Peace Dollar Glue Spots (Pic)

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by CircCam, Feb 25, 2017.

  1. CircCam

    CircCam Victory

    Hello all,

    I have referenced this forum many times but this is my first post.

    I just inherited about 25 Morgan and Peace dollars. They were my great-grandfather's and started my fascination with coins when I was about four years old.

    Most of the Morgan's are AU and in great shape, but almost every Peace has this brownish glue spot on the reverse. Some of them are perfect rectangles and look like some sort of adhesive tab... these have been stored in individual cases for 25+ years since I first saw them, so being glued to something must have happened some time ago.

    Anyway, I was just wondering if it would be advisable to try to remove them somehow. I don't plan on selling these in my lifetime for sentimental reasons but they would be nicer to look at without the spots. I'm guessing even if I do remove them, the color difference will be just as distracting but perhaps over time they might re-tone somewhat.

    IMG_2794.JPG IMG_2777.JPG All input is much appreciated! Thanks.
     
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  3. CircCam

    CircCam Victory

    I should add, I've been collecting for awhile now but I've never bought a coin I had any reason to consider altering in any way so this is all new to me, particularly as I've never owned any Peace dollars.
     
  4. New Windsor Bill

    New Windsor Bill Well-Known Member

    First off, welcome. I am a collector and by no means a pro, but I do know that you do not want to clean them. The NGC site has a lot of good articles on this and they offer a service that restores the coin if need be. If you have a high grade rarer date it would definitely be worth sending in for grading. They offer a membership for $150. in which they give you $150. credit towards grading and a 10% discount on there goods. Do not clean.
     
    Tater likes this.
  5. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    Welcome to CoinTalk, good to hear your voice. First off, about cleaning or conserving. If you do nothing with these coins, the substance on the reverse will do harm, if it hasn't already. Membership in professional organizations and professional conservation will cost you a bunch. The next best thing you can do is to try some low impact procedures and see how they work. You can start with one test coin and determine where to go to after that. The best thing to do to coins is not to try any cleaning procedures unless the coins really need them - "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

    Now, it would be helpful to have around some distilled or deionized water, some pure acetone (not fingernail polish remover unless it says 100% acetone), and some pure xylene (hardware store paint department). Wash your hands with soap and water and rinse thoroughly. While the hot water is running, put one of your coins in the stream and let hot water run over it for several seconds, you may want to reverse the coin so each side gets a good wetting. Rinse the coin with some distilled water and place it on a soft towel and blot it dry (don't rub). Hopefully this did something, next, put some acetone in a glass container and immerse the coin for a period of time, say 1 hour, cover the container to prevent evaporation. Remove the coin and either let it air dry or pat it dry (no rubbing). You can then use the xylene in a similar fashion.

    Stop when you have achieved the results you want. The biggest point is to avoid any abrasive products or procedures. If this doesn't work, we need to talk about coin dips...and that is a whole 'nother story. Good luck and show us how it comes out.
     
    Tater likes this.
  6. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    First, welcome to the neighborhood @Lunchbox John ! Hmm! Do any of your online friends refer to you as LBJ?;)

    What dates and mintmarks are on the Peace Dollars that have the spots on the reverse? If they are common dates, I don't think it would be worth sending them to NCS/NGC for conservation and grading. Instead, you might want to try removing the spots with pure acetone.

    Chris
     
  7. atcarroll

    atcarroll Well-Known Member

    a couple people already said it, but it bears repeating, soak them in acetone, if the residue doesn't dissolve maybe roll (don't rub, roll) a q-tip over the glue while it is still immersed in the acetone. then rinse with fresh acetone. avoid anything that would scratch or scrape the coins, though.
     
    Tater likes this.
  8. Garlicus

    Garlicus Debt is dumb, cash is king.

    I'm probably the last person to ask for advice, so I will pose this question to those more knowledgeable: How about freezing the coin and then using your fingernail or a toothpick to see if the tape/adhesive comes off easily?
     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2017
  9. Santinidollar

    Santinidollar Supporter! Supporter

    I've tried that with other things I want to get tape off of. It still leaves a residue. And I wouldn't think scraping a coin with anything would be wise.
     
  10. CircCam

    CircCam Victory

    Thanks all for the kind welcome!

    I doubt I have much that would be worth a membership at this point- I recently completed an Uncirculated wartime Nickel set with some PCGS and some raw and am curious if any would slab but haven't sent any in. Was thinking I might head to a pcgs certified dealer and get a second opinion.

    There are no rare dates in these... there were a lot more of these when I was younger so I have a feeling they were cherry-picked sadly. The peace dollars are all 1922's, 23's, a 25 and a 26. There were several S's and a D but all common.

    The Morgan's are mostly 1883-O and 1921 P with an 1889, 1896 and 1899 but again all common when I looked.

    I have heard of treating with distilled water and acetone so I was thinking this might be the way to go with the Peace's since they are all common. The Morgan's all look good and I wouldn't alter them.

    My thought was that if the acetone route could be done safely, at least I would get the ugly glue spots off and it wouldn't really affect the value negatively but again I've never cleaned a coin (I actually like crusty roached out coins, just not random and unfortunate glue!)

    Thanks much for all the input... unless there is any real reason not to I'll probably plan to do as mentioned and test the acetone route on one of the 22's to see if it works. Looks like they were all stuck with the same type of gunk so that would be a good indicator if it will work across the board.
     
  11. mynamespat

    mynamespat Well-Known Member

    (warning: completely unrelated to cleaning the tape residue)
    Bank rolls of $1 morgans and peace dollars were often sealed with tape on the ends when they were new. During the great depression, it was also a common habit to tape coins together and hide for a rainy day. Many folks continued doing that for the rest of their lives. Thus, it's fairly common to find these coins with tape residue and signs where it once was. I'm pretty sure there is even a small niche of collectors who collect these specimens- maybe your great-grandfather was one.
     
  12. CircCam

    CircCam Victory

    Wonderful information Pat, thank you! I hadn't considered that but it makes perfect sense. It also adds a historical angle to the reason they are there which makes it less of a drag. I guess I just thought they had been placed in a book or case or something at some point.

    Whatever the reason, your theory is cooler so I'll go with that.:D
     
  13. CircCam

    CircCam Victory

    Also, re: him being a collector... I'm not even sure that he was- it's possible these were more of a savings stash that got passed down after he died. He was the first Irish detective in the Denver Police Dept. and there was a huge corruption scandal during his tenure... I have old newspaper clippings of his achievements but also of testifying to clear his name, which he did.

    It's definitely possible these have a much more interesting backstory than I'll ever know as he and my grandfather are long gone.
     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2017
  14. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    Try the running hot water first, might do the job and won't hurt.
     
  15. CircCam

    CircCam Victory

    Luckily they had 100% acetone at the base exchange so I didn't have to venture far at all. Will be giving this a shot on one tonight... will post the results and then decide from there what I'll do with the rest. Thanks all.
     
    Brett_in_Sacto likes this.
  16. CircCam

    CircCam Victory

    Ok. All done.

    Chose a 1923-S with the tape and a large black corrosion mark on the reverse... figured it was a good candidate for that reason and there is a second 1923-S in better shape overall here.

    Rinsed with distilled water, rinsed under warm water briefly, rinsed with distilled water, placed in sealed mason jar of 100% acetone for one hour. Removed and rinsed with fresh acetone, rinsed with distilled water, removed and air dried.

    It didn't remove the tape, but I noticed that a tiny lip of it was now sticking up on the edge. I grabbed a pair of tweezers and carefully removed it without touching the coin at all.

    There is still brown residue where the tape was, but there are tiny spots where the tape was that are clear and look like the rest of the coin, color-wise which I wasn't expecting.

    That's good and I imagine another soak of some kind is in order to remove the rest of the residue.

    Now, I did notice a slight and odd coloration change on the obverse. There is now a faint, almost women's makeup colored splotch covering her entire neck, the bottom of her chin and leading up the right side to the T in LIBERTY. It is in contrast to the dark grey film on the rest of the coin. I know my pictures leave something to be desired, but I took a shot from the angle this change is most obvious to illustrate what I'm referring to. I'm not sure it looks any worse than it did prior as it is circulated and far from perfect anyway, but thought it was worth noting.

    I took the images in the exact same spot and tried to match the focus- the obverse detail looks slightly sharper now to me.

    All in all, I'll take this particular coin as far as I can without ruining it to remove the tape residue and view it as an education.

    I'm not willing to risk any odd changes in all the better examples with no corrosion though. I think it best to leave them and their history alone, tape and all.

    So, the question is... what next for the soaked coin? Since the tape itself is off it seems the residue may go as well. I appreciate all suggestions and input for Step 2!

    Pictures are:

    A) Both sides pre-soak
    B) Both sides post-soak
    C) After tweezing the tape
    D) Angle showing color change on obverse IMG_2812.JPG IMG_2819.JPG IMG_2828.JPG IMG_2831.JPG


    Thanks.
     
  17. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    Acetone and a q-tip or some hydrocarbon. If you don't have any xylene, you could try cigarette lighter fluid. Wet the q-tip and roll it over the sticky stuff. If you get brave, you could dab and rub it gently.
     
  18. CircCam

    CircCam Victory

    I can find some xylene next time I go into town. Thanks.

    I'm curious now what caused the color change... it's like the process removed something on that part but left whatever is on the rest of the surface. Anyone have an idea?
     
  19. CircCam

    CircCam Victory

    Lightly brushing with a Q-Tip in Acetone took the residue right off. Can definitely see where the tape was but at least it finished what I started. IMG_2843.JPG
     
  20. Fjpod

    Fjpod Active Member

    Lighter fluid is better for removing tape and glue residue.
     
  21. atcarroll

    atcarroll Well-Known Member

    The coin toned where it was exposed to air, but not where the tape was covering the surface, removing the tape exposed the original surface.
     
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