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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;desertgem, post: 1278525, member: 15199&quot;]The larger problem is that people do not agree on the use of the word &quot;cleaning&quot; in numismatics. Some believe that all interaction is &quot;cleaning&quot;, yet will buy or possess shipwreck coinage. Others have little chemistry/metallurgy knowledge to understand that certain substances from pure water to acetone to acids to electrolysis vary significantly in their ability to react and damage the coin metal, to them they are all and the same~~ cleaning.</p><p><br /></p><p>There is also historical &quot;baggage&quot;. In the past, cleaning, even rather abusive, was common, as without the network now advising against such was not yet invented. Coins were coins. So many older coins are almost all cleaned to some extent, and a collector of such coins should be accepting of the history. A raw 1804 cent at a coin show, will most likely have some cleaning in its past. A 1943 Walking Liberty half dollar should not, yet many do.</p><p><br /></p><p>The use of the word conservation which implies causing no damage is appropriate for chemicals such as used by conservation companies.</p><p><br /></p><p>Acetone does not react with coin metals, but often people are not content with just its ability to remove organic gunk such as PVC residue, and grab a brush to help it along with the toothpick, tooth brush,etc to remove dirt/grime ( which is mainly silica, and they end up with a &quot;cleaned coin and blame acetone rather than their own actions.</p><p><br /></p><p>One can conserve coins, but a good deal of education, patience, and time is necessary to move from cleaning to conservation.</p><p><br /></p><p>Jim[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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