"Cleaning" A Coin?

It's not wise to clean a coin, Period. If you must, and since it is silver, I would recommend EZ test cleaner with a rinse in Distilled water. Do not rub the coin whatsoever.

acetone won't hurt it. pat dry, don't rub.

If it has ash or soot on it and it's a common coin, give it an acetone bath. Ash is usually alkaline, it would be better overall to remove it than let the coin corrode.

What is a good acetone to use? I'd like to get some for my Lincoln Cents. Thank you.

I use a brand called Klean Strip. I purchased it at Walmart. Its in a blue container and I've gotten good results.

This comes up many times on this forum.

Cleaning:
When people say not to clean a coin, they mean do not scrub away the dirt or put chemicals on it that will remove metal.

For coins other than copper, Acetone is safe and so is xylene. If one does not work, try the other.

Copper tends to sometimes look pinkish after being in acetone.

Which acetone?
Homework shows:
There is no such thing as a pure chemical totally free of other substances.

The term '100%' is for purities of 99.50% to 99.99%.

A maximum 5000 parts per million is the most allowed to call pure acetone "100% pure."

"100% pure acetone" (such as in Wal-mart and other stores) normally has Denatonium Benzoate added at a level of only 10 parts per million so that kids won't drink it. DB is the bitterest substance known.

A good test is to let some of it dry on a piece of glass and see if you can find any residue. Been there, done that -- just to prove the point -- no residue. Try it.

As long as there is no perfume/coloring -- which are added in quantities much higher than the 100% pure label is allowed by the chemistry community; and the label says "100% pure," it will be what you would expect and desire...100% pure acetone.

Here is exactly what I have been using for a long time now - first is from Wal-mart in the beauty dept. and the second from the Dollar Store:



Dangers:
No its not toxic; no its not a carcinogen; yes little girls spend hours at fingernail-painting parties inhaling the ambient vapors from the open bottle sitting among them without growing a third arm/eye/leg; yes it is found in grapes in small quantities (and us); no this does not mean mixing it in with your Pepsi and milk is a good idea. Yes, it is flammable. Yes, I used to teach chemistry.

If I remember correctly (I read up on it before) The treatment for too much being ingested is that doctors allow your body to rid itself of the chemical through natural processes.

If you want to spend a lot more for acetone, go for the lab grade quality. The biggest advantage of opting to go this route is you will be spending quite a bit more money and therefore helping the economy. Your coins won't know the difference.

Again - copper may turn pinkish.