Finally Bought A 1921-D Mercury Dime

Thanks everyone. Ok, so while everyone seems to be in agreement that I should not place in acetone, in the spirit of education, I'd love to hear more about the reason(s) why.

Here is a close up of the reverse. The seller indicated the coin was out of an old album. I only have their pics for now, but there does appear to be some brown residue/dirt/gunk on the coin in spots. Hard to tell what is a ding and what is dirt. In any event, maybe just a hot water bath? Is that advisable?

No hot water bath , No acetone, No nothing ! because of all those dings the last thing you want is a coin that looks cleaned .

Thanks fsrdavis59, and

I haven't received the coin yet, but my plan at this point is just to add it (as the centerpiece) to an in-progress VF range 1916-1931 Mercury dime set in a Dansco album page. That is my current collecting goal (sans '16-D), and with this coin I'll be only around one sixth of the way there.

The discussion on "cleaning" is really just to remove surface dirt/dust prior to placing in the album. I still am not convinced acetone will harm it. I've read numerous posts here and elsewhere that acetone is safe for coins, is not considered "cleaning", etc. I don't see what the issue is per se. On the other hand, rubbing/wiping is a big no no. In any event, definitely not planning on paying extra for a TPG to do any special conservation to this, unless the price on a borderline XF increases substantially by the time I plan to sell (if in fact I do down the road).

Overall, my goal was to buy an original coin. So I want to be confident that it would hypothetically pass muster with a TPG.

Thanks for your thoughts.

I'll break stride here and say go for the acetone bath ..... Gently lower coin into solution and let sit for a few minutes and remove ..... They say no need to rinse with water but I don't see where using some distilled water would hurt flushing the coin ..... Air dry overnight at least before placing in folder ....

Obviously don't rub the coin but a gentle dad with a wood toothpick at a spot or two will not mark or damage the coin ..... I've successfully removed junk with this method and have never scratched or damaged a coin .... Of course while in the bath .....

Probably the biggest concern is uncovering some shiny color under the dirt removed .... But not sure what is worse a piece of junk on the coin or a slightly off color spot ....

You can always play around with some common coins to perfect your method of conserving .....

I can hear your wheels spinning and I don't think be happy until you at least try ....

Do take some good before / after pics and congrats and filling that hole!

Thanks for everyone's comments. After getting the coin in hand I quickly realized I had been suffering from what I'll call "10X syndrome". That is, staring at this coin and so many others at 10X ( ebay photos) really caused me to scrutinize it at an extreme level. Having the coin in hand, and enjoying it at normal scale, the bit of "dirt flavor" (as moxking had called it) is fine by me. No acetone.

terry8835 - thanks for the advice on 1916-D. Not planning to buy it at all. One thing I have found in my Mercury dime pursuits is that I have much less appreciation for G-grade specimens. So to obtain a slabbed VG8, I'll likely have to fork over around $1,300 (avg of realized auction prices as listed on PCGS). I'd rather buy several other coins for that kind of money (e.g., even a few more 1921-Ds at F, VF, or XF).

I would leave it alone. It has a nice classic gray silver look to it. This is how circulated silver is supposed to look.

As already noted, leave it alone. Nice coin as is.