matthew88

I have a Peace Dollar that has some brown spots on it on the reverse side. It almost looks like rust. My questions are: Is there any way to remove the spots? What are they?

Thanks is advance for the help!

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Matthew

Collect89

Hello Matthew,

The surface of the coin appears to have a plethora of scratches so I suspect it has already been scrubbed. Therefore, you are probably not going to hurt anything if you do a little more spot cleaning. Consider leaving it alone & sell it. You can then upgrade to one with a good surface.

In the old days, people would clean spots on silver with some baking soda in a paste gently rubbed on the coin's surface with a Q-Tip. This will probably turn those brown spots into bright silver spots.

If you think it is rust, then check it with a magnet. Real silver dollars do not rust.

Very best regards,
collect89

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matthew88

I don't think it is rust, but I have never seen brown stains on a silver coin. All of mine that have anything on them, the stain is black. I did check the coin with a magnet, and it does not stick.

PS: I did try to wipe it with warm water, and nothing happened. I also tried to wipe it with some Wright's Silver Cream, but that did nothing either. Is using this cream recommended for use on coins? I know it's really meant for silverware.

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Matthew

Tater

The brown stain could be any number of things, but I don;t think it is rust if the coin is real. The 1922 is a very common year and from the looks your coin has been cleaned, rubbed or slide across a counter a lot so I don;t think washing it in water or acetone will hurt it. Try using a little acetone on a q-tip than rinse with water and let air dry.

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Gorgeous Peace dollar by the way. For some reason, that one draws me.

GDJMSP

Big no-no ! Using anything like that is harmful to the coin. In fact just wiping the coin with a cloth, or even your finger, is harmful to the coin.

What is on your coin is toning, that's all. And before those black spots you mentioned were black - they were brown at some point. Toning has many stages. It gradually progresses over time and changes color. It can virtually be any color you can imagine.

Now if you want to remove it, a commercial coin dip will do the trick. But coins dips are acid and they will remove a thin layer of metal from the coin. That's why they remove toning. The color is IN the metal, not ON it. So it cannot be removed without removing metal.

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matthew88

Thanks for the information everyone. I'll be sure not to use the silver cream anymore. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to what to do and not to do. Guess I should ask before I jump into it!

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Matthew

GDJMSP

Ahhhhh - a man after my own heart

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