cleaning/conserving coins from circulation

I should take a pic of the 40% silver Bicentennial I got off a teller that was fingerprinted like a crime scene. Came out great after a 15-20 second acetone soak on both sides, then a quick rinse with some distilled water.

 

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I'm interested in doing this for some of my war nickels (that series is PLAGUED by some of the cruddiest, nastiest 'toning'/gunkage as many of you know!). Just curious; does it cost much to clean lots of coins with acetone? If I've got 20 cruddy silver nickels, is it worth it to clean them so they're less difficult to handle, or do you guys think it doesnt matter?

 

Cool. What did YOU use to get the coin into/out of the acetone? Tongs, gloves, or did you just decant it?

 

Heh. There were a couple of war nickels in the bag, too -- and, yeah, they were nasty as well. I sort of have the impression, though, that the sticky green stuff is a copper salt or oxide rather than an acetone-soluble organic residue. I'm not expecting acetone to do much to the cents.

 

I used my fingers that time, haha. Weird sensation.

Now, I gently place the coin in one of these mini-strainer thingers...



Then submerge it in acetone, pulling it out once I think it's done, then gently wash it with distilled water, all without removing it from the strainer. Then I pluck it out and pat dry it with a microfiber cloth before letting it air dry for a couple mins just in case.

 

Hmm... that shouldn't make contact other than on the coin's rim, but I'm still nervous about metal-on-metal contact. I dug around a little bit and found that nylon is supposed to be compatible with acetone (i.e. it doesn't dissolve in the acetone and then end up as a film on your coin) -- I may try to do something with a nylon bag, or nylon fabric wrapped around tongs. Or maybe I'll just follow your proven method.

 

Well, thinking about it... you could cut a coffee filter down to size and use that as a buffer between the metal and the coin. I should try that, actually, it's a good idea...

 

I'd be nervous about that -- it seems like a coffee filter would be at least somewhat abrasive, and would be more likely to contact the face of the coin. On the other hand, you aren't agitating it, so I'm probably being overly cautious. (I think I've still got "ultrasonic cleaner" somewhere in the back of my mind. Definitely not my first line of attack.)

 

Well, I read today that you can use a coffee filter instead of a microfiber cloth to clean your LCD/LED screens, so it can't be THAT abrasive.

 

The acetone isn't toxic, but it'll give you a terrible case of dry skin. It does this because it dissolves both water and oils out of your skin.

If it then dries on your coin, it'll take the water with it, but it'll leave the oils behind. This seems like a bad thing, particularly if the acetone beads up any before it finishes drying -- it could leave spots.

 

I'm thinking that that's a really, really bad piece of advice. Coffee filters are better than regular paper in that they don't leave as much lint behind, but they're still going to be abrasive. I won't be touching my screen, or my coin surfaces, with one.

 

Seemed weird to me, and I wouldn't chance it, but hey...

 

Well, you've certainly had more experience cleaning coins than I have! If you're cleaning optics, though, you absolutely can't get your fingers into the stuff before it touches your lens/mirror, or you get to start over from the beginning. Same way when you're cleaning something in preparation for plating, if I recall correctly.