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 Replies: 13 / Views: 4,112 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
882 Posts |
My father recently inherited several albums of Morgan and Peace dollars from his father. I am an avid coin collector so I was helping him go through them. Several have tape residue on the face of the coin. The tape has been removed several years ago but there is still tape residue on some of the coins. So I don't purchase coins with this type of problem, I've never inherited coins with this problem, and I have never cleaned any of my coins. But with the coins my father inherited, cleaning them has to make them more appealing than the nasty residue that is on them. What are my options in this type of situation?   |
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Valued Member
Canada
137 Posts |
If there is no high grade coins or key date I would do it.
but if you do that then deside to sell it a year later it will destroy the value
also when cleaning make sure the coins are only cleaned with there kind and make sure all of the cleaning product is washed of the coin before storing it in the case again.
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Valued Member
United States
226 Posts |
If it is truly tape residue, then soak it in pure acetone (from Home Depot or such -- not nail polish). Don't use a plastic dish as acetone can soften/melt it... It should only take a few minutes to maybe a few hours depending on how bad the residue is. Make sure you use the acetone in a well ventilated area too. The tape reside may need to be "helped" a bit after the soak. Tooth picks are what I usually use. I would strongly suggest that you don't "clean" the coins... Don't rub, wipe, or polish them to remove the tape as this will certainly kill any value. Also, it appears that at lest one of the coins is just toned where the tape wasn't, leaving the stripe on the coin... If it is due to toning, then acetone won't help, and I definitely wouldn't try to "help" the coin if it is just patterned toning.
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
Acetone will remove the tape residue easily. The remaining coin will almost certainly have a "stripe" where the residue-covered surface did not age as quickly as the rest of the coin, so it'll be a wash in terms of eye appeal.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5828 Posts |
I would use acetone, as mentioned.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2077 Posts |
As SuperDave said, the stripe will always be there. Here's the thing though about cleaning. You shouldn't ever clean a coin. That being said, I've seen HIGHER GRADE Morgans that have been dipped and they don't look that bad. In fact, if it's carefully done, it can look pretty good. However, on a well work example, it just looks terrible as the lack of detail from the contrasting coloration make the coin look flat and lifeless.
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Valued Member
United States
403 Posts |
I will back up the "acetone" crowd. Acetone will remove the residue without affecting the underlying surfaces of the coin, and thus will preserve the originality whilst eliminating the contaminants.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
882 Posts |
If you use acetone to clear off the tape, will the coin still be considered "cleaned"? Will the value of a acetone soaked coin be the same as a coin with tape residue on it?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1788 Posts |
Acetone is natural so it wont be considered cleaned.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
882 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1788 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7390 Posts |
I belive technically it's because acetone is so volital that it leaves NO trace of itself on a coin. However, if it leaves an un-natural pattern (like a tape line or differently aged spots etc) some say the tpgs will count that as cleaned by absence of what was.
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
We call them "cleaned" not because they have been cleaned but because they look like they've been cleaned. These will almost certainly look cleaned if treated, and will therefore be cleaned coins with lessened value.
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Replies: 13 / Views: 4,112 |
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Posted 08/07/2015 12:45 pm
