What is on these cents?

Please vote above and then below propose how you might conserve the surfaces. These and about 6 others came out of a roll of mixed wheats. These are the worst of the bunch, and all the affected are 58D.

 

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Green is usually verdigris as copper oxidizes green. (Statue of Liberty)
But I am sure someone will know.

 

The first one shows some thickness to what ever is on the coin. PVC is also green.

 

I'll say it is PVC, even with the thickness the green for verdigris is not the right shade of green. Do not place any bets on me being correct. Purely a guess.

 

Acetone and a q-tip is the only solution...

 

Aceton is shaker jar minus the q tip here

 

I think that one should get a distilled water soak. and the other should get an acetone bath.
Both would obviously get a q tip roll between changes of solution.

 

I would try a q tip with acetone. That should tell if it’s PCV.

 

If it is corrosion I believe the only thing that will help them is MS70, and thats liable to leave these with some wild colors.

 

Correct me if I am wrong but I believe the scientific name is spunge….. Seriously, I believe that is verdigris/corrosion and has permanently damaged those poor cents…. I hope not but I believe this is like rust on an old car and sadly is a cancer that is irreversible.

 

I am flashing back to when I might have put these in the roll, I hope that you are wrong because the luster is amazing in hand.
I wonder what @BadThad says.

 

Try verdicare first.

 

So what is the history of these coins?

 

I hope I am wrong too!

 

I don't use credit cards, call me old fashioned, I refuse to put a digital footprint on the web.

They are definitely coins that I have seen before, but couldn't tell you when or where I got them. These have been put away for years, probably 10 or more. When I didn't have an outlet or answer, I just put it in a roll for later.

 

This is verdigris, looks light to moderate. I think they would respond to VERDI-CARE quite well.

Over time PVC releases it's plasticizer (gummy substance) and the PVC (polyvinylchloride) will then degrade and release hydrochloric acid. The acid will attack the copper and form verdigris (copper chloride).

In a nutshell - the path to the formation of verdigris is irrelevant. It is what it is and that's why PVC damage is typically green. Degraded PVC itself is simply a corrosive agent.

In this context, your poll question doesn't make sense. The green is verdigris.

 

Thanks for the humility lol
I am guessing that maybe a coin roll could have been the culprit. I thought that these plasticizers came from the soft clear flips.

 

The red coin went into a distilled water soak, I will check it in the morning.
When I put the coin in the distilled water it had air pockets attached to the surfaces.

 

It's not the roll, it's the storage. All you need to form verdigris comes right from air.

PVC is made to be flexible by adding a plasticizer. The acid can form from any PVC with exposure to air, not just soft flips.

 

Water will do almost nothing although it's a good starting place. The only effective and safe way to remove the verdigris is with VERDI-CARE.