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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,653 |
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Valued Member
United States
256 Posts |
I have heard to use acetone to remove PVC from coins. Can I use acetone on my pennies? Also what can I use on my other coins (silver coins, etc.) to clean them?
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Moderator
 United States
14463 Posts |
Cleaning coins is not recommended. What when dirt and grim are cleaned away, also is much of the coin's value.
Sometimes coins are so dirty, cleaning does help, but it should be with the knowledge of what to use and not use.
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Do not clean coins. There's a world of difference between arresting a serious threat to a coin with acetone, and cleaning them. Even acetone isn't recommended in many cases.
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Moderator
Australia
16832 Posts |
I suppose one should ask at this juncture an important question: "Why do you want to clean your coins?".
If the answer is, "Because they look dirty", then you should know, coin collectors like their coins to "look dirty".
If the answer is, "I want them to look shiny and new, like they did when they were first made", then you should know that making a coin "look like new again" is against the laws of physics. Trying to make your coins "look like new again" will simply make your coins look cleaned and, as I said earlier, coin collectors don't like their coins to look cleaned.
If the answer is, "Because they will be more valuable when I sell them", then you should know, that they most certainly will not. You might get more money for your used car by giving it a good clean-up first, but coins don;t work like that. Coin dealers know that the people who buy coins off them do not want to buy coins that look cleaned, so they will pay less for cleaned coins.
If, on the other hand, the answer is, "Because there is ugly corrosion stuck to it and it seems to be getting worse", then yes, by all means, do what mus be done to prevent further damage. Doing anything to a corroded coin will make it look cleaned, but a cleaned coin is still better than one that has corroded away completely into a bluish-green powder because of bronze disease.
As for acetone, yes. You can use as much acetone as you like on any coins you like. Provided the coin is not one of those plastic coins from the Congo, acetone will do no harm. But be aware that acetone may not do much good, either. If there is no sticky, organic "goo" stuck to the coin (like PVC goo, paint, marker-pen ink, varnish, lacquer or sticky-tape residue), then there will be nothing on the coin for acetone to remove and you will have exposed yourself to a toxic and highly flammable solvent for no particularly good reason.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Rest in Peace
United States
10625 Posts |
I would leave copper alone unless it's real crusty in which case you can try an olive oil soak.
Edited by dave700x
11/28/2013 07:56 am
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Valued Member
 United States
256 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Sort of a strange world we live in. For example cleaning things. If you have a car, boat, bike and even a house, you spend a lot of time cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. And if you want to sell any of those, being clean really helps.
However, just the opposite is true with other items such as coins, old furniture, Egyptian Mummies, a Vass from ancient times, etc. Our parents always yell at kids to clean themselves all the time. We clean our cloths too. Difficult to know what to clean and what not to at times.
One way to look at it all is if it's old, and you clean it, you may take some of the original material away with the dirt. For an example if you scrub a dirty coin, you could take away a part of the coin that could help with a higher grade. And eventually enough cleaning would make that coin a fraction of what it originally was. Before cleaning a coin stop and think of sending an Egyptian Mummy out to a car wash for claening.
Acetone is OK for just about all coins. Acetone has no effect on the metal. Use the Search tab at the top to find many post about cleaning coins, Acetone, etc.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1261 Posts |
I won't beat a dead horse here but I refuse to buy a coin that's appeared to be cleaned, even rare, hard to acquire one's. When I first started an older dealer equated cleaning coins to taking a Brillo pad to your brand new mint condition Rolls Royce. I am glad Lyle had the forethought to come here and ask the question first before doing anything. Knowledge is the key to being a great collector!
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19960 Posts |
Quote:
I would leave copper alone unless it's real crusty in which case you can try an olive oil soak. Sorry, but I 100% disagree. NEVER use olive oil on your copper. It will alter the patina and the acids will cause damage. Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2881 Posts |
It depends. Using olive oil is a perfectly acceptable way of cleaning ancient copper/bronze coins - which have just about all been cleaned at some stage or other. Anything milled - just don't clean it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4333 Posts |
Quote:
Sorry, but I 100% disagree. NEVER use olive oil on your copper. It will alter the patina and the acids will cause I second this. Ninety percent of the old coins I aquire get cleaned. Well, after all, I have pulled them from the earth, and to catalog them without some sort of cleaning would absolutely ruin the classic silver, large cents and so on. I stopped using even xtra virgin olive oil because it not only darkens the copper, it starts to eat away and ruins patina. When I listen to LED ZEPPELIN...so do my neighbors...
Roll hunting since '77
Dirt fishing since '72
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Rest in Peace
United States
10625 Posts |
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,653 |
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Posted 11/28/2013 01:00 am
