Hi - I have several coins that appear to have been glued to a felt surface many many years ago. Several of the coins appear to have fallen free over the years, as remnants of the glue remain on the felt. Any ideas on how best to separate the coins from the felt and any residual glue from the coin? These are mostly foreign coins...probably not worth anything, but I'm having fun investigating these random coins, and I'd be curious on getting more info on them once I have them free of the felt. Thank you in advance, James
I'd carefully remove those from the felt by cutting around the coins. Moreover, I'd also recommend using acetone to remove any remaining adhesive. Edit: It would also seem that you have quite a few silver coins on there as well.
Thank you for the advice. Really newbie question: can you point me to anything that offers guidance on using acetone? Or, is it as simple as just pouring some into a glass container and letting the coin soak in the acetone for a period of time?
Yes, use acetone but not nail polish remover, just go to a hardware store and buy a small can of acetone. You can find information about using acetone in the search option box in the upper right of this page.
Agreed, use only 100% acetone. Cover the glass to reduce the speed it will evaporate. More than 1 bath may be required so also purchase a bottle of distilled water. Rinse any debris off the coin(s) with the water, throw away the old acetone, rinse the container and put new in, half an inch above the coin should suffice. Repeat as necessary and try not to put too many coins in at once and especially not on top of each other.
Be extremely careful when using acetone as it is flammable. Cover the glass container. Note: Handle the 1915 Cuban Coin, bottom right of the last photo, very carefully because it looks like one of the valuable variations produced that year. High and low relief coins were minted that year. The high relief coin is the valuable one and from the photo, you may have one. I have been studying this coin for years and though I do not consider myself the expert, I have extensive knowledge of this coin. Once the coin is freed from the felt, take photos and post them here on CoinTalk or you can Private Message me if you choose. Good luck freeing your coins.
I would start testing first on a snip of the cloth to see if the remains of the glue would come off. order: water->alcohol-> acetone-> (if not, one has to keep testing until some other solvent releases them ) IMO, Jim
I've never tried this but putting them in warm water may loosen the glue. If you use acetone do not use nail polish remover. Use an industrial grade found at your local hardware store.
It is prety much that simple. Make sure you cover the container to keep the acetone from evaporating away, and before you put a coin with felt in I would first just soak a piece of the felt by itself. If the felt is synthetic the acetone could melt it.
