Acetone Dip -- Cleaning or Not

Was looking for some opinions as to whether an acetone dip would be considered cleaning a coin or not? What are your thoughts? In what instances would you consider dipping a coin?

Take Care
Ben

 

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Bone:

I am a seriously rigid thinker and sometimes too much of an all-or-nothing kind of guy. That said, I think that acetone is inert to the coin's surface and therfore is the only kind of cleaning I would ever do. I equate it to removing dirt with soap and water. Myself, I feel that ANY act that will brighten the metal of a coin does so by removing metal and therfore is damaging to the coin. (An all-or-nothing kind of guy, remember?) If we are opposed to toning on our coins, then fine, look for bright white coins by all means, but removing the toning from coins so that they can appear newer, or fresher to current collectors is IMHO tantemount to a crime. We should be stewards of the hobby and the coins, and pass them along so that countless generations can enjoy them,(in whatever condition or state of toning they may be) not make them as attractive as they can be for our own sakes.

I tend to look for older coins to have some light attractive toning, but truth be told, the registry sets are filled with heavily toned coins. Toned yes... original.... yes!...mint state... YES!

 

I would only consider cleaning a coin as removing part of it's ORIGINAL surface as minted, or oxidation. I don't think acetone would touch either. I'd be thumbs up with acetone or an inert cleaner to remove non-ORIGINAL debris, oils, fingerprints, etc.

 

I use Acetone only on damaged coins, and on them it does it's work well. Anything undamaged should remain untouched.

 

:thumb: on the acetone, otherwise, I agree, don't.

That said, I do have a 1893 half dollar in (?) unc.
The reason for the ? is that it is totally black.
I am considering (actually I am going to) send to NCS for 'conservation' to see how it comes out.
I am too chicken to 'dip' it myslef.

 

I have to back peddle after Jerone's posting, I assume that the reason for the acetone dip is because of PVC.
That said, better to remove the PVC than not.

 

Hi guys I had a quick question .What exactly does acetone remove? Im wondering since I find it fun to clean up cheap old coins . Ive even tried electrolysis. (doesnt really work though , The power adapter always overheats)
Anyways Ill give you all a list:bow:

cleans copper?-
cleans gold? -
silver-
coppernickel-
glue/tape -
discoloration -
verdegris-
dark/ toning-
Other/explain -

 

WoodenSpoon Boy :
The only coments that I will venture are:
glue/tape: acetone, as discussed above, also for PVC (the green crud from the old plastic flips.
dark toning: silver dip-- however, be VERY careful, not for amateurs (myself included). See my comment above about the Barber half dollar.

There are many products that will clean coins on the market, I'll only say one thing: don't.

 

The only time I've ever used it for was to remove PVC damage and to be honest the tone never came off. I used it on an 1892 Commemorative Half Dollar and the black PVC sticky stuff came right off.

Take Care
Ben

 

Ben:
See, great minds think alike.

 

LOL, I don't know about that.

 

I've got a few coins with PVC "green death" on them, and I'm going to the hardware store today to pick up some pure acetone. Hopefully it works well.

 

I will remove verdigris, glue, tape, ink, etc, but never metal or toning. You would be amazed at the amount of coins I have received from ebay that have been taped to cardboard. Incredible.

 

I would not be in favor of using acetone unless there were some environmental damage.....however, having said that, between 8-10 years ago I submitted probably 50 uncirculated coins to PCGS/NGC through a dealer. Found out later the guy gave all the coins a quick acetone bath before submission.

None of the coins ever came back graded as cleaned, and none of the toning was affected.....


v/r
Dan

 

I would say that if a coin is uncirculated, using acetone is cleaning. If the coin is circulated, it is not cleaning [or at least not something to worry about] because there is a high probability that the coin has already been through worse treatment on its way to becomming F, VF, EF or whatever. It's inconsistent, but it's the way I think about the subject.

 

Acetone is fine for light cleaning.
It works best for light grime & tape/glue residue.
I've primarily used it on silver, rarely on copper.
I've found Hydrogen Peroxide works best on copper.
With acetone though, don't screw up and leave the coin in it overnight.
It will soften the surface eventually and destroy the luster.

 

First time I ever saw or handled Acetone was in the service I was a Medic we used it for cleaning the skin so certain types of tapes would stick to the skin and for getting the stuck on tape off

 

Whether or not to use acetone?

The answer will always vary with the coins.

For Example,

Proofs that I pull out of circulation, I use acetone to remove the fingerprints. In most cases, this will have no noticeable effect on the coin (other than to remove dirt) as the metal has not been damaged (yet??).

Older coins and even most errors, i would not dare dip them in acetone. The reason is that once the surface of the coin has been damaged, removing dirt can actually reduce eye appeal. The dirt may be filling in pits and crevices leaving the coin with a smooth appearance. Remove the dirt, you get a sand paper look to the coin.

Now if the dirt is NOT inert, then you need to remove it immediately. Acetone is one of the safest solvents to use for that purpose. Olive oil is another good one, but Olive Oil does in fact modify the surface also.

Hope this helps

 

I find that olive oil goes better on salads than on coins. Trust me, I clean ancients. Lol.

In my opinion, acetone is cleaning, hands down. But cleaning isn't bad. Harsh cleaning is. Call me old school. :-D