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Message:: [QUOTE="kanga, post: 5445101, member: 9270"]First, cleaning is different than conserving. Conserving means removing debris from a coin (grease, dirt, glue, tape; things like that).Conserving is acceptable; acetone is VERY helpful for conservation.Acetone is VERY helpful for removing fingerprints provided it is used before the organic acids have a chance to etch a coin's surface. WARNING: Only use pure acetone such as can be gotten at places such as Home Depot.And obey the cautions on the can.Don't use fingernail polish remover as it has other ingredients that are harmful. Cleaning means chemically removing tarnish/toning; in other words removing surface features that are the result of the coining metal combining with something else such as oxygen; it's not an acceptable process.Cleaning also means abrasively removing surface blemishes; it's not an acceptable process.Cleaning is NOT acceptable EXCEPT in cases where a coin's surfaces are so badly corrupted that they can only be marginally improved.[/QUOTE]