For this soak I ended up doing my 1889 Morgan. I've had reservations about that coin for a while because i'm not sure how authentic it is. I bought it out of the end of questionable roll. The ends of the roll were tight but the paper looked damaged so I wondered if it hadn't gotten wet a while back or something. The coin was alright in photographs but in hand it only had luster on the edges and the non toned surfaces looked cloudy. I can only describe it as looking like it had a layer of something on top of it, something kind ugly little brown/yellow/orange color to it I thought it was worth finding out whats underneath. I tested the coin then followed with a 1 hour soak, rinse, and 5 minute soak then rinse. (all with acetone) Overall I'm very happy with the way the coin appears after soaking it. It feels a lot more genuine (to me) and I enjoy the look. Hope you liked seeing my coins little journey! The in hand appearance: Better lighting DIRTY coin: Acetone CLEANED: Left to right: in hand, Dirty, Cleaned. Two more showing new color popping, the top I added some saturation:
Don't be lulled into a false sense of comfort. Not all AT will be removed by acetone; only organic residues on the coin will. There are also inorganic chemical methods and physical methods (including heat) too that will be unaffected by an acetone soak.
@EyeAppealingCoins true. I'm just happy only the brown came off the edge. The only reason I have to believe this is genuine is because the roll was unbroken. (I didn't pay too much for it and it's a nice story piece for now. If I decide to sell it I'll probably be honest and just let the buyer decide. But for now I get to eyeball it! Ha
One of this country's most valuable assets in the beginning were the tobacco plantations. And smoking was just common practice in that coins life. You have to remember that smoking wasn't frowned upon until fairly recently. That coin has been around for 130 years it wouldn't have to have been around a heavy smoker. Just any smoker.
@Seattlite86 @Hookman It's not world changing but: BUS has the yellow brown removed revealing more purples Right side of the cap and UNUM had brown color only, now shows more blue green. Point of the neck at 6 o clock had color revealed. Left stars had yellow color removed. From my perspective I see more color where there was just browns and all the weird yellow was removed. Then the reverse just removed the Haze.
Remember that after the acetone dip, the coin's surface is no longer protected by the oil that was on it, and it probably will rapidly oxidize further.
I let the coin dry then put it into a holder. Is there something you would recommend I could do instead? Thanks
You should definitely lightly oil the surface to protect it. Copper collectors do this all the time. Silver isn't as reactive, but it will definitely corrode when unprotected. Think of how silverware always tarnishes after you clean it. Then you dip it to get rid of the tarnish and the cycle starts again until there's no silver left. Or in the case of a coin, no luster left. Really, the better approach would be not to use acetone or other organic solvents in the first place. Any crud that won't come off with distilled water should probably be left on the coin.
@halfcent1793, what product(s) do you use to “oil” copper and silver (if they are different)? MS-70? Verdicare? Thanks, Steve
I’m sure it does seem odd to today’s generation that smoking was the norm until recently. My high school had a smoking hall! I would suspect any coin minted prior to about 1985 would have been exposed to large amounts of nicotine infused environments.
Mine didn't, HS Class of 1962, Fairfax County, VA. That may have changed. I attended UVA night classes in VA high schools the next year, and they offered smoke breaks outside. Having been a smoker, I can understand that coins would be affected. The smoke will destroy your electronics, and in the case of Apple Computers, the company will not repair your unit a second time, even if you have AppleCare.
The current best product is Classic Coin Conditioner. Back in the good ol' days, we used products called Care or Blue Ribbon. They are now illegal as they contained ozone-depleting chemicals. Basically, any good light mineral oil will do the job if used lightly.
