The first time I met Doug I said that I thought he was older. His reply was that he thought I was younger. Must be the immaturity.......
So after 48 hours in xylene I am not sure there is much difference. I have now moved the coin back into acetone after several rinses in both acetone and distilled water. I had only soaked the coin for about 10 hours the first time and now I will let it go 24 more hours to see if that lightens the crud. Took pictures at several different angles to show as much detail as possible. Next post will be of the reverse.
I just started an ammonia soak, I think this is going to work. I started by using it locally with a q-tip. There did not seem to be any negative impact on the silver and small bits of the white crud broke away from the hair. Put it into the cup to soak for a couple hours. excited to see how it goes!
I may have stayed with the Q tip rather than subject the rest of the coin to ammonia when it doesn't need to be. Super exciting if it gets rid of it.
2 1/2 hours and this is the first time I think there has been a really meaningful difference. Look at my last shot and then look at the nose, the cheek, and under the chin in this shot. Remember, this has taken how many decades to develop, it will take a bit to break down. Looking forward to tomorrow! LOL - BTW - I have spent more on chemicals to remove this than the coin may be worth. I hope this helps everyone with how these chemicals can help deal with what you may find on the surface of a coin. Do so understanding the real harm the chemicals can do to you and treat them with the respect they deserve! The process so far regardless of the end result has been very insightful for me!
For your record , here is the MSDS with list of ingredients. Jim https://i5.walmartimages.com/dfw/4ff9c6c9-1cf4/k2-_610488e6-05bb-4792-a3f9-fb86d93621d2.v1.pdf
Ugh, I would've sworn that "clear" ammonia was just a straight 10% solution in water. Having said that, I don't think the detergents are likely to have much effect, but you'll definitely want to rinse with water afterward. I'd ordinarily say rinse under running tap water for a bit, then rinse with distilled; for a proof, though, I might go straight to distilled. Very eager to see the ammonia-soak results. Jim, other chemists, this will be effective on silver chloride and other halides, right?
I could easy be wrong but I don't think that's the case at all. Whatever it is on that coin - I'm thinking it was spilled there, (spilled may not be the right word but I don't know what other word to use). Been there since before it was packaged in other words. In any case, I don't think it's the result of any kind of corrosion at all.
I I agree Doug, what I meant by "develop" is when what ever it is came in contact with the coin it was probably invisible to the eye. Over the years the reaction to the silver and the end result is what I meant. If left for another 56 years who knows, the green Crystal's might have taken over the white area.
Assuming that is what it is and not mixed with any binding chemicals, most likely. The strength of the ammonia factor will be important, and yes, I expected some additives, but the ingredients did surprise a little, but I do not expect any further damage from them Jim
I showed the MSDS to a chemist here at work and he felt the same thing. He also recommended a distilled water rinse. I was also surprised by the ingredients! They are not listed anywhere on the labels. Lucky I guess by what they choose to put in it. The guy here at work said they should be good at detaching undesirables.
Why don't you see if that chemist can analyze the stuff for ya. Then you might have a clue about what actually happened. If nothing else at least you'd know what it is, and if ya know what it is, you might know how to get it off.
He does not have the equipment. He used to work for Valvoline but now is in a different industry leading an Operations team. He has been scolding me regularly about using xylene, as dangerous as it is, he is worried about my safety.