Would an acetone bath benefit this coin?

pendragon1998

EDITED: Hit enter before I finished writing out my post originally.

I recently bought this 1909 VDB cent and when it arrived, it had a little bit of what appears to be loose grime on the surface. (I'm thinking the coin's nice and original - please let me know if you agree or disagree.) There is also a little bit of fluff and dust under the 2x2 window, but that ought to blow off easily with a little canned air. What I'm referring to is some of the darker stuff.

I value the original look of this coin, so I don't want to clean it all up, but if there's any loose stuff just barely clinging to the surface, I think the coin would benefit from an acetone bath to remove it, lest it later detach and end up causing marks on the surface. What do y'all recommend?


While we're at it, any other thoughts anyone has on the coin (e.g., grade, originality, eye appeal) are appreciated.

Deadhorse

Hmmmm...... tough call.

pendragon1998

- Edited

Barndog

it certainly would not hurt the coin.

pendragon1998

I'm mainly concerned that I might end up lifting off a piece of dirt and have a fresh bit of copper exposed. Is that a risk?

ArizonaJack

Looks to me like a choice primo AU, the acetone should not hurt it a bit....no scrubbing tho

Deadhorse

I'd go the MS70 route first.

Might be all you'd need to do

Sometimes acetone and copper don't play well together, make it a short soak if you do it.

I'll go AU 55, nice looking coin there.

SUMORADA

Only if you light it up!

just kidding............Happy New Year

Unknown

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UtahCoin

<< <i>it certainly would not hurt the coin. >>



Ditto

UtahCoin

What's that dark mark under the date? Did the S fall off?

cohodk

Wouldnt hurt but it looks like corrosion.

robkool

Go for it !!!
That's not considered a rare, or a valuable coin by any means...

ArizonaJack

<< <i>What's that dark mark under the date? Did the S fall off? >>



lol

tmot99

I'd suggest Blue Ribbon. Doesn't change the color of copper at all, not that I've ever had acetone change the color of copper. I typically dip a Q-tip in Blue Ribbon and liberally roll a generous portion of BR on both sides of the coin. Notice I said roll, not rub. I'd keep this up for a little while to see if any of the dirt and grime is coming up on the cotton swab. Once you are happy with the removal of dirt, I take a cloth and blot the BR off. Then a squirt of acetone out of a squirt bottle to remove any remaining BR and you're done. No color change, no residues, no masking.

greghansen

I don't think I would get too aggressive with that coin. I like it the way it is. An acetone dip won't hurt it, but it ain't going to change it much either IMO. I would definately stay way clear of MS70, or any other detergent solvent. The coin looks nice and weathered to me. Why would you want a minimally circulated coin to look completely clean. It has just a hint of circulation skin on it...just as it should. I vote strongly for leaving it alone and enjoying it. Cheers (on about my 6th frosty brew right now)

Edited to add: If its the loose stuff that's bothering you...thats what they invented those spray cans of compressed air for. Give it blast of air...that's the ticket.

BECOKA

Tough call, I have never tried it.

That said if you do try it please post before and after pictures so others can share the experience.

LeeG

Goo Gone?

YaHa

A good soak in 100% Orange Juice overnight should do the trick.

oxy8890

That coin could very well be MS60 I see no signs of wear underneath the dirt. I would say AU55 at worst. Good luck cleaning it. I have never used acetone so I don't know how it will effect the coin.

pendragon1998

Mmm...I think it's definitely AU. There's some wear (possibly cabinet wear (?), as it's parallel across the highpoints only) on the coin. I'm not sure what the little white speck is on Lincoln's face. I'm going to see if a very gentle q-tip will remove it. I think it's just lightly adhered cardboard dust (oh, how I hate cardboard dust).





Thanks to everyone who offered advice. I decided to err on the side of caution. I blew off the coin with some canned air, but I'm not going to worry about acetone. I'm not aiming to clean off all of the coin gunk that's there, just make sure nothing's loose to mess up the coin when it's in its spot in my album. I rather like the 'permanent coin gunk' being there.

Here's the coin after I dusted it with canned air.

tightbudget

<< <i>I'm mainly concerned that I might end up lifting off a piece of dirt and have a fresh bit of copper exposed. Is that a risk? >>



No, acetone will just remove debris. It will not affect the metal itself.

cinman14

acetone should work ok. I tried playing with a few common Wheaties before I messed with my 09 vdb just to see the reaction to the coin. It took a lot of the surface dirt off mine with no bad effects.. Good luck....If my 09 vdb looked that nice I wouldn't have messed with it though...