Found this 1938 wheat and amazed at how nice and in decent shape the numbers and letters are....I have a question though, there is a little shade of green on the obverse and reverse...Before I put it in 2x2 cardboard, should I wash the green off with some mild soap? Don't want that green to keep growing....What do you guys think?
See if you can loosen them off with a toothpick. Moisten the toothpick in distilled water or acetone. Some of these come right off, others you can't get off.
A short acetone soak and thorough rinse will remove any residual PVC residue that the coin may have picked up from old holders. It won't effect the coin. If you aren't familiar with using acetone, I highly recommend searching the archives for info on safety and handling, using pure acetone and not nail polish remover and other concerns (if the organic build up has been in place for awhile, the coin may have toned differently under it, which will show up when you remove the crud)
How short are we talking about? And after the soak just run the water over the coin or soak the coin in distilled water? I got a while box of cents that had alot of white I don't know on them,and it was 75% of them. Is that pvc that your speaking about? Sorry Joe had to chime in.
I just soak put them in a jar for a few minutes. In my experience. most PVC residue and light organic junk comes off fairly quickly. I also dab the questionable areas with an acetone soaked Q-tip. If you're not making progress, then there's a good chance that you have something on the coin that isn't soluble in acetone. [Caution: I have been doing this for a long time and have experience as too which coins would benefit and which coins are best to leave alone. I would not use a q-tip with valuable or high grade coins. Practice with some cheap coins]. Rinsing with distilled water is best. I do not like tap water because if it dries on the coin AND you have mineralized water, you can leave a mineral residue. Do you really need distilled water? Many here will say no and I'm not going to argue with them, especially if the coins are common. Until you get some experience, distilled can't hurt. PVC plasticizer residue is green. Will acetone work on white residue? Don't know. If it's an organic residue, then acetone is will work a most of the time (It doesn't work all the time on organics, but I'll leave that explanation for the chemists). If it a corrosion or toning byproduct, then it probably won't work. BTW: Acetone is flammable. Use it in a well ventilated area away from heat sources. You probably don't want to put it in a plastic container unless you know that it won't react (ever pour gas in a styrofoam cup?). It also may or may not react with countertop laminates. Don't find out the hard way.
Thanks alot,I've never cleaned any of my coins so I'll definitely try it on common coins first.I'll post when I start this adventure.
Thanks Guys!!! I certainly do appreciate your advise and guidance!!....Ok.... Acetone? Yep....Distilled water? Yep.....Gonna give it a try ....Fingers crossed!
Wellll......I cleaned both sides twice.....Got most of it ( green stuff ) Guess I will just put it in a cardboard 2x2 and keep an eye on it...
