Removing smoke smells on coins

Recommend adjusting your comment to remove the bedroom mentions before the mods see it.

Also, never smoked a day in my life. Try to avoid calling strangers liars and assuming you can read their minds or foretell the future. Might make you come off a touch more affable.

If you knew the backstory of the coins, you’d see why they smell of smoke, and why old LD up there is so upset. You’d also know why I’m so upset to have received coins that smell of smoke.

 

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Smoke smells will never be removed from coins by airing them out. Whoever told you that is nose-blind from their own smoking. These people are probably not lying to you... they just can't tell any better.

Smoke smells will also probably not be removed from a simple water bath, although that is better.

You really need to just spend a few bucks, buy a gallon of pure acetone from the hardware store, and soak the whole batch in the whole can of acetone.

After that, run them through a water bath.

Nothing else will truly remove the smoke smell, and I don't care what any other member might be trying to blow smoke up your butt.

 

Just coming back to this since new posts have been posted. I wanted to see if a solution was found, but I guess not.
If they smell of smoke, they must have coating of nicotine on them and I doubt distilled water will remove that.
I didn't re-read this entire thread, but seems to me, soaking in acetone would have cured the problem, was that already used? if so, only time can tell. Good luck.

 

You’re right. I looked up local prices and I think it’s going to cost around $15-30 for enough acetone. I’m not sure the coins are worth spending that amount. At this point, I’m just interested in selling them. I was hoping the distilled water would do the trick.

I see what you did there.

 

Calm down. That is my only recommendation, and the best method is to recognize humorous intent.
Moderation can do what they like.

Other than that, I really have no skin in the game.

Jesus, get some acetone. It is a tried and true fix. You have a bowl of cents. Your life is not over.

I promise to refrain myself when you post from now on.

 

Well, I hope you can understand my lack of humor with strangers when the first comment I got when posting this was I was lying and there’s no way the coins smell like smoke at all. Doesn’t exactly open me up to humor, apologies for missing the attempt at humor.

 

You should be able to get by with a quart, which is only $11 at ACE Hardware.


Roll over image to zoom



Klean Strip Acetone Solvent 1 qt
Item #1438381| Mfr #QAC18

$11.99
$1.00 off Ace Rewards Exclusive
$10.99

 

Just looked it up, the water solubility of nicotine is actually 16 g/L which isn't bad. Since you aren't wanting to do much with these coins, I would just heat up a couple of gallons of water, put some mild dish soap in it, soak these coins for a day stirring with your hands a couple of times and then rinse with lots of water.

 

Update: after an overnight soak and a second pour of distilled water through the coins, they smell significantly better. I’m comfortable with sending these to a new home once they’ve fully dried.

 

We talk about "nicotine" being left on things all the time, but that's not the smelly component, right? I'd imagine it's the tars and other partially-combusted stuff that's smelly and sticky, and I expect those are less water-soluble, although soap would help.

 

Now the fun part of going through all of them. Good luck. I hope you find a treasure in them.

 

Good point.