Acid dating buffalo nickels

To have some fun (and try to make an acid date set and try to find that 16/16) I have been buying dateless buffalo nickels to acid date. The trouble I am running into is the acid keeps on eating the coin. I dip the coin in one container full of water to get the acid off, put the coin in another container of distilled water to let it sit there for a while, then I pull them out and pat them dry on a towel and let them sit to dry. Almost every time a day or two later the area I put the acid on has completely destroyed the coin. Any thoughts to help me?

 

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Don't use what you have been using. Vinegar or nic-a-date work without problems. Whatever acid you are using needs to be neutralized (try baking soda in wqter and I do not mean to scrub it) and then rinse with running water.

 

Nic a date is what I am using, baking soda is an idea though, I only keep the acid on for around twenty seconds. by then I can usually see the date.

 

I've never had the issue you are describing with Nic-A-Date and I simply rinse it off with water. How long are you letting it stand on the coin?

 

White vinegar is a lot less expensive than nic-a-date.
First rinse should be a water/baking soda solution, then a bath in distilled water.

 

Generally around twenty seconds, when I first started I was destroying coins. so now I do one at a time and wait till I see the date, then do the rinsing process.

 

Running water is MUCH more effective. After the coin has had its date worn off and then dipped in an etching fluid, distilled water is meaningless. Lots of tap water will do more good and no harm to such coins.

 

HOT tap water. Heat usually speeds up chemical reactions, therefore the neutralization occurs sooner.

 

Whenever I do mine, I use Nic A Date and let it sit for a minute or two. When I am done, I just rinse under the sink and rub with my finger over the treated spot. I have never had any continue to eat away doing this. Just rinse and rub.

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It is not an acid by definition, it is a copper etchant, ferric chloride. It results in the production of free copper ions that are prohibited from waste water in most states and locals, especially those that obtain tap water from treating upstream disposal. So it should not be rinsed into a municipal drain. Acids like the dilute acetic acid of vinegar should not work as well as Nic-a-Date as they dissolve both nickel and copper non-selectively , but can be neutralized with baking soda and disposed of down the drain, and is more available. Watch for varieties claimed this way which are mechanically produced and then acid treated to remove rough remains, identical to treatment.

 

Well, but ferric chloride (the active ingredient in Nic-a-date) is an acid, and also an oxidant. That's how it can attack copper, which isn't active enough to be attacked by simple acids (technically, it won't displace hydrogen) the way nickel is. It etches both nickel and copper.

Vinegar preferentially attacks nickel, since nickel is more chemically active, but it affects both metals.

Flushing copper down the drain isn't good (nickel either), but on the scale of ecological sins it's kind of low. After all, you can still buy root killer (pure copper sulfate) in any hardware or garden store. The amount of ionic copper and nickel you produce restoring nickels is really, really tiny; neutralizing it is polite, but not critical. (Besides, I'm not sure how well it stays neutralized. Depends on how they're treating your wastewater, not to mention what chases it down the drain.)

 

Ferric chloride is not an acid. Just because when dissolved in water, the solution is acidic does not make it an acid. However, I do agree that the amount of copper going down the drain is so minute as to be non-detectable.

 

That's actually one of the definitions of "acid". Also, when it's not in water (or at least hydrated), it's a fairly strong Lewis acid, but that's not really relevant to this discussion.

It's the product of a strong acid (hydrochloric) and a weak base (ferric hydroxide), so it is itself acidic -- just like sodium carbonate, the product of a weak acid (carbonic) and a strong base (sodium hydroxide), is basic (alkaline).

The reason it attacks copper, though, is that it oxidizes the copper -- not to copper oxide, which would tend to form a protective film, but to cuprous and then cupric chloride, which dissolves away. At least, that's the way I understand it. I'm not entirely sure what it does to nickel -- whether it oxidizes nickel the same way, or whether the hydrochloric acid it forms just reacts with the nickel via hydrogen displacement.

Quick, someone light the BadThad signal!

 

Thank you for the replies. My method is kinda long now but my coins I did last night are still looking good today. I now rinse in the sink, put in baking soda and water for a minute, then put in distilled water for a while. I am probably doing more then needed but it is working so I am going to stick with it.

 

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Glad you found something that works for you.

 

I am giving away secrets here! I told you about the 10% vinegar to 1 % peroxide solution to restore a date . Now you have done that , got the date but the whole coin looks like a ghost , Now what? What you have is a coin with micro pits from the acid making that ghost look. Over the years ( and I have been doing this a very long time) I found two things that work , one better than the other. The first one is simply a dab of tooth paste and a soft tooth bush. That works well enough. But if you want to bring the coin ( Buffalo Nickel ) ! Never never on silver ( Metal too soft)!!! To bring that Buffalo back to life and a more natural look I use Mothers Brazilian car cleaner wax ( liquid not paste) and a few Q-tips and cotton balls. Put a dab of the wax on the coin softly work it in with a Q-tip . Depending how bad the micro pits are you may need to do it two or three times. I wont tell you how far to go with this, that is up to you! After you get the coin looking how you want it, finish it with another small cote of wax. Let the wax dry then softly buff it off with a cotton ball leaving cote of wax on the coin especially between the letters and date. Helps your found date stand out. I use self sealing flips. Seal it up and it will get better ( more natural look) over time. What ever liquid wax you use make sure it is carnauba not a chemical wax, it just don't work well. done right it may be the best looking coin you have. That has got to kill the purest ( Don't do anything to a coin Thing) .. There it is the final result of years of trial and error and it works well. now you have taken a worthless no date coin and turned it into something, it value is simply what you think it is...
P.S.
If you run into a bad alloyed coin and the acid left stripe marks across the coin . the wax solution works well for that also.

 

Stop using acid!

If you want to put together the set you described use a product called Nic-A-Date. It will restore the date without eating the coin. Once used, the nickel is considered damaged.

 

I would never date a buffalo, but it may be more appealing if I were on acid.

 

You can even use Nic-A-Date in the cote.

 

What do you think Nic-A-Date is? It is Ferric Chloride which is a strong acid.

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