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 Replies: 47 / Views: 5,545 |
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Valued Member
United States
359 Posts |
Also be sure to use glass or Pyrex for this job! I experimented with Acetone on a worthless nickel starting out, and I put it in a little plastic condiment dish thingy. Let's just say the nickel became one with said dish thingy! The plastic reacted and started melting away!
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Valued Member
United States
359 Posts |
Also, I find it hilarious how many people give strong warnings about the severity of this stuff. My wife & daughter's fingernails would be rotted to nothing by now if acetone were as potent as some folks claim!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1211 Posts |
Regarding acetone:
I think there are multiple issues going on here.
1. It is perceived as a nasty chemical which gives people reservations about ever using it.
2. We are taught never ever clean a coin. This gets drilled into our heads and the we repeat it in a vicious cycle. I feel that as numismatics, we do this out of fear that an inexperienced or otherwise ignorant person will ruin an 1856 FE by polsihing with a brillo pad. It is as though we feel the best solution is to just tell everyone NO MATTER WHAT to never clean a coin period.
3. Flat out, this is not true. You most certainly can clean a coin (although I prefer "conservation"). NGC does it and now so does PCGS. VerdiCare is proven and accepted here, is it not?
4. Take the time to learn how to do it properly and practice on some lower valued coins.
5. It is not hard and it is not dangerous - IF DONE PROPERLY.
6. You will not hurt your coins - IF DONE PROPERLY.
7. Isn't increasing eye appeal considered a good thing?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1757 Posts |
You should not clean your coins. Most coin collectors see cleaning a coin as the equivalent of stripping down antique furniture and refinishing it. When cleaning, the surface metal of the coin is often stripped. Anything used to scrub the coin will leave scratches (even 100% pure silk will leave hairline scratches). Most cleaning products will have some type of reaction with the coin's metal and the surface metal can also be removed in this manner. Your best bet is to leave the coin alone. Cleaning the coin will leave traces - which can be found by the knowledgeable collector - who in turn will not buy the cleaned coin. Also if you ever wanted to send your coin into a grading company, they can recognize signs of cleaning and will send your coin back in a "cleaned" slab (also called a "body bag" in the Coin World) - which is usually a greatly decreased value. If you absolutely must must must clean your coin do not use any of the methods described above as they will react with the metal in your coin. Use either 100% alcohol or 100% acetone (do not use fingernail polish remover!). Both of these must be 100% pure because other additives will react with the coin. Place your coin(s) in either solution for several minutes (do not leave in for long periods of time). Next remove your coins and either pat dry with a soft cloth or allow the coin to air dry (air drying is better as you don't risk scratching the coin with the cloth). NEVER scrub your coins! I would still advise you to leave your coins as they are. They may not be bright and shiny but that is what most collectors prefer. Good luck! |
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Valued Member
United States
359 Posts |
My take is this: The only coins I give an acetone bath are those that have visible dirt and grime on the surface, or those that have been doctored stupidly in the past (case in point, I had two SBA dollars that somebody had painted blue and red... acetone took that right off). If coins in my possession are in that grimy of condition, letting them sit in acetone for a bit isn't going to do anything more than what happened from the coins being in circulation for 50-100 years. I'd never do this to a proof or MS coin for risk of scratching the field on either side. Just my Two Cents (rounded to zero cents if you're in Canada).  |
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Valued Member
 United States
132 Posts |
I'll probably try acetoning a couple coins again to get in the hang of acetoning, and then soak my lovely lady a bit. There appears to be enough dirt so that at least some will be taken off. I may update this thread with more pictures once I dip/soak it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1391 Posts |
I have let coins soak in acetone for months with no problem. I had a really grimmy Newfoundland Cent I pulled out of the junk box. An overnight soak didn't cure it so I left it in for several months (I changed the acetone a couple of times and would swish the acetone around daily). It finally came out looking pretty good after all the caked on gunk was soaked off. Acetone will not hurt the coins for 5 minutes or 5 years.
One thing I would mention is that I cut a scrap of clean cotton rag to go in the bottom so that the coin isn't sitting directly on the glass jar. (Might get scratches from the swirling otherwise).
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Valued Member
United States
132 Posts |
k, I thought cotton might dissolve, but I guess it'll work! that'll definitely be helpful!!
thanks!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3755 Posts |
OK, one more time. Acetone will NOT harm a coin. You can leave the coin in it for years and it will do nothing. It does not react with metal. It gets no simpler than that.
Simply dipping the coin in the acetone will accomplish virtually nothing. It requires time to break down or lift the gunk. If an MS or Proof coin has an issue that requires acetone in the first place is not likely to be messed up if one handles the coin accordingly. As allranger said, a piece of cotton on the bottom of the container will alleviate the worry of scratches from the bottom of the container.
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Valued Member
United States
132 Posts |
yeah ik, don't worry, I've acetoned before, but just wanted to make sure that there were precautions I could take in order not to scratch the coin (I had read on another thread here on CCF that the rims could be scratched by the glass container), as I really like this girl  as soon as I've got some spare time, she'll be a soakin' |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
719 Posts |
Quote:
Quote:
I'd leave it alone. It's too nice to accidentally harm.
WJeeda, you have a nice coin there.
I wouldn't put it at risk.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
acetone will not harm the coin at all and the coin can be left in it for weeks if you want without it damaging the coin, but I would definitely use something besides pliers to pick the coin up, fingers would be better than pliers in my opinion as it will not cause gouges on the coin if it slips. But anyway acetone will be 100% safe on any silver,nickel,gold coin (the only reason I have left out copper coins is because I have never tried it on them) and you can leave the coin in the acetone as long as you wish to get the results you are going for. I have seen people set up the coin on its edge in a holder they built out of wire and then place the container they poured the acetone in on something that vibrates and leave it sitting on there to get better results from the acetone that just submerging the coin and leaving it alone for a few days but I am not sure what he used that vibrated like that but I guess its basically the same process jewelers use with sonic cleaners for jewelery but this is with acetone. I wouldn't use one of these things with the coin laying flat because the face of the coin would be vibrating against the bottom so if you use something like that be sure to make some type of stand that will hold the coins standing up on its edge
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1192 Posts |
I'd try acetone. It won't harm the coin. Just be sure not to try to rub to get that gunk off.
If it doesn't come off just leave it as is since pushing any harder to get it off may reveal something even uglier underneath.
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Valued Member
United States
132 Posts |
Although it may cost a bit, do you think it would be worth it to send this in to a TPG? Sorry for bringing this topic up again from a month ago But this coins seems to be in quite nice shape, and I'd feel better if it was in a good solid container. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10048 Posts |
You can buy solid contaoners online or at a local shop (slabs, airtites, et cetera). So unless you want, specifically, to have it in a TPG slab, save yourself the money and just buy a holder for it. Google/Bing coin supplies. |
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Replies: 47 / Views: 5,545 |
First Page
Posted 03/14/2013 2:27 pm
