i have a coin that im looking at for a familly friend and its a vf-25ish 1921 peace and it looks like it got some sort of grease on it i by no means is a expert dipper and i think it needs a little cleaning (dont scream at me it really needs it it looks like it was drawn on by a kid with a pencil) so becuase i dont want to screw it up if i dipped it should i just put it in olive oil if so how shold i do it? how long? what type of olive oil? thanks in advance Jako
Olive oil is an extremely weak acid - which is why it takes so long to do anything. But it is acid, and will alter the surface of your coin. Collectors of ancients frequently use olive oil to clean centuries of crud from their coins, but ancients and moderns are two entirely different types of collectibles. "Cleaning" is not a four-letter word in the field of ancients. If it really has grease on it, a quick swish in pure acetone (not acetone based nail polish remover), followed by a rinse in de-ionized or distilled water, will take it off.
thanks for the help is it possible for someone or you to give me a more detailed directions becuase this isnt my coin and i dont want to mess up jako
Go to Walmart, Kmart, Ace hardware, etc. Go to paint section and look for paint thinners, alcohols,etc. There you will see a can that says Acetone on it. Buy that and a bottle of distilled water. At home use a glass dish, pour some Acetone in the dish. Using a glass type of utinsil that you can pick up the coin with put the coin in the Acetone for a few minutes. Use the Glass utinsil to turn the coin over. Again, wait a minute or so. Remove the coin with the glass thing and put it on a piece of cotton, wool or something absorbant. Discard the Acetone carefully in a safe location. Now place the distilled water in a similar glass dish, add the coin, turn over, remove and again put on an absorbant type of material. Use a standard blow dryer to dry the coin on both sides. Use only warm settingk not hot. If contaminates on the coin persist, attempt the same proceedure again but if still persists after the second attempt, leave well enough alone.