Fingerprints on Coins

V. Kurt Bellman's Kodak S-10 solution would take that fingerprint off and leave no trace.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Acetone won't do anything.

 

I’ll add this. I am embarrassed and may have to turn in my CT card.... Twenty-odd years ago I assembled an Ike dollar set that included proofs. I was NOT the careful numismatist that I am now! I did not leave visible prints on those proofs when I assembled the set. But when you look at the proofs now they look like a forensics experiment gone bad. Yes fingerprints do grow deeper and darker over time.

 

If the fingerprint is fresh, acetone will remove it.

 

I thought about it, I laughed about it then I forgot about it!

I'm not a professional. I would screw it up and make it worse for sure! It's in the Dansco in it's final resting place.

 

Hate to spoil the fun, but there are no oil glands on the fingertips. Fingerprints are caused by the salts in sweat from the sudoriferous glands on the fingertips, corroding the metal. If you rinse every coin with acetone or distilled water and dry before putting it away, no finger prints. If you are sweating in a coin show, possible fingerprints weeks later on bare coins. Once the metal is corroded , acetone or no organic solvent will remove it. A dip should only be considered if it was silver, not copper. I do not think anything would remove the print shown on the cent. I was talking about the silver coin in post #1

Jim

 

And nothing to gain. Acetone ain't gonna save it.........

 

Very few copper coins with old prints can be helped. Some say that the services can lighten the print some.
With silver coins, you have a much better chance of removing the print without killing the coin. Not something most should even try to do.

 

But this most likely happened years ago Jim. Once it's on the coin, it's forever......

 

Ok....educate me. I have been experimenting a little with cleaning coins while roll searching......would not even attempt it on anything in my collection.....but just some run of the mill quarters. so...I found a very dirty quarter...it was dirt, not patina....so I tried a drop of GermX on it and lightly rubbed it with my finger. The dirt (mostly came off.....it also worked with a recent fingerprint on one. I then patted it dry with a soft cotton towel. worked well on both coins, and I didn't detect any additional damage. I also took one and ran it under hot water to remove what looked like a glue residue. it came off too, then patted dry. Will a soft cotton towel scratch a coin?
What is the proper way to clean coins if needed. It seems to me acetone would be harsh.

 

Generally speaking the words "cleaning" and "coins" shouldn't never be used in the same sentence. But if you are cleaning them, you're doing the right thing by practicing on common/worthless coins. A soft cotton towel shouldn't hurt the coin, just dab the coin dry. Never harshly rub a coins. I'm assuming the quarter you found was a clad, not silver. GermX probably won't hurt a coin. All I use is acetone and distilled water. Acetone isn't harsh on coins.

You can also practice with e-Z-est on silver coins. And Verdi-Care for copper coins. Remember, only practice in cheap common coins.

 

For ez-est, I start with a low % as it is extremely strong fresh and full. I start at about 10% dip and 90% water as a use once-throw away solution. At this percentage it may take a large amount of time instead of the 1/2-3 minutes full and you time to decide when to stop, rinse with water, then acetone and air dry as the acetone will carry any microscope water away as it evaporates.Once you learn how long it takes, you can increase the strength to your desire. As said practice on insignificant coins.

 

amend...won't do anything bad, can you guarantee it might not help?

 

The damage done is not necessarily with the wiping material or even with the wiping itself, but with scrubbing around any grit that might be on the coin. You wash your car and wipe it dry, but you would never wipe on a grimy car...why...the grit will scratch the bejeebers out of it. Same with coins. Use only pure solvents, distilled water, acetone or xylene and pat or blot dry...then there are the dips...another story.

 

True, finger tips do not have sebaceous glands (i.e. oil glands). But we are constantly touching parts of our body that do have them, which is any part that has hair follicles. So the tips are picking up oil from the backs of the hands and fingers as well as from the arms and other areas.

The fingerprints we leave behind are a complex brew of chemicals consisting of salts, oils, and dead epidermal cells (proteins and nucleic acids). That's why a wide variety of detection methods can be used. For example, ninhydrin spray reacts with proteins to produce colors, and dust techniques rely on dust particles sticking to oils.

On coins, the chemicals in fingerprints may directly react with metal making the print visible. However, it's also possible that the chemicals accelerate the reaction of hydrogen sulfide gas (the main cause of toning) with metal to make the fingerprint visible.

BTW, there have been rare coins with obvious fingerprints that have been certified and sold for 4 or 5 figures. Want an example? Look at the coin below. It's a Judd-235 half dollar that went for $4K this year. And yeah, graded PR64 by PCGS!

While detracting, fingerprints aren't necessarily more so than some other bad things that happen to coins that get certified. Severe adjustment marks on early gold coins make them look like they were dragged down the street. Yes I know one "defect" is caused post-mint and one is pre-minting, but that's irrelevant to eye appeal.

Cal

 

I meant it won't remove a fingerprint. At least it never has for me. Acetone is great for other things, though.

 

Maybe it will solve the Jimmy Hoffa case.

 

I don't like coins with fingerprints, yet I see them graded as Mint State by PCGS and NGC...also CAC approved.

 

Very well could do it.