Found 61 roosevelt with black crud, how to remove it

So, Today I found a 1961 Roosevelt, great detail, hardly any scratches or wearing but it has deposits of this tar like substance. Iv successfully used a Q-Tip rod to remove a few of the lighter deposits but there are more hard ones. How would you recommend removing them, I just put it in a bottle of water for n hour hoping it would help but no luck. The substance isnt tarnish, at least from the tarnish iv seen, this stuff is raised up. Beneath the stuff the coin is undamaged, so any opinions? I have some mineral oil, would that harm the coin, im sure it would soften the spots?

 

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You could try cleaning it with acetone (and not the fingernail polish remover type).

 

ok, ill hit the hardware store tomorrow, thanks

 

Mek

 

In general, you should always follow the polarity ladder.

1) distilled water
2) acetone
3) xylene

 

I would be interested to hear the results. I bought some acetone for a couple of coins with glue on it but have not attempted yet.

 

And if all else fails.......send it to the smelter, he'll get it off.

 

I know Thad from other places, & have never second-guessed him. Gotta ditto.

 

Thad , In your experience with that method, and the products, do they come in small cans or only large ones, i wouldnt need much to test, so huge cans would be a waste in my opinion.

 

I wouldn't waste money buying chemicals to clean a junk silver coin.....unless you want to get experience.

 

None of the silver dimes iv come by are junk, circulated but have most of their original detail. Anyways I just wanna get rid of the tar spots

 

Sorry a 1961 dime in anything less than gem uncirculated ms-65 or better is junk silver. It's about a $2 coin in MS-60-63. Circulated it or almost any Roosevelt dime is junk silver.

 

But you could follow the ladder the opposite way. If it is tarry gunk, distilled water would kind of be a waste of time to start with. OTOH, if the xylene removes lots of stuff, you still might want to use the acetone and then water.

 

Dont' know, I only use lab grade stuff.

 

Indeed....and sometimes there can be a polar residue under the non-polar. Nonetheless, I generally prefer water first as a conservation solvent since it is consistently safe.

 

Where can I buy these chemicals?

Just looked on Google for where to buy xylene and Lowes was the first to pop up. I would think you can buy xylene and acetone at most hardware stores.

 

First time Ive ever seen anyone suggest MEK for cleaning coins. Im not here to express my opinion on if its safe on coins or not because I dont know. Im here to say : Wear gloves and DO NOT breath that stuff. Its better to use it outdoors. Its a very dangerous product. DO NOT store that stuff in your house for any reason. If you dont have a garage, leave it in the backyard in a well vented area, away from direct sunlight. If you dont have a place to store it outside or in a garage, dont bother purchasing it. Use something else. Its not worth the health risks.

 

Woah there. MEK is Methyl Ethyl Ketone whereas acetone is Dimethyl Ketone or Methyl Methyl Ketone (not a real name but just to be descriptive) so whatever you say about MEK goes also for acetone. There are lots of exotic organic solvents you could use on coins, if you happen to have them about. I bet THF would do a bang up job removing grease and oils, and I used to work in a place that used tank cars full. Main point being - all these solvents recommended for degreasing are organic solvents and have their precautions. Don't breathe these things too much (xylene is less volatile than toluene, hence a good reason to use it), don't work around any sources of open flame or you might make an ash of yourself.

 

"Junk" silver simply means that the value of the coin is just the value of the silver that is in it. no premium value above melt. As mentioned earlier a 1961 dime would have to be graded higher than MS-65 to get out of the "junk silver" category. And even then it won't have that premium unless it is slabbed and the cost to have it graded might eat up most of its premium value.