Jefferson nickel cleaning aid(PICS ADDED)

jesbroken · April 13, 2016 9:37AM

While digging through my safe looking for a Conder token for a man, I ran across an old coinmaster Jefferson Nickel album 1938-1975S. It is full but about 10% have green around the edges(not a lot with no visible damage). I have dealt with copper verdigris without a whole lot of great success. What would be the best to give these a nickel a soak in hopes of removing the verdigris? I have used acetone on silver and goo gone on copper, but never have dealt with nickels with this problem. I would like to place them in a new Dansco album and get rid of the coinmaster album, but only after I could attempt to resolve this issue.

Thanks

Jim

braddick · April 13, 2016 9:45AM

I am afraid whatever effort you make will be met with futility.

MrHalfDime · April 13, 2016 9:54AM

I'm afraid that the green 'verdigris' you are seeing is not verdigris at all, but rather is PVC slime. Those Harco Coinmaster albums used PVC pages, and were notorious for ruining many coin sets. Braddick may be right, that any attempt to remove the PVC will be futile, to a degree, but if you do not at least make an attempt to remove it, the deterioration of the coins will continue. I would remove all of the coins from the PVC pages, and then give them a bath in acetone. Rinse them thoroughly in warm water, and repeat the acetone bath if necessary, followed by another warm water rinse. Good luck. And yes, please do discard the Coinmaster album

BryceM · April 13, 2016 9:54AM

Can you post a photo?

WinLoseWin · April 13, 2016 9:55AM

Assuming it is PVC which those holders are known for, then try acetone. If that doesn't help then they could be too far gone. There may be other products that someone else knows of that will work better.

amwldcoin · April 13, 2016 10:05AM

I would wager acetone will clear up your problem quickly.

jesbroken · April 13, 2016 10:43AM

Wow, not as bad as I thought. Most of the verdigris is just on the plastic. Remove the coin and the green ring stays on the plastic and is not on the nickel so much. Now the war years silver coins are another matter. They are pretty much in trouble, but I am hoping an acetone soak will save them. We will see. I will post pics after the soak. Here are some pics of a couple of the worst silver nickels and the ring remaining on the pvc holders. God 35 years ago I loved the coinmaster albums, so innovative at the time. I believe there are 5 or 6 more in the bottom of the safe, I dread getting them out. lol

Thanks

Jim

hchcoin · April 13, 2016 11:30AM

I think they will clean up nicely with a good bath

jesbroken · April 13, 2016 12:33PM

Thanks hchcoins, I hope you are right. I started this collection out of change in the 60's and added as the years went by.

Jim

davewesen · April 13, 2016 12:34PM

It is more than likely PVC than corrosion - for a circulated set of Jeffersons, it may not be worth the time/effort - I know I do not bid on Harco's anymore (the newer versions are PVC free, and some people used cointains inside the pages.