip into it, lightly roll over the surfaces, very minimal to no pressure.

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