A fellow coin collector told me that acetone works great for removing dirt or grime from a coin without damaging it's surface. I have some nice looking coins that have dirt or some other kind of substance in the pockets of the dates and details on the surface of the coin. I know it's bad to polish coins, but I'm looking for something that will remove dirt and other gunk without changing the toning of the coin.
For what its worth, acetone will destroy toning, I prefer not to do it if you want to keep the toning. Especially if you want to get the coin graded.
Acetone doesn't destroy toning, in fact, acetone will have no affect on natural toning. Acetone can remove unnatural toning that is caused by some sort of chemical on the coin, but true toning is part of the coin (metal) and will be unaffected by the acetone. A coin dip (like Jeweluster/ E Z est) will remove toning, but that is a whole different substance.
EEK! I have used E Z est and it completely ruined one of my beautiful mercs. I would not suggest that.
I didn't suggest it to the OP, was just stating that E Z est will remove toning, unlike acetone. E Z est certainly can ruin a coin if it's used improperly, but if it is used correctly it can have positive results. Something I forgot to mention for the OP- Many people advise against using acetone on copper coins. So just a warning if the coins are copper. Some people have had no problems using acetone on copper, but there have been plenty of cases of the copper turning different colors.
acetone is the only thing that i will use to clean gunk from a coin, i have used it many times and it has had no effect on the patina of the coin at all, just don't leave it in for longer than a couple of seconds and always rinse it in clean water afterwards, and the dab it dry to avoid any scratches,
Acetone will NOT remove real, natural toning. I've used it on hundreds of toned coins with no ill-effect.
Acetone may reveal areas that have not toned (or toned as much) due to the gunk shielding the underlying metal however.
And in most cases acetone will not remove ordinary dirt and grime. At least it won't remove any more dirt and grime than ordinary distilled water will remove. Yes, acetone is good to use on some coins. But it depends on the situation and what is on the coin as to whether or you should use acetone in it. Acetone is a solvent, it dissolves stuff like PVC residue, some glues, and some shellacs, some varnishes, some lacquers, and some oils. But if you are not trying to remove one of these things, then you should not use acetone !
Yes, I have learned EZ-Est is for jewelry and an occasional true junk coin. A long-time collector friend of mine soaks his coins in a jar of acetone for days, and he says no problem with the toning. That makes me nervous, although I don't have the science to say why. I use acetone on spot-priced silver coins which have been gunked up with PVC, which soap and water obviously won't touch. Toning was maintained, but as above, I can appreciate how the result could be uneven. Good thread.
Most of the time in my mind if one has to go beyond the acetone rinse for their coins I begin to wonder if they are interning for a Doctorate. Sorry old school purest here.
You asked about using Acetone. Here is an example where I thought its use was appropriate. I received this yesterday. To my surprise, it was silver, but it looked like this; I am not exactly sure just what was on it. It has apparently been stored in this since 1963; Anyhow, you see what it looked like. It does not appear to be PVC or at least there is no obvious etching one the metal. Whatever material was used, did not really dissolve in the acetone, but the acetone made it removable with a little help. That was a pain since most seemed to be in the nooks. I am not sure if I am done yet, but this is what it looks like so far;
Acetone was helpful with this one. It will never grade but it's just fine with me the way it looks today.
That slab CRACKS ME UP! They go thru the trouble of make that when they could have just used some acetone on it. ...that would have been a lot faster and cheaper. LOLOLOL Good job cherrypicking that one Larry!
I don't think acetone is harsh... check out this guy's project: http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=105744
Can't say as I've ever heard anyone say acetone is a little harsh. For the most part it's quite benign, harmless to most coins. The problem is many people don't use it correctly. And it's not only the methodology I am referring to, they try and use it on coins that acetone just can't help. It's kind of like sending coins in to NCS. Many of the coins sent to them should never have been sent to them !
