I have a really nice coin except for this little spot..Is there something out there that removes this?After all everything in life is a chemical reaction!
Carbon spots are coin cancer....once they surface they are there for good. Yes acetone soak will remove the black surface leaving a brown spot showing just were the spot was. I've have had buffalos in the raw state nice Au to MS coins ,have the spots surface after grading. My guess the issue was in the platchet and encapsulating and storage gave the coin what was needed to begin the bleed. Notice the proof nickel below....this came in a roll of proofs all spotless except this one. Plus the spots looks like a sharpie pen drew them. I've have never before seen a coin with such cabon spots...no matter the medal struck.
I removed the carbon spots on a Morgan dollar and now it is a dull brown residue appearance. However I am hoping that this stopped the cancer.
There's a couple of things here. The first would be that what a lot of folks call carbon spots or refer to as being carbon spots - are not carbon spots at all. They are merely toning and or discoloration caused by something, (could be almost anything), getting on the coin and then decaying and causing the toning and or discoloration. Those kind of spots can be safely removed, or at least partially removed, by following standard proper cleaning procedures. Carbon spots, real carbon spots, cannot be removed. Real carbon spots are literally small flecks of black carbon impurities embedded in the metal during the refining process. They typically do not cause toning, they do not get bigger or change color. Those are there forever. Nothing in the pics posted so far in this thread are real carbon spots. But carbon spots are what a lot of people refer to them as being.
A little diluted EZ-est on the point of a make-up Q-tip would remove those. Don't rub, just dab and rinse in IPA and distilled water. I have cracked certified coins with these, removed them, then gotten an upgrade on them. Don't dip the entire coin.
Where do I purchase EZ-est? I have distilled water but what is IPA Thanks. I will send after pic's when completed
as TheFinn said though, don't leave it on the coin, and just do what you have to. It's an acid it's meant to remove the toning on a coin, and if it's left there it can have adverse effects. it does what it does quickly though, a 1-2-3 count and rinse and repeat if necessary, but usually not necessary. the containers directions say to dip the coin for 5 seconds, then rinse, and not to dip for 15 seconds because it might damage the coin. just dab dab dab, don't rub or scrub, then rinse in distilled water. MS-70 is another product but I don't have any experience with it. also Amazon, similar price but I think it has a couple more oz. per container. this isn't an acid solution, it's a caustic soda, it's a similar result in stripping the toning and it will eat the metal if it's treated too much or left too long. there's directions on either product though.