Would Acetone work too? What are the pros/cons of Vaseline over Acetone? And how do you wash off the Vaseline afterwards? With tap water?
Acetone, being a solvent, is good for removing things like paint or lacquer or adhesive residue. Its effects on plain old circulation grime may be a mixed bag, but I think in most circumstances it is OK to try, and shouldn’t usually affect the toning on a coin unless that toning is caused by some artificial, chemical means. As to removing Vaseline or mineral oil from a copper coin, one simply wipes it off with a clean, soft cloth, paper towel, or tissue. (I usually use an old cotton T-shirt.) It will take the loose dirt off with it, and leave the coin with a nice glossy appearance after all the excess Vaseline is wiped off. This should not affect a coin’s original color as long as you’re not scrubbing at it too hard. Just gently wipe, is all. You can wipe firmly, but you don’t want to polish. You want to leave the natural brown intact and avoid making the coin too shiny or orange-looking by exposing the raw copper underneath the “skin” of natural toning that developed over time. Water will not wash off Vaseline or oil unless it’s boiling hot. It will just bead up. To paraphrase the immortal Mister Miyagi, “wipe on, wipe off”.
That's so interesting! Thank you for that info! Would you recommend letting it soak in the mineral oil or vaseline for a while, letting it seep in there to soften up the grime? It's so interesting that you're saying that it is okay to gently wipe it off with a tissue. In another thread people screamed bloody murder when someone suggested using a jewelers cloth to wipe a silver coin, saying that even a non-abrasive cloth will leave scratches and will ruin the coin. Tissues are non-abrasive, why wouldn't they ruin a coin too? Mr. Miyagi was so cool. And Ralph was so cute back then! Great memories!
A jeweler’s cloth is a bit more dangerous because I think a lot of them (at least the ones for polishing silver) can have polishing compounds impregnated in the cloth. But if it’s just plain cloth, it should be harmless enough. Again, if one is being careful. You don’t want to cross that line between a simple, soft rub, and actual vigorous polishing. The key is to leave the coin’s natural “skin” intact while removing surface contaminants (dirt and grime). By this, I’m merely discussing circulated copper coins that have some degree of brown toning. Mint State coins are a different ballgame, and you don’t want to do any rubbing at all on a proof coin. They have much more delicate surfaces. And I do not use Vaseline on silver. I’m just discussing circulated brown copper or bronze coins here, like the 1909-VDB cent in the original post. PS- an oil soak is OK, but I usually lack the patience for all that. Wipe on, wipe off. That’s my method.
I can assure you I woke my sleeping wife up with my excited “whoah!!!” when I found that 1914-D I posted earlier!
Okay. I understand. Thank you for all those clarifying details! I really appreciate it! I will think of Mr. Miyagi, Ralph Macchio and you when I try it - "Wipe on, wipe off."
To stray slightly off topic, I must say that Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid and Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride are my two favorite heroic movie characters of all time. In the villain category, I liked Clancy Brown as The Kurgan in the original Highlander, and Patrick McGoohan as Edward I "Longshanks" in Braveheart. But of course James Earl Jones as the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars is iconic, too.
Iconic films and characters! I loved Billy Crystal's "Have fun storming the castle!" line in PB. Still makes me laugh. I don't remember Highlander and had to look it up. I'm a couple of years younger than you, so, I must have missed that. Patrick McGoohan as Edward I "Longshanks" in Braveheart was a fantastic villain. Throwing his son's friend out the window nailed it. The film was all around excellent, especially for its time and one of my all time favs until Mel made himself into a real life villain. I liked the villain Cunningham played by Tim Roth in Rob Roy. That was a great performance of villainry. I have a lot of favorite characters now from lots of good stuff over the years, especially when cable was making shows like movies. GOT seasons 1-4 was character heaven. The dialog and character development was so rich. I will never forgive D&D and HBO for ruining the rest of the show. But it was still worth those first 4 seasons. What was the thread topic again?
