Removing smoke smells on coins

I lived a block and a half from Uncle Nasty's in Austin, home of the Everclear margarita. I managed to walk home usually.

 

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How bout unusually

 

From what I've seen, "rubbing alcohol" is usually 70%, either isopropanol or denatured ethanol. I sometimes see 50% isopropanol labeled as "rubbing alcohol". I'm not sure I've ever seen 91% with that label.

 

Ten states ban the sale of 190 proof alcohol (like 190 Everclear) to regular folks. If you have a legitimate business or research need, you can get a license for it. And no, research does not mean testing how much you can drink and still recognize your spouse!

Nine of these states allow lesser potency ranging from 100 to 160 proof. Vermont completely bans the sale of “non-beverage” alcohol to regular folks.

Ironically, some of the states that allow sale of 190 Everclear have dry counties, where supposedly no alcohol can be sold.

Cal

 

yeah but how is drunk, smelly Abe today ?

 

In chemistry graduate school, the stockroom got 55 gallon barrels of USP or NF 95% ethanol. Most graduate students kept a VERY clean gallon jug to get their own supply of "instant vodka" (just add distilled water)

 

Wikipedia
The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) defines "isopropyl rubbing alcohol USP" as containing approximately 70 percent alcohol by volume of pure isopropyl alcohol and defines "rubbing alcohol USP" as containing approximately 70 percent by volume of denatured alcohol.

 

Yeah, I remember those days too. If you had a university account number, you could go to the stock room with a gallon jug, give the account number and get an alcohol fill-up with no questions asked. It was incredibly cheap. One of the techs had a recipe for crème de menthe and always kept an unlabeled jug under the counter.

That came to a screeching halt in the early 2000’s. Could only obtain sealed containers (no refills), needed authorization from a faculty member or administrator, and meticulous records were kept.

In my lab, the ethanol containers didn’t have an ethanol or alcohol label. Instead they were labeled “SVR” (spiritus vinum rectificatum, its Latin name). This pretty much eliminated unauthorized use (by outsiders, anyway).

Cal

 

Okay, so I did a blind test with my wife. I put a set of coins into a separate ziplock bag and had her sniff them. I included another set of coins that had sat in the large pile. She said she could detect a very faint trace on the ones that I aired out, but interestingly, could not detect it on the coins that sat in the container of what I’ll refer to as “control sample.” I then had her pull each group out of the ziplock bag and smell the coins. She was unable to detect the scent in any of the piles.

I sampled each set in the same way, and could not detect anything while they were in bags. When I pulled them out, I could detect a faint trace on the ones that were aired out, and could definitely smell them on the control sample.

I think one of the things I did not control well was the amount of coins in each sample. The aired out coins had the largest sample, while the control sample had the smallest. I think that may have impacted our ability to smell the smoke scent.

My semi-scientific conclusion: all coins should get a 1-hour bath in distilled water, then fully dried, and then air them out for 24-48 hours.

I’ve elected to not purchase acetone, as we recently moved and have been spending too much money lately.

 

I've heard that dryer sheets remove smells from books. Perhaps Dyer sheets can do the same thing for coins?

 

Not a scientist here, but wouldn’t a dryer sheet add chemicals and things to the coin? Kind of like spraying febreeze instead of opening a window?

 

Specifically, dryer sheets seem to have fatty acids and fatty alcohols as their active ingredients. I certainly wouldn't want them anywhere near copper; I doubt they'd attack the metal, but they'd likely alter the color. I'd experiment, but we won't have the things in the house (too smelly).

 

Damn. You the man

 

I was thinking the same thing. Lol

 

Cool. I don’t even have a 1950 wheat. Oops just doubled check. I have all three. How come we hardly see them.

 

Except plastic

 

Thinking about the dryer sheets...perhaps dump the coins in the dryer and set it for a half-hour or so...

 

What are your thoughts on applying slight heat to the coins after drying them from the distilled water soak, just to be sure they fully dry out? Say, 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

All that needed to be done was to just pour them out on a towel and let them air out but that would be too easy.

 

Honestly major….. I think if you just left the buckets outside in the sun for a few days you would be good.