PVC damage to coin bought at The Coinhouse Auctions?

You really need to learn the proper way to use acetone. If you do that you will not have a problem with residue. You should stop trying to clean coins until you learn what you are saying and doing.

 

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Dear Paddy54,

I use acetone every day. Soaking a coin in it until the cows come home does absolutely NOTHING that a quick application will do. That was the point I was making. Clear now?

Note: If you soak a number of different "problem coins" of different compositions at the same time the acetone gets contaminated and all sorts of colorful things will happen to the coins you are soaking.

Why not give it a try on some of your best error coins.

 

I get it.....but again yes one does need to know how to use acetone, clean fresh ,not stale or like you said contaminated , but again Ive soaked and used it on coins from around the globe, coppers, clads, silver, gold, nicke,l and never had any issues with residue,or color change.
My coins aren't errors....that's Paddyman ... mine are varities and damn skippy some have been treated with acetone, and lastly and we can put this to bed.....30 some years using it on coins over 30 plus years on stainless steel, machine parts....no color change,no residue. Case closed have a nice day!

 

You're posting to the wrong forum.

Try housewares, instead.

 

I read your original post as saying that acetone is bad for coins. I would have challenged you as well if I saw this thread earlier.

You added the details in your follow up post, which clarified your statement. Why didn't you do this in your initial post?

Finally, Do you seriously believe that @Paddy54 doesn't know about changing acetone frequently to prevent residue from redepositing? IMO, it would have been better for your second post to clarify the process for new collectors rather than taking a swipe at someone.

 

I agree. I have never had a problem with residue or color changes. Maybe that's because I don't mix several different coins in the same bath and don't allow dirty acetone to dry on the coin. I work on one coin at a time and use one oz of fresh acetone per bath. Each coin gets 2 of three baths in fresh acetone. You can tell if the acetone is dirty by putting a drop on a piece of glass and letting it dry.

 

I too have used acetone for many years on numerous coins and have never had an issue. Dip/soak the coin, Immediately dip in fresh solvent, immediately rinse with distilled water (although I will admit that I don't always double rinse circulated coins). Since you can't get Trichlorotrifluoroethane anymore, I primarily use acetone to remove PVC residue.

Just an opinion, but in most cases, I don't think the dissolved residue reappearing on the coin is due from impurities in the original solvent, it is due to solvent that picked up contaminants from use.

The trick with picking a solvent is understanding what you want to remove. Acetone is a polar solvent and works well on PVC plasticizer residue. Xylene is a non polar solvent and some members with chemistry backgrounds recommend this if acetone doesn't work.

As always, it needs to be said that if you are not used to handling chemicals (for new collectors reading this), you should research all of the proper safety procedures. This stuff is very flammable, dissolve certain types of plastic containers, and do a number on your floor or countertop if you spill it. Think of using gasoline to clean paint brushes in your kitchen and you get the idea.

 

@Idhair
@Oldhoopster

I do appreciate your support and view on this subject,as again I have used acetone for years.
All my life Ive known inside myself that hey I dont know it all,and daily there is something to learn. I am open minded to understanding that yes im human and subject to error

I was born at night.....but not last night! And even though "this person" maybe considered by some here an expert....I for one dont, and wont drink his kool ade!

Again im very open to knowlege ,learning something new daily,but knowlege from a sorce that is so full of its self ....its head cant fit through a door way!.....Or perhasp he's just flat out wrong.
I have given him an iggy before for reasons posted above....and he's back on iggy !
I value my friends and time I spend here, sharing and learning with my friends. I won't allow a pimple on my butt to effect my quality time spent here or friends of mine here ....As......well flat out he's not worth it!

 

Wow, thirty plus years. And never any residue? When you get to fifty plus, you may change your toon.

Oldhoopster, posted: "I read your original post as saying that acetone is bad for coins. I would have challenged you as well if I saw this thread earlier. You added the details in your follow up post, which clarified your statement. Why didn't you do this in your initial post?"

My original post was dealing with SOAKING. You would have received the same answer.

"Finally, Do you seriously believe that @Paddy54 doesn't know about changing acetone frequently to prevent residue from redepositing? IMO, it would have been better for your second post to clarify the process for new collectors rather than taking a swipe at someone."

Opinion noted. I already posted info for beginners. Soaking a coin in acetone does nothing. Then I added the fact that you may discolor your coins! The fact that some wish to continue soaking their coins is their business. Paddy (an experienced user of acetone for thirty plus years ) refuted my post.

 

Someday you will understand.

 

I doupt it you cant fix stupid.....

 

The photos were obviously the seller's and not taken by The Coinhouse Auctions.

I had similar experience with a merchant who claimed his picture of a nearly flawless proof was taken years before the coin was damaged by the PVC flip in storage.

These are photos of the actual coin received:



These are the promotional photos:



On the reverse side, notice the toning between the words "25.000" and "SUCRES" and extending to "ECUADOR" matches toning to be found also on the damaged coin's reverse.

The damage is almost entirely due to pitting, the remainder due to foreign matter possibly deposited by the flip as well.

This would lend credence to that merchant's explanation that the coin surfaces decayed due to the flip in which it was stored over time.

 

PVC flips were popular decades ago before anyone knew any better. However, overtime, the damage to coins became apparent.

These Chile 1968So coins were shipped from Santiago and some coins are still sold in their original holders. I was fortune to purchase a set that did not have any signs of damage, however, this set currently for sale on Ebay is not so fortunate. Notice how the 5 Peso coin is discolored where it made contact with the flip:



Photo below shows the upper half of the PVC flip used to ship the Ecuador 2006 coin, now in the square hard plastic capsule, that shows the most significant damage I've encountered thus far (flip labelled 240A):

:

Modern soft plastic flips don't use PVC, however, they are rumored to bleed other damaging chemicals on to coins over time.

See Recognizing Coin Holders That Contain PVC.

The hard plastic Mylar flips and capsules don't outgas harmful chemicals.

 

These are photos of the Chile 1968So coins that were purchased in their PVC flips 50 years later, now holdered:



The damage done to the 5 Peso coin is typical of the packing from the mint and not due to any interaction with the PVC flip.

 

In any event nice coins. Thanks for the post and info.

 

Mr Webb,
Thank you for sharing your coins and the experiences of obtaining and caring for them. I found it very informative from the risk of online purchases, not receiving pictured coins, causes, honest reason or trickery, to remedies of how to possibly safely clean and persevere them.
Thanks Again
Wrexx

 

I regularly use acetone to clean dirt and crud off my coins, I have never had any discolouration problems due to its use.

 

It’s the soaking you have to be wary of. I soaked some brass German 10 pfennig for over 48 hours that came out clean but blotchy with pink sections. I believe it is the impurities released during soaking that does this.

I was using virgin 100% acetone. Now, they look “improperly cleaned”. This was not a test, this was a goof on my part...Spark

 

Hi Spark, Unfortunately, 100% pure acetone does not exist. Its ability as a solvent make it impossible to transport and distribute without picking up residue on the way. It can be distilled in a lab, in theory, but you'd have to take precautions because it's a cancer- causing, mutagenic substance.

 

Well, the container says 100% on it so this is better than nail polish remover...this is the best I can find, so using it as a soak means paying careful attention to duration on coin metals that tend to react, like brass, apparently...jmho...Spark