Cleaning a 1967 Victory Coin

Cleaning topic number 43,542.

I received a silver 1967 Six-Day War commemorative a few days ago (MS, not proof). Not a particularly valuable coin, but the mintage is pretty low. Extremely low by US standards. Anyway, it had obviously been in its soft plastic flip-type holder for a LONG time. In fact it might not have ever been taken out of it. The coin has no toning, but did have some sticky stuff on the edge of the coin on the lettering (all the way around), and a little on the rim. Is/was this most likely PVC residue?

I removed it with a Q-tip and MS70, and then rinsed it in distilled water and very carefully dried it. Gently! I know cleaning is generally evil, but this had to come off... Right?

 

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It sounds like PVC was on the coin. I do not know that MS70 removes PVC or not, but soaking the coin in acetone will get rid of the PVC. Of course, if there is underlying damage to the metal then that will become visible, too. If you decide to use acetone then please keep in mind that it is extraordinarily flammable and that you should keep your work in an area of excellent ventilation. Also, if you use acetone you may then dip it in multiple aliquots of acetone so that you do not need to rinse with water and definitely do not need to pat dry.

 

Thanks Tom. I didn't have any acetone but the MS70 seemed to work. At least it's not sticky anymore. I couldn't detect any damage, but I did not use any kind of magnification. I will try that the next time.

Do you have any tips for Acetone use? Do I need to scrub it or just let it soak? Will prolonged exposure hurt the coin?

BTW I had to look up "aliquots"...

 

You can and may use a q tip but it will scratch the surface. It is safer to dip it in the acetone

 

Dipping implys that you are holding it some way, if that is with your fingers, they will get dried out from the acetone (available at hardware stores0. I would put the coin in a container (narrow if you have it to cut down on the amount of acetone you need) on its edge, leaning against the side if necessary, and then add acetone to above the coin. You might also want to consider xylene if the acetone leaves stuff still on. Never scrub, even with a q-tip, it scratches. Patting dry should be acceptable, or just put it on some toweling and trun it once as it dries.