"Safe" Coin Cleaners?

Blue Ribbon Ingredients

Sure enough here's the whole label basically.

BLUE RIBBON removes soil and coatings from coins, leaving a natural finish and color.
BLUE RIBBON adds a adds a lubricant as a protecitive film.

BLUE RIBBON

Professional coin conditioner and preservative.
Contains 1,1,1-Trichloriethane and a lubricant.
WARNING: Manufactured with CFC-113, a substance that harms public health and environment by destroying ozone in the upper atmosphere.

Directions:

1. Use a soft cloth or cotton moistened with BLUE RIBBON.
2. Any excess may be removed with a dry cloth.


CAUTION: VAPOR MAY BE HARMFUL.

KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN.


This came in a 2 ounce bottle and was distributed by Harco of El Paso, TX.

So is it highly toxic? I'm not a chemist.
I still have two bottles unopened. Hell, still have some left in the first bottle and bought that about 9 or so years ago. 2 ounces would go a long way unless you treated THOUSANDS of coins.

Interested to see what you have to say on this one.

clembo

 

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Trichloriethane.....

We used to have that at the factory I work at.
I believe it got banned or something.
We had to have some HAZMAT guys dispose of it.

 

Damn, I KNEW there was a catch. That might explain my blurred vision and twitching!

 

Good one.

The pictures you posted do not show any cleaning and would be welcome in my collection. I would not mind professionally cleaned coins that looked natural or at least as good as yours. I have bought cleaned coins - I posted several. I would not ever clean a coin because I don't trust my skillset - maybe if I practised on a few thousand coins from change, but I think I will skip it.

 

mark_h,

I've bought a few coins in my time that I knew were cleaned as well. Hey, I wanted the coin so I did it.

Many legit sellers will point out that cleaning coins was SO common in the old days that your chances of getting an old coin that has AT SOME POINT been cleaned are pretty high.

Now, let's see - what is the phrase I see so often here? Oh yeah, buy the coin NOT the holder.

I don't go out of my way to buy cleaned coins but I also buy raw 98% of the time so it's a risk that I take and have no problem with.

On the rare occasion that I sell a coin that I have cleaned I make it very clear. Heck, may have been cleaned before me anyway.

Thanks for your input.

 

LMAO

Wonder what happens to it after 9 years..lol

 

Blue Ribbon is available...

I was checking the place I usually order supplies from and they have Blue Ribbon cleaner. I don't know if it's the same you're talking about, but here is the link:

http://www.brent-krueger.com/cleaners.html

 

AHH yes that is one of the major problems. Tell a person to dip a coin in Acetone and they run out and buy some from Walmart that has sat on the shelf for 3 or 4 years in a can. Prior to using, a small amount should be put in a glass dish and allowed to evaporate and if there is a residue, avoid using it. Ever wonder if a substance is able to disolve so many materials, what is it doing in that can to the inside walls. Regardless of what the inside of the can is coated with, eventually it will be disolved to some degree. This is only one example of materials used to clean coins. Blue Ribbon cleaners and such are frequetly used but just how? And how long was the solution left in the original container? If a coin is put into such a solution, left there for days, rubbed clean with a tooth brush, rinsed with tap water and left to dry on a kitchen stove, what would you expect?
I've been attempting to find a good way to clean coins for well over 50 years. Yes, 50. I've treid just about everything emaginable. I've had access to many strange substances and over the years have not found any method to clean coins without some after effects that are not always pretty. Substances like Blue Ribbon leave a residue on coins that eventually will do more harm than good and breathing such chemicals will absolutely not help your lungs in to many ways.
Dealers clean coins because they know people like nice shinny, clean, pretty looking things. They will also sell such cleaners because they know people will buy them and a profit is a profit. Why should a dealer care about your coins in a year or so. They are in buisness to make money, not to make your collection worh a fortuen. The people that like nice clean coins are the same people that would buy a 500 year old table, sand it down, paint it with a Walmart Dark Green spray can of paint. Forest Green preferably. Take a 200 year old oil lamp and drill it out for a modern electric lamp.
If you really want a nice shinny coin, I suggest concentrated Aqua Regia otherwise known as Ntrosyl Chloride.