Well, winter fast approaches, in fact we're supposed to get 6" of snow tomorrow. That means my outside hobbies are on hold for the next 4-5 months. So I decided this is a great time to get back at my coin collection which I had been in the process of cataloging, photographing, and storing/displaying. Unfortunately though, it's been a year and a half and I think some of my knowledge leaked out or got buried so I could use a refresher on some things. My process was to "clean" the coins of dust and/or residue, photograph the obverse and reverse, give them an inventory number and place in a 2x2 with custom stickers I was making with pertinent info on them. Where I'm fuzzy on what I was doing and/or not doing comes to my "cleaning" process. I'm using air quote for obvious reason, I know not to harshly clean coins even the low end like most of mine deserve not to be molested. That being said, I would like to get any dust and possible residue off them before they are sealed into a holder. I THINK I was swishing in a series of 2 or 3 containers of acetone, then letting air dry and placing it in the holder. However, i also have a gallon of distilled water and what I'm now thinking I could do, maybe I was before - soak in warm distilled water, then swish in clean acetone? I'd like to do something reasonably easy and quick but still worth doing to help conserve the state of the coins. Would love to hear if anyone else has a simple process they use to ensure as much foreign matter stays out of your coin holders. Also anything in particular I should avoid? Seems like I recall there was a certain type of metal not to use acetone on
Many people (including @GDJMSP ) have claimed acetone can cause some color disruption in copper or bronze coins while others don't agree. If you are concerned, use xylene instead. Instead of totally air-drying coins, I tend to blot them with a soft terrycloth towel. Lay the coin(s) on the towl and fold the other end up to blot...then turn them over and let them dry/evaporate.
I don't clean my coins. I know many do, but I am just not confident that I won't cause a problem so I stay away from it.... I do however place my coins inside dry ziplock bags and place those bags inside a Tupperware style container. I figure its about the best I can do to control the atmosphere that my coins reside in.
Xylene crossed my mind but it's even nastier to work with than acetone and my primary objective here is just to conserve the condition and not trap any nasties inside the holders. I think I'd heard some debate about using acetone on copper and bronze before. If I end up with any that I'm worried about, perhaps I'll invest in the xylene method or just distilled water and pat dry. Also, am I wrong in thinking that swishing in the acetone will cause the coin to dry very quickly afterwards? Thanks for the input thus far.
Xylene is not that "nasty", just don't huff too much or you might get happy. Acetone evaporates quickly but not instantaneously allowing any residue in the acetone to re-deposit. A quick blot negates that.
I have a general question that many can answer here. In 2000, I bought 40 Silver Eagles that came in the US Treasury soft plastic, air tight tubes. Two of them, 20 per tube. I opened them last year and I had 3 that started to tone on their own. Thoughts on that?
Silver is going to tone. No way around that one. We can do all we can to control the environment and the mint tubes are pretty good… But toning will happen to silver.
It's not a bad thing necessarily. Sometimes it enhances the coin big league, sometimes horribly. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Monster appealing tones seem to add big premiums for resale though.
I love toning but I have an ASE that has some toning that's not all that appealing because it's not even it's splotchy. I think it has some "milk spots" as well? I'm no expert on this type of thing. 2007 ASE by Jeepfreak81 posted Nov 25, 2023 at 9:46 AM 2007 ASE Reverse by Jeepfreak81 posted Nov 25, 2023 at 9:47 AM
Well…. Keep in mind that the purpose of an ASE is to store wealth. We being collectors have turned many ASE’s into collectibles, but the intended purpose of an ASE is not changed by toning whether that toning is appealing or not. It remains one ounce of silver and will always hold the value of one ounce of silver. It isn’t like faded paint on a 67 Mustang. Many of us don’t like it (and I am a major blast white guy), but that ounce of silver will always be an ounce of silver, white, black or otherwise.
That ASE doesn’t look so bad. I rather like the reverse peripheral toning. Good luck and kudos on getting organized. That’s what separates a collection from a mere accumulation.
