1999 Canadian Cent Fingerprints? - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,155
Looler New Member Canada 2 Posts	Posted 11/05/2012 2:40 pm Hi, I've been searching for a few days now, never finding the answer I wanted. I started collecting coins about 10 years ago, and until recently I wasn't really aware of the good methods to keep the coins safe. Since I started, my coins were in a plastic holder, most likely PVC based. As you can see on the picture below, it has fingerprints-like shapes on it. I have read a lot here, and since acetone don't seem to harm coins, I soaked two of them in it for about 24 hours now, and it really doesn't harm them, it doesn't do anything actually! So I have two questions: 1) What seems to be the cause of the damage to this coin? 2) Is there any way to fix this? Thanks! * Edited by Staff to clarify topic title. Titles are important! * Report this Post to the Staff

chequer Pillar of the Community Canada 4227 Posts	Posted 11/05/2012 2:45 pm That is from the oils on someone's skin acting on the coin to leave the fingerprint. It can't be reversed, but the soak in the acetone should keep it from getting worse on any of your coins. A long soak, as you're doing, really isn't needed. Report this Post to the Staff
John1 Moderator United States 56855 Posts	Posted 11/05/2012 3:43 pm Finger prints on coins are like taxes,they are forever John1 Report this Post to the Staff
Looler New Member Canada 2 Posts	Posted 11/05/2012 3:46 pm Alright, thanks a lot for the quick reply! I'll soak the coins I get from now on just to be sure there is no oil on them. Report this Post to the Staff
noahs-numismatics Pillar of the Community Canada 3167 Posts	Posted 11/05/2012 7:39 pm HAHAHA! Good analogy John! Report this Post to the Staff
John1 Moderator United States 56855 Posts	Posted 11/06/2012 04:57 am Thanks noahs-numismatics for getting my joke, not everybody gets my attempt at humor. John1 Report this Post to the Staff
just carl Bedrock of the Community United States 20753 Posts	Posted 11/06/2012 09:17 am Oddly enough it is not the oils from people that leave prints, it's the acid from their fingers. The Oils from a person's body could actually help a coin but the acid creates an etching effect. If treated with Acetone fast enough, those can be deleted but once the etching into the metal starts, to late. One more problem though is it is not clear that the darkened area is a fingerprint. Might well be something else. Regardless, excessive cleaning may get rid of it but also may well ruin the coin. If you look at the tab at the top for SEARCH and type in coin cleaning or cleaning coins, you may well find lots of stories about this. Edited by just carl 11/06/2012 09:19 am Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,155

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