Wheatie toner - wow! How to remove tape residue

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by gbroke, May 7, 2011.

  1. gbroke

    gbroke Naturally Toned

    So I have a ton of those old framed sets. Ya know the ones, silver story, westward journey (buffalos), 20th century type set....etc...
    Anyway, most of the silver, IHC's, V nickels, Buffalo nickels, are all polished to a shine. I decided to replace a lot of them so I dug out the frames. I grabbed the "WWII emergency coinage" frame and saw this Wheatie in there.
    I can't even come close to capturing the color on this bad boy. I have some toned wheaties, but I have never had one that has target toning like this. Is this common?

    Anyway, I popped it out, and the reverse has the sticky residue from the tape on the back. It looks to have awesome blue colors under it.
    Can I remove this with Acetone? Will it remove the toning? Or what? Thanks!

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  3. gmaster456

    gmaster456 New Member

    Acetone should work. Nice coin BTW.
     
  4. rlm's cents

    rlm's cents Numismatist

    And, yes, "target toning" AKA album toning is common on Lincolns.
     
  5. gbroke

    gbroke Naturally Toned

    I replaced all the nickels with MS and same with the lincolns. Back in the frame they go, and into storage. Curious to see what happens.

    Gmaster - thanks, I will give it a quick soak.
     
  6. jallengomez

    jallengomez Cessna 152 Jockey

    Nice one. As stated, acetone will take care of the tape residue without any damage to the coin. Just make sure you use pure acetone and not a product like nail polish remover that contains acetone as well as other chemicals that can harm the coin.
     
  7. gbroke

    gbroke Naturally Toned

    Note to self *make sure the cap is tight on the acetone can*
    I just went to grab it, it completely evaporated. lol
     
  8. jallengomez

    jallengomez Cessna 152 Jockey

    LOL...I've done that more than once.
     
  9. Taylor101

    Taylor101 New Member

    lol...i try to stay away from the whole cleaning coins thing!
     
  10. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Yes the acetone should remove the tape residue. No it will not remove the toning, if it is toning and not discoloration caused by the tape. But acetone has been known to make some copper coins turn some weird colors afterwards.
     
  11. jello

    jello Not Expert★NormL®

    I add white vinegar 1 teaspoon to 10oz of acetone in a good sealing glass bottle and that help too,it won't remove the toning but it will keep carbon spot from returning if there is any.
    plus you need also to dip it in some distilled water after the acetone to remove the acetone.
     
  12. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    I'll yield to BadThad and others on copper chemistry issues, but adding vinegar to the bath seems like a terrible idea. Even in low concentrations, it's bound to attack the metal, at least to some degree. And as the acetone evaporates, it'll leave the vinegar behind, getting more and more concentrated.

    If you use pure acetone, there's no need to wash with distilled water. Acetone evaporates a lot more quickly than water, leaving nothing unless it had impurities to begin with.

    Doug, about the "weird colors" thing -- were you saying in an earlier thread that you fish coins out of the acetone with your bare fingers? If so, the acetone would grab oils out of your skin, and leave them as a (very thin) deposit on the coin.
     
  13. jello

    jello Not Expert★NormL®

    I been adding white vinegar since the 60's but the key is keep above 10-15 to 1 part any larger amount will affect copper & bronze if u dip it in for longer the 1min it will affect it 4 sure.with that low amount of vinegar it will dry just like acetone.but acetone is traceable if you plan to have it graded vinegar take the carbon & the trace acetone off the coin after a bath in distilled water +pat dry.
    here 2 I did 1995-P DDO & 1944-D that was done with vinegar&acetone about 1-2years ago & Pcgs graded it to.
    but now Pcgs has that coin sniffer & I am not sure it it will be pick it up with that new machine
     

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  14. lkeigwin

    lkeigwin Well-Known Member

    Acetone should do the trick. It can give some red copper a little pinker hue but it seems to work well with brown or toned copper.

    Vinegar may appear to help the coin but it is acidic, like lemon juice, which means it will attack the original Mint finish. Surely some such coins have slipped past TPG's but if they suspect it has been "juiced" the coin will be body-bagged.
    Lance.
     
  15. gbroke

    gbroke Naturally Toned

    I did an acetone bath. All the residue came off. But so did the toning :( ill post some pics later for your viewing displeasure.
     
  16. rlm's cents

    rlm's cents Numismatist

    Did you use the vinegar with it?
     
  17. sunflower

    sunflower New Member

  18. sunflower

    sunflower New Member

    Yikes. Ouch.
     
  19. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    You may have gotten away with this in the past, but it was pure luck. Vinegar's active component, acetic acid, immediately attacks the coin's surface. If you dilute it a lot and don't apply it for long, it won't do too much damage, but it won't do too much good, either.

    Don't use acids, including vinegar and citrus juices!
     
  20. gbroke

    gbroke Naturally Toned

    I did not use vinegar. My feeling is maybe the toning was mostly from finger oil when it was pushed into the cardboard. I don't know. It was a good test piece. :)
    Its too nice outside today for me to be bitter!
     
  21. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    No it wouldn't. That's because if you do it correctly there are no oils left on your skin when you are finished. When dipping coins in acetone you should always use 3 different bowls of clean acetone. And by the time you pull the coin out of the 3rd bowl, any oil on your fingertips is long gone.

    Then as I said, it wasn't toning but discoloration. Toning occurs inside the metal itself. Discoloration is merely on top of the metal which is why acetone will remove it.
     
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