Would Acetone Remove This Glue?

I'll see if I have WD40 around and experiment with coins of no value.

Would soaking it in boiling water be considered too hot?

I have porcupine quills that I could use to gently scrape the glue off after an acetone or hot/boiling water soak. Since the quills are organic they don't cause abrasions (I was recommended to use them supplementary to acetone as per a past discussion here on the forum)

The quill idea is interesting. Never heard of that one.

I agree with llewellin to be careful. I would recommend an ordinary toothpick over a quill. Most softer woods can be easily scratched with a fingernail so that gives you an idea of hardness comparison.

Practicing is a good idea. I hope you get some good results and please share!

I finished the acetone soaking

First pic is after a single soaking. A large piece of glue basically fell right off. However, glue residue remained on the feathers and other features. See below



The other pictures are after placing the coin in boiled water, using a light quill to remove debris. About 3 acetone soakings, which lasted a week and a half total, were done as well.












The dark areas around the eagle are not glue, but rather toning that developed over time. this toning would be uniform throughout the coin had the glue not covered the middle portion of the coin. There is no glue residue left on the coin now.

Overall, I am actually very happy with this turn around. It is difficult to tell through pictures, but the toning on the reverse is actually pretty when rotated under light. The obverse also has a toning to it that I noticed when I put it in my Dansco. I find it to be an attractive coin despite the reverse being "uneven" in terms of patina and I placed this in my Dansco where it will stay. Cant complain when you only paid $40 for a coin that in XF condition would be $100+.

The finding from my experimenting is that acetone WILL remove glue that appears to be caked onto a coin- almost instantly. The glue flakes off and the bond between coin and glue is essentially "denatured" by the acetone. The only issue was that glue residue tends to stick to areas of high relief and in crevices- such as the feathers and in between letters. The boiled water was an excellent medium to use to further denature the glue. An organic pick such as a toothpick or porcupine quill (my preference) is an excellent way to lightly remove this residue without altering the surfaces of the coin in a negative manner.

Hopefully my experience helps those who consider buying coins afflicted with glue damage. I can attest that it is not a permanent damage all the time- and that it gives you an opportunity to turn profit on a coin with depreciated value due to the glue damage.

I agree. I'm doing something similar with a man-on-the-moon coin that sat with a bunch of corroded pennies. It's fugly but I'll post before and afters when I'm done.

Congratulations. Awesome result, and thank you for rescuing a great coin in distress!

Great results.