In another thread, i was discussing the use of olive oil for cleaning coins, what is your opinion of the use of olive oil?
Olive Oil is a good loosening agent and in and of itself will not damage the coin, just make sure to rinse it off afterwards with some water or acetone.
Ok, now i had also read where before you slab or flip a coin, you should coat a coin in a thin layer of olive oil, was this a correct statement and why should this be done?
I've personally never heard of this or practiced it. I do have a tendency to give a coin a quick acetone bath before long term storage to wash off any contaminants such as PVC residue, etc. (Pure Acetone is an organic cleaner and WILL NOT HARM A COIN, even if you soak it in it for a week, it'll still slab with PCGS/NGC/etc) Cheers, Douglas Thigpen
Acetone is an organic solvent, there is no need to dilute it. Pure acetone will evaporate from the surface of the coin within 30 seconds or so after removed from the dip; if you dliute it, you have a chance of leaving residue (Especially if you don't use distilled water).
Pure, pure, pure! Do not use nail polish remover, or other combinations of acetone and potentially bad "stuff"!
I usually don't comment on discussions about acetone - but I'm gonna make an exception here. Not everybody in the world agrees that acetone is harmless to your coins. Especially people that have used acetone for things besides coins.
GD, have you ever seen any damage that acetone has done to a coin? Is that damage metal specific? What other kinds of things has acetone damaged?
Acetone is recommended if you get your coin back from a slabber for PVC plasticizer deposit ( after the bath they will slab the coin ) Acetone is not very good at removing water soluble garbage on the coin ( like carbonate stains from undistilled water washing and other pure water dissolvable stains ) Acetone by removing the grease will highlight any microscopic surface cracks the coin might have and so the coin may look less nice with the grease removed ( Nail polish is ethylacetate altogether different animal ) ( Washing in 100% alcohol will work but is kind of expensive )
ok, so pure acetone is the only way to go. If it evaporates does that mean it is flamable? the only time i see a liquid evaporate quickly without excessive heat is gasoline (and related products). the only reason i ask is to figure out if i need to perhaps use the acetone in the garage instead of a closed up room in the house.
Acetone should always be used in a well-ventilated area. The fumes are nasty. Your garage should work quite nicely.
Yes I have seen coins damaged by dipping them in acetone. Copper in particular - you should never dip copper in ANYTHING. I have seen silver coins that have been dipped in acetone with a film or deposits left on them. I advise against it - strongly. Folks - in the old days, cleaning coins was common. They would clean a coin with anything and everything including Brillo pads. They used to coat coins with clear laquer saying that it could be safely removed at a later date. They used to do a lot of things. Personally - I don't believe in doing any of it - never did and never will. My thinking is if you buy a coin that you think you have to dip, clean, coat or do something to it to make it look better - then don't buy it. Buy a higher grade coin to begin with that you don't have to change to make it look good. And if you want to keep it looking good - store it in an airtight container and under the proper conditions - it'll stay that way.
