Does Acetone Damage Coins?

, note the search engine on the top corner of the webpage? that is like a magic portal to amazing info! all you need to do is type in acetone and click enter no sarcasm, just me being silly. seriously though that search engine will be your best friend for finding a lot of info.

I have never used acetone and I have been wondering the same thing. I also have no idea on where to buy it.

By itself, no. But copper can catalyse acetone into acetic acid under light, and it can turn red copper purple.

Here's the article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...468601003590

You actually have two separate questions here.


As others have stated, the simple answer is "no". The conditions discussed in the research paper linked to by SlurExe97 are for industrial-scale cleaning of large amounts of copper on a regular basis with acetone exposed to copper for prolonged periods. For the amounts and time periods required for coin cleaning, this reaction does not occur and acetone can be considered "harmless to coins".


Despite what I said above, acetone is not "magic water"; it does not take a coin that would ordinarily be rejected by the TPGs and suddenly make them acceptable. If a coin is damaged by PVC residue, for example: acetone will remove the goo that causes the damage but cannot undo any damage the goo has already done; the TPG will probably still bodybag the coin for "altered surfaces". But it was the PVC that did the damage, not the acetone.

Likewise, if a coin has been oiled to artificially "improve" its toning, covered in Dellers Darkener to try to conceal a botched cleaning job or even if the coin has been "puttied" to attempt to repair corrosion, damage or even a hole, acetone can remove the goo covering the imperfections, revealing them for the TPGs to see. Now, the TPGs aren't stupid and would probably have seen the attempted cover-up job anyway, but after acetone the coin would definitely fail the test.

I strongly suspect that it is coins such as this that are the cause of the occasional "acetone ruined my coin" post or blog you might find out there on the Internet.

Here is a description from a well-known manufacturer, Fisher Scientific, of an acetone they market which I always try to use:

'99.5% by Acros. For electronic use, residue-free, Acros Organics.acetone'

In the event that you cannot locate 'residue-free' acetone, which would be your best option, keep in mind that most acetone contains trace amounts of water (< 0.5%)

Also as a part of my standard procedure when applying acetone to coins, a small 6" fan continually blows across my desk (opposite the direction of my face). This preventative step disburses the fumes sufficiently enough to avoid an auto ignition of higher concentrated vapor amounts flaring up from an errant spark popping up from out of the blue from an undetected electrical short etc...

And if you are still very concerned about any dislodged residues remaining on the coins's surface from the dissolving effects of acetone try blowing this still-moist acetone with an aerosol container of pressurized air normally used to remove dust from computer boards.

This works 98% of the time for me especially when the surface must be super clean.

Acetone is commonly sold in the paint department at hardware stores in most states. It is also, essentially, nail polish remover. It is not harmful to coins, and its benefits are many, but the coins should be rinsed after use.

Yes, rinse it with fresh acetone.