Dipping Coins.........

TorinoCobra71

What do you suggest that I use to remove ugly toning/oxidation from a silver coin?

Thanks!

TorinoCobra71

ModernDollarNut

Here goes, prepare to duck.... MS70 is a somewhat alkaline detergent mix that works fast. Used gently, I have not had it damage a silver coin, though I've only used it on moderns. Either full strength or diluted 1:1, us a Q-tip and gently mesage both faces and the rim. Everything gets slippery so work over a soft surface.

I've experimented with Ike proofs with increasing vigor of Q-tip rubbing and found it took some brute strength for hair likes to show up, no trace under a scope with rolling mesage and light brushes over dense milk spots. Also, MS70 often removes black/green coppersulfate lesions that develop at pin-point breaks in the clad layer of moderns from exposed naked copper. The tell-tale is the bright tiny spot of bare copper left behind after cleaning......

After the few seconds it takes to work the MS70 over the surfaces of the coin, place the coin in running water to remove the detergent - this takes 5 to 15 minutes and is the step most often neglected by users of MS70 but it is crucial. I use a rubberized wire basket, the kind one uses in kitchen silverware drawers, cheap at Bed, Bath and Beyond and the like, and my bathroom sink. For the baths, you can also buy cheap oblong plastic treys that surround the mesh perfectly.

Then use whatever drying strategy you like: I use a quick bath in distilled water, then 70% alcohol, then 90$ alcohol, then gently pat dry with lint-free soft cotton cloth. Others like acetone with an air dry.

Your coin will now have all the toning and tarnish removed but this includes whatever protective oxidative coating the coin had developed, it's all gone, so the surface is vulnerable to quick changes in the presence of high humidity or trace sulfer or other salts so it needs more protection than a mature coin.

I never clean a coin that I can't afford to lose, and, it must be so ugly that I'd try almost anything to clean it up.

From time to time I've used MS70 on a really dirty roll of modern clads and found several coins upgraded because of improved luster and because some surface "marks" were removed.

Lastly, experiment with junk silver. You'll find that most AU and all below-AUs usually look worse after cleaning, sort of like cats that don't have any hair.

AND, for all you "NEVER, NEVER, NEVER CLEAN A COIN" folk out there, you have my respect and 95% agreement, but it is the exception that gives life to a rule, right? The key is to know when not to clean and have a good system you are comfortable with when you feel you want to take the chance. Alternatively, ship it off to NCS and let them do their "conservation" thing...... Rob

Rob

nwcs

If the coin is uncirc and has good luster then a 50/50 mix of ez-est and distilled water and dip for like 3-5 seconds. Neutralize and then do a final rinse in pure acetone and let air dry. It may not get it all off but it'll be an improvement and is difficult to tell that it has been dipped.

granddad

When I buy 90$ alcohol, I don't use it to rinse coins!


Have a Great Day!
Louis

BigE2

Lastly, experiment with junk silver. You'll find that most AU and all below-AUs usually look worse after cleaning, sort of like cats that don't have any hair.

Russ

Dipping is evil and should never be done.

BTW, MS70 is not "dipping".

Russ, NCNE

coinkat

edited to add:

I was going to post something but decided to leave it blank itstead of rehashing my usual position.

dizzyfoxx

Two words... DON'T DIP!!! In other words, any original surfaces are better than dipped surfaces. JMHO