| Author |
 Replies: 13 / Views: 1,559 |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
860 Posts |
A while back, I found a 1919D Buffalo nickel in a roll of coins that was black, or coated with something black. Other than that, it was the second best condition of any buffalo I've ever found, the best being a much newer 1937 buffalo. My question is, is there anything I can safely use on it to get the black off of it. I was thinking about trying Goo Gone. Or should I just leave it alone and not take any chances? I've never gotten a blackened buffalo before, although I've seen a lot of blackened Jeffersons. Any idea what the black coating might be? |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
781 Posts |
I would try acetone. But maybe wait until some of the experts weigh in...
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1547 Posts |
I would say you want to start by showing us a picture of it.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
Pure acetone is probably your best bet and would be the least likely to damage the coin. Do a search for acetone, there are several threads about how to do it.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3345 Posts |
Try vinegar, let it soak for awhile and it sould fix it. But it might give it a somewhat corroded look.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
573 Posts |
DO NOT use vinegar. Vinegar will remove metal. Your best bet is to post a picture here so the experts have an idea what you have.
If you can't do that then start with a soak in distilled water and see if it comes off. If not, then move to acetone.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Without knowing exactly what that dark stuff on the coin is, it is always difficult to know how to remove it safely. If Acetone doesn't work, anything stronger will remove some of the metal and possibly make the coin worthless or close to that. Some time back I found a Buffalo nickel that too was almost black. Really common date so I tried Acetone, paint thinner, Alcohol, Lemon Juice, Vinegar, Muriatic Acid, several different jewlery cleaners and the coin just kept getting worse looking but stayed basically dark. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
7629 Posts |
This is probably one of the crusty black coins. If it's porous, which I believe it probably is, then nothing will help it.
Furthermore, I think it's in very bad form to suggest any sort of cleaning to anyone when you haven't seen the candidate coin. Acetone is only the solution in a few instances out of a hundred. It's not a general purpose coin solvent.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
466 Posts |
I have a very dark and somewhat porous 1925 D I pulled from circulation. Although it looks out of place in my album, especially since it is on the second page of the dansco album where all the higher grade buffalos I have are, I have never even thought to touch it because I never thought it would help. Plus the coin is uncleaned right now. If I wanted a cleaned coin I would just buy a big bag of dateless buffalos and make the dates show with some nik-a-date. I would say to leave it alone, but that is just my humble opinion. I'm not a big advocate of cleaning coins
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
860 Posts |
I don't have a camera that would likely take good clear close up pictires, although I could try our digital camera.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
860 Posts |
My Buffalo nickel spent 24 hours in acetone. It did not phase the black discoloration one iota. Any other ideas? |
|
Pillar of the Community
1028 Posts |
I don't know what's with all these recommendations!
Vinegar? No! That would "destroy" it in some people's eyes.
DI Water? No, some will seep into the pores of the coin and nickel or copper shouldn't come into contact with water, even DI Water.
Acetone? No! What's that supposed to do for the coin as described.
The best answer is to do probably nothing. We can't know what, if anything, can be done without a picture.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2596 Posts |
does your camera have a macro setting? if so use that and you can take good close up photos.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2596 Posts |
Electrolysis would clean your coin but I would only use that on encrusted ancients.
|
| |
Replies: 13 / Views: 1,559 |
|
Posted 10/15/2011 5:17 pm
