Acetone gone wrong.

I had a barber quarter that was severely toned. Tarnished blacker than night itself.

I make a good habit of soaking coins in acetone before storing them. As this removes a lot of organic materials like oils from the hands, fingerprints, etc.

When I went to use a q-tip on the barber (don't worry it's a really low grade) the black came right off, followed by a pungent, sulfurous odor.

Although the coin looks better, I have never seen acetone do this to a coin. The coin sat in a box for many years, so it was not AT.

What would cause this?

 

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Tarnish on silver can be caused by sulfur. I lived in an area where there was sulfur in the air all the time. All silver, sterling silver, and silver plate would turn almost pitch black.

It's not a good idea to "soak" the coins. Usually, a quick dip is all you need.

 

Well I soak them for about 30 seconds, I figure that's enough time. I did a test with several coins. Soaked one in acetone for 3 days, one for 24 hours, and one for 15 minutes. Did not see any difference in 15 mins vs 3 days.

The smell was sulfur. So I assume that the acetone removed the sulfur compounds on the coin.

 

Detecto. I think you may be confusing acetone for 'dip'. Generally acetone will not remove the toning or tarnishing. To really get at the black tarnish, you need to give it a dunk in a 'dip', not acetone.

Here is the effect of a quick dip on a heavily tarnished morgan dollar. This would never have these results with acetone.
http://www.cointalk.com/t140858/

 

It might not have been tarnish. It might have been soot if the coins were in a house which has a fire.

 

Burritos for supper?

 

As Doug says, acetone is harmless. It reacts with organic material. I've soaked coins for weeks in acetone. You don't need to worry about a quick dip.

Below is a 20c piece that was in an old ANACS slab (sorry...old images). I tried crossing it to PCGS but it was declared "questionable color". I gave it a 10 second acetone bath and you can see the results below. The artificial toning, intentional or otherwise, was instantly removed.
Lance.

 

Just curious....did you ever try to re-submit it after the bath?

 

To remove black tarnish off silver coins. Use a glass bowel, warm water to hot, baking soda and a piece of alumin foil. Get the foil and ruff it up with sand paper. Place it in the glass bowl with warm to hot water and bakeing soda. Place the coin just toucing the foil and watch the coin. When finished pat the coin down to dry it off, never rub the coin. See how it works. Good luck.

 

Would be okay to use on junk silver bullion to "pretty up" a little bit.

 

If its junk silver bullion why are you trying to pretty it up? personally i like the look of old bullion coins for their character.

 

I bet acetone takes this stuff off and you both ran into a doctor using it.....http://southerncoinsupply.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=198 Deller's Darkener.

 

I have seen a couple of different types of black "gunk" on coins that was not toning. For some reason nickels, (particularly V nickels), seem to get it.

Rest assured, like Doug said, if the acetone removed it the black was not toning or anything else that should have been on the coin. The problem with this is you never know what is under the stuff you are removing. I have seen fairly nice looking coins that once you remove foreign contaminants, (or toning), you have a horrible coin. This is why such coins sell at a discount versus coins where you can inspect the surfaces.

Chris

 

Please, don't ever do this.

Greenie, no I didn't resubmit it. I felt the artificial "toning" was used to cover up unsightly stains. I took it to my B&M and he was happy to buy it.
Lance.

 

The coin was simply coated with an organic, sulfur based material. It was definately NOT toning, just nasty gunk.

 

That's a great way to completely ruin anything that's left of a coin.

 

If it's junk silver, why bother? Leave those poor coins alone! In 100 years from now some collector may actually appreciate the coin for what it is without a harsh cleaning. Once harshly cleaned, it's ruined forever. As collectors we are custodians for the future. Think about how upset you get when you see an old coin completely ruined by a fool with some polish.