Q-Tips don't scratch?

Yesterday I got a proof Nickel from eBay for my type set.

I was taking it out of the case and it slipped right on my finger!

My stupidity for not using gloves.

So I soaked it in acetone for several hours. To my horror the print was still there!

So I got a q-tip and said what the heck. It only cost me a buck.

Under the acetone I carefully wiped it off.

I looked real hard, even with a loupe, and saw no scratching.

 

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That is correct, my comem. half was not scratched after using q-tip on it. Checked under x60 magnification, no scratches, hairlines or any other traces.

 

I bet I can get a Qtip to scratch a coin, just depends on how much pressure you add to it.

 

Exactly. I know for a fact that cotton can scratch a coin.

 

Lol. Didn't add any pressure, just lightly touched it and rubbed.

 

Theres billions more out there. Just buy another.

Sent from my Motorola Electrify using Tapatalk

 

Dab, don't rub.

 

You were very lucky. It takes very little to mess up a proof.

 

Would the q-tip being submerged help?

 

Depends.

If you are removing dirt and the dirt dissolves or liquifies, all you are doing is smearing the dirt around and scratching your coin.

 

No.

As stated, Q-Tip cotton swabs can scratch the coin.

You were lucky, nothing more.

 

Silver Proofs - Yes.

Non-Proof Silver Coins, 99% not sinve Q-Tips impart hair lines and will only "scratch" a coin if there is a hard foreign substance imbedded in the Q-Tip.

Copper Nickel Proofs and Copper Nickel coins don't even get hairlined. Again, unless there is something imbedded in the Q-Tip.

I didn't believe it until I tried it on a 1970-S Washington Proof. I simply could not get hairlines in the fields regardless of how much pressure I used.

Of course, its never a good idea to take anything to the surface of a proof coin unless you're willing to accept the consequences.

 

2011-S Kennedy as removed from the Proof Set:




2011-S Kennedy after rubbing the haze area with a dry Q-Tip:



I do not see any scratching nor do I see any hairlines. Copper-Nickel Proofs will not hairline using a Q-Tip on them.

Silver, on the other hand, is much softer than Copper-Nickel and will most definitely hairline.
As with anything in Coin Collecting, its what you know that can either help you or really make your life (and pocket book) miserable.

 

In addition to possibly scratching the coin wouldn't you be worried about cotton fibers being left behind? I've never used Qtips on a coin but just in regular use I've seen some defective Qtips just come apart.