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 Replies: 112 / Views: 14,618 |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1291 Posts |
Mafia - As I mentioned in my very first post, I'm not a chemist, I simply have ACCESS to chemicals. When you say "per molar" I'm thinking "teeth". That's probably not what you were talking about, was it?
In my non-chemist mind I think you're telling me that unless I'm willing to do frequent change-outs of the acetic acid that it will quickly lose it's effectiveness?
The cost of the acid really is NOT a consideration as long as I can keep total consumption under 5 gallons or so.
Something that IS a consideration is my absent-mindedness. I wanted to check the quarter (which was in the acid overnight) this morning before heading to work and totally forgot about it! D'oh!
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
I would try the vinegar or acetic acid. I would NOT use nitric acid. Why? Because I believe the silver acetate would wash away. Nitric acid and silver forms silver nitrate which turns black when exposed to light and you are going to want to see whatever results you get. (This tends to be the problem with a lot of silver compounds, they are light sensitive. That's why they were used in photography)
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3294 Posts |
I have a great theory on how to date dateless SLQs. Now the reason acid works to date Buffalo nickels is because the date has a different density the the portion of the coin directly around it right? A thought occurs that if you shoot radiation at the coin with tiny radiation detectors behind it, then you can determine which parts of the coin are allowing more radiation through, and which allow less. The flaw with my idea (well more then one) is that this would be tricky to set up, and the coin might be radioactive when you are done, reducing the sale price. But theoretically, it might do the trick... |
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Valued Member
United States
149 Posts |
Hi Steve, this is my first post here-but I've been reading awhile, and I've been to your website. I have been a collector for a long time, and indeed there was a product in the late 60's that claimed to restore dates on silver. I actually have 2 SLQ's that I did that to as a kid-both are readable-one is 19-D, the other a 20-D. Both areas are quite dark as you have shown in your photos. If memory serves me, this might have been the same Co. that makes Nic-a-date, but I can't say for sure. Anyways, good luck with your project.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1291 Posts |
Ca Dreamin:  Is there any chance you can show us photos of those two quarters? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
672 Posts |
weerdsteev,
Per molar concentration means how much acid is there per liter. A fancy way of saying conc basically. And no you should not need anything more than like 500ml... I didnt know what type of access you have.
conder,
Making silver nitrate is exactly what I would be trying to do, silver nitrate is one of the only compounds that allows silver to exist in an Ionic form, as in a charged dissolveable ion. This is possible b/c essentially any nitrate salt is dissovable in water and will not allow silver to exist as a precipitate (solid). I am unsure if the acetic acid's base... "acetate" will be able to remove the silver, and if it does will it do so in a high enough concentration to make it worthwile.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
672 Posts |
and as far as the silver nitrate turning black ...your probally right, but the silver nitrate will be thrown out as waste and the SLQ would have to be flushed with h20 to prevent the date from turning black, but I think getting water on the coin is the least of its problems.
Im intersted to see how the acetic acid works though
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Valued Member
United States
149 Posts |
sorry, my picture taking skills need a lot of work, as well as a better camera. Let me say this, the Nic-a-Date worked far better for nickels than the silver date restorer-to see the dates, you have to tilt the coin at an angle-the 19-d is fairly easy to see-the 20-d requires more eyework.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1291 Posts |
Ca Dreamin - I would SOOO love to see one of those coins as would so many others on this forum. I would be willing to pay you far more than the coin is worth just to get my hands on it so that I could see it and photograph it and just assure myself (and these others) that it IS possible. And if you really want the coin back then whatever money I send you could just be considered a deposit until I return it to you.
What you said about Nic-a-date results vs what you see on your two quarters kind of confirms what I thought and said earlier in this thread.
Americanmafia and others: After 24 hours in the acetic acid I cannot detect ANY changes to the quarter at all. (By the way, the quarter I am using for the acetic acid test is the second quarter, as shown in my original post) I'm not posting a photo because...there's nothing to show.
I'll swap out the old acetic acid with new acid every day for a few more days and see if anything develops.
Question: Nitric, acetic and ferric-chloride (Nic-a-date) are all acids. What do you think might happen if I used a really strong alkali on the quarters?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
672 Posts |
Its not really the "acid" you want, its the strong base (its - charged part). You need somthing that will pull the silver off the coin (to reveal the date). When Ionized silver takes a "+" charge so the hydrogen ion (the acid) just keeps the solution at a neutral charge... otherwise you add another dimension to the equlibrium.
What I was worried about was is the acetate strong enough to pull the silver away in a high enough quantity if at all.
This is why HCl or muratic acid will do no good b/c Cl- is a lousy base and does not have the stregnth to pull off silver from a non ionized state (no charge), as far as usuing an alkali (base), you may have luck but they are more than likley going to be more interested in the waters hydrogen than the silver.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
672 Posts |
that said I still say your best bet is to suspend the date part of the quarter in nitric acid, and watch it slowly as it shouldnt take long to start dissolving the silver
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1291 Posts |
I have the nitric acid. To tell the truth I am holding back on using it because, like you, I think it holds the greatest promise. I want to save it until last so that I can keep holding out hope that something will work. Rather than drag this whole thing out forever, though, I'll go in this order: I'll finish up the acetic acid testing, I'll try the alkali and THEN I'll try the nitric.
The alkali I am going to use is a 45% concentration of caustic potash, also known as potassium hydroxide or KOH. I shall not be adding any water to it. It will be the KOH and the quarter, nothing else.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
672 Posts |
The potash you are usuing is it in powder form (the stuff I use for my pool is) If it is you will need to dissolve it in water otherwise it wont work because 2 solids usually wont react and if they do it wont be even
On a side note do you know how to change an avatar?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1291 Posts |
No, it's already in liquid form.
To change your avatar go up to the top of the page, click on "My CCF" and then click "Edit Profile". You'll see it there.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
672 Posts |
Thanks and let me know how it goes!
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Replies: 112 / Views: 14,618 |
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Posted 08/18/2010 1:49 pm
