Dealer Recommended Cleaning Coins

I would say from everything I read in the past, Just leave it as is. I never tried any cleaning methods, but maybe someone else has heard of this and can give you a better answer.

Tim

$1 each? Who cares? Go ahead and experiment a bit and try different cleaning techniques. Try to not use anything too abrasive right away though.

Yes, I agree. For $1 I have decided to try amnonia. I would have done it already but I need to replenish my supply of amnonia. I've decided to take pics of this nickel before and after and any progressions. I will post them if anybody is interested in seeing the results.

For environmental reasons now nailpolish remover here in Europe is most ofthe Methyl Ethyl Ketone so no longer the very volatile Acetone

Ammonia is a reduction agent and will give chemical reactions so it is not a pure solvent and as I understand it mostly used on silver to get off the oxidation

So if it is pvc plasticiser use pure acetone or get pure denaturated alcohol 99%

I bought a product called "Koinsolv" Says, Neutral COIN solvent, Removes: PVC, OIL, TAPE, GREASE--I bought to remove scotch tape from a coin (silver Peace dollar)--It didn't remove it, I think because the coin was in direct sun light with the tape on the coin, it just imbedded itself into the coin--nothing but a sander would of removed this stuff-Haven't tried it on PVC, but that is different than imbedded tape/glue--

Glad I went and looked for this can for this post, looks like the bottom of it is corroding & expanding, I've had this stuff for couple of years now in the garage with the heat, guess I need to find a new container for this stuff if I want to keep it--

All of my coins were stored in those old pvc coin albums until recently. Many of them had green pvc gunk on them. I bought a bottle of pure acetone from my local hardware shop (in the same aisle as the kerosene, metho etc,). I wiped them over gently with a cotton bud (not sure if that was the correct thing to do or not), they seem to have been restored with no visible side affects.

Steve

quote:

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Originally posted by Sap

If acetone is unavailable, try other organic solvents, like methylated spirits, dry cleaning fluid or vodka - they should do much the same job.

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I agree with brother Sap, with only one small difference. Use small quantities of the solvents on the coin, but drink the much larger doses of vodka. I guarantee that when your finished, the coin will look better.

Pure acetone is easily available at Home Depot.

Now, having said that, be careful. Acetone will absolutely take care of the PVC problem, but it reacts with copper to produce acetic acid. V nickels are 75% copper. Acetic acid is to copper much like E-Zest is to silver - a corrosive chemical which will dissolve metal from the coin if used improperly.

The acetic acid reaction is not nearly as strong, or as fast, as the equivalent silver reaction. Furthermore, the reaction forming acetic acid does not take place in the absence of light, so if you use an opaque container and cover for your soak, you should be okay.

I can't advise you of how long to allow the coin to soak, as I've never played with a V nickel and acetone. To err on the side of caution, give it an hour the first time, no longer.

And remember, you're only out a dollar if the coin gets messed up.