Cleaning coins from a leather pouch?

drfish

Is there any safe way to clean some mint state coins covered in debri from storage in a degarded/rotted leather coin pouch? Thanks,Steve

commoncents05

GENTLY take a q-tip and dip it in acetone, and run the q-tip over the surface of the coin. I had to do this with my grandfather's coins he got while he was in Europe in WWII.

-Paul

mozin

I would just soak the coins in acetone. Change the acetone as it gets dirty. Hopefully, a Q-tip may not be needed. Circulated coins will probably not be damaged with a gentle acetone saturated Q-tip treatment.

options26

I posted similar results a few months ago. All I can say is soak on acetone, acetone will never harm your coins so soak for days if needed. The coins in the post below soaked for 3 days and I changed the acetone once in the middle and it worked great.

Remember to do it in a well ventilated area, only in a glass container and cover well so it will not evaporate. Again it will not harm coins, so let it soak and change the acetone when needed.


Link to post

options26

Daniel Carr posted an explination about the leather pouch storage that said

"Coins stored in leather for a LONG time will develop a green wax-like coating which is not harmful to the surface of the coin.
The green wax will come off readily in most solvents - even weaker solvents like "Goo Gone" and motor oil will take it completely off."

Type2

Rollerman

Remember to do it in a well ventilated area, only in a glass container and cover well so it will not evaporate. Again it will not harm coins, so let it soak and change the acetone when needed.


I've always agreed with the idea that acetone won't harm coins, but that's because I have done little with copper coins. I just bought a 1807 1/2 cent in Fine+ condition that I saw the dealer break out of an old "coinmaster" album in a collection he had just bought. <NOTE: These old albums can be a PVC producer that will harm your coins in the long term>. I bought it very reasonable, as I did see a little green on the coin. I also bought a Bust half (VF 1832) from that same album and saw no evidence of PVC.

When I got home, I used the Q tip method on the Bust Half and the tips turned green, indicating that PVC was present and now taken care of. Since the 1/2 cent actually showed some green, I put it in a small container of acetone for a minute or two. When I retreived it, the fact that there was an old light cleaning became obvious as the coin had lightened up in coloration and isn't as attractive as it once was. I should have used the Q tip method to get the PVC off and not dipped it in acetone.


Just a heads up on acetone and copper.....live and learn I guess! For the money, the 1/2 cent is still a nice coin, but I wish I hadn't messed with it the way I did.
Best to all,
Pete

PerryHall

<< <i>Since the 1/2 cent actually showed some green, I put it in a small container of acetone for a minute or two. When I retreived it, the fact that there was an old light cleaning became obvious as the coin had lightened up in coloration and isn't as attractive as it once was. I should have used the Q tip method to get the PVC off and not dipped it in acetone. >>



Suggest wraping it in a Taco Bell napkin and then putting it in a warm spot in your home to let it retone naturally. Can't hurt to try.

options26

The acetone will not lighten your coins, only remove organic material on the coins. If your coin lightened up it was becasue there was something organic on it that covered the old cleaning. Maybe smoke or ?

ricko

Acetone will NOT damage coins... Cheers, RickO

7Jaguars

Leather has a lot of sulfides/sulfates that can corrode the surface of the coin and act much differently than the chloride oxidative portion of PVCs that have been discussed above.

Treatment should still be the same with acetone and possibly rubbing alcohol. The Q-tip is a good instrument but should not be rubbed, only dabbed on the surface of the coin. It is the rub that causes mini-hairlines. MS 70 or other organic solvents probably do have a very mild acid and a slightly different solvent quality than the acetone or alcohol. These should be gently applied with same Q-tip and then removed with gentle dish detergent and rinsed liberally with water and tamped dry with clean white cotton towel.

These should be considered when treating the coin.

Type2

ttt

micmt

I've seen a guy use ammonia on old copper. Made me cringe but hey......anyways he said it toned the copper back to the lovely brown it once was...just set over a bowl so the vapors get at it. He also used the ammonia to remove dirt and grime. After a few minutes his yellow ammonia had turned green. It seemed to work, but then again it was not that great of a copper trinket anyways....just an old 1793 (I think) George Washington campaign button.

Dropdaflag

<< <i>The acetone will not lighten your coins, only remove organic material on the coins. If your coin lightened up it was becasue there was something organic on it that covered the old cleaning. Maybe smoke or ? >>

PerryHall

<< <i>Remember to do it in a well ventilated area, only in a glass container and cover well so it will not evaporate. Again it will not harm coins, so let it soak and change the acetone when needed. >>



...........and keep it away from sparks or flames since it's highly flamable.

coinkat

what Firemarshall Hall wrote

ksteelheader

For those that keep insisting that acetone will not harm copper, take a proof cent that has no haze or any other surface problem and dip it. I've been there and done that.