Anyone still use clear nail-polish?

DHeath

There I was, peacefully reading mind-numbing advice about flips in the 18th edition of Photograde (OK, I'm a coin nerd), when right there on page 179 was a reference to coating coins with clear nail polish to preserve their surfaces indefinitely. Apparently, this was once a very common practice. It can easily be removed at a later date using acetone, and voila, the original surface is revealed without any oxidation. Does anyone really still do this? Do any of you own coated coins? It apparently was also useful in preventing album slide, cabinet friction, gout, and dispepsia. Any thoughts?

FrattLaw

I prefer the colored nail polish, it gives my coins a nice toned appearence. You should try Pleasingly Plum for the morgans, its great

Sorry just had to do it.

Michael

MW Fattorosi Collection

mnmcoin

No, but the story goes, that nail polish remover was used to artificially frost cameo coins back when slabbing them became profitible. I guess the npr would crystalize and form a white coating. So "they" would paint the devices with a coat of npr and voila, mega moose cameo.

Word has it that the miracle 59 Franklin in PR69DCAM was made using this method, but that is all rumor and urban legand and nonconfirmed stories being told in the cameo circle...and er um, this message will self destruct in 5 seconds.

morris <><

clackamas

Its not going to pass the muster thees days. It does not take a brain surgeon to see if a coin has bee coated with something. If however the varnish is removed with clean acetone, and can not be be detected then all the power to you. However toned coins actually bring more money these days, and a simple 2X2 will preserve a coin for 30 or more years. I do not see the need to use something so risky a coating. I have gone through many a Lincoln roll saved in either Diesel, or straight gasoline way back in the day when people thought that this would preserve the coins, that I belive that an honest good, tube or paper roll would be far better.

Conder101

I have and have seen conder tokens that have been preserved red for two hundred years by the use of lacquer and I have seriously considered lacquering some of the ones I have to preserve them. The lacquer comes right off with a brief soak in acetone with no damage to the coin if you wish to remove it. The trick is to get a thin enough coating to not be noticable yet thick enough to protect. Too thick a coating can crack if the coin goes through too extreme a temperature swing and then the coin can tone along the crack lines. I have seen that before and it looks weird.

DHeath

Conder,

That's amazing. Obviously, it doesn't negatively affect the copper. I saw a Washington quarter the other day that was still in laquer, and was wondering how prevalently it had been used on the coins that look so PQ today.

my3cents

I would think that if you were a "collector" a few decades ago, you would KNOW that that was the way to treat and protect your coins so you would probably make sure they ALL had a clear-coat on them.

Wouldn't you?

DHeath

Not me, my3cents. I still have most of my original collection in albums, without "protection".

Bulldog

Last time I used nail polish on coins, was 40 years ago in the bars. Quarters were marked with red Nail polish, this way when the bar keep, put coins in the juke box to rev up the place, s/he got that same quarter back when the machine was emptied. Kind of a switch and bait thingy.

Now I use yellow and blue nail polish on my tools. I fill the size depression with the stuff, rub out the excess with steel wool, and bam, easier for me to see the size. Either my eyes have gotten older or the tool manufacturers are marking the tools with smaller numbers.

On a Coin, No Never ever!

Bulldog