A little preservation help needed

Dabigkahuna

Okay, here's the deal,

I have some old coppers that have been in flips since the late 80's. Some from Superior and Stack's. They have all picked up a filmy residue that I think is PVC from the old flips. Is there a safe method to remove this from the coins without effecting the color on the coppers?

I was thinking vinegar but I don't want to try anything yet until I learn more.




Thanks,
Larry
Dabigkahuna

ccrdragon

Vinegar is an acid and should not be used on copper - it will change the color. I have heard that acetone will not affect the color but I have never tried and cannot offer any good stories for you.

earlwbollinger

It has been discussed a number of times in the past.
I am pretty positive that "Goo Gone", Acetone, Denatured Alcohol, and Olive oil are pretty safe on copper coins.
Mineral oil should be OK too.
Here is a link to photos of my attempts at removing some black splotches from 1858 Flying Eagle cent.
Link to previous discussion

I did test these chemicals out on a few Lincoln cents too. It didn't affect them either, albeit they came out somewhat cleaner than just leaving them alone. One Lincoln cent had some green corrosion spots that were helped, but not completely removed, as the corrosion had eaten into the coin in a few spots.

nwcs

If the copper coins have lots of luster, acetone is probably the best choice. If the coins are valuable enough, send them to NCS and specify to clean residue only and nothing else.

Dabigkahuna

All these ideas are extremely helpful, thanks!