Options
Most popular or effective coin dips
logger7
Posts: 9,004 ✭✭✭✭✭
What are currently the most popular coins dips, and which should have warnings about misuse on them, which they rarely have?
I've found acetone from the hardware store useful, but I hear it leaves a white residue. I once used ms70, but had downgrades that made it hard to get the coins back into an ms holder later. I heard they changed the formula. Silver dip is popular and word is that jewel luster is used in various dilutions at the conservation companies. Also spoke with the chemist selling a restoration product in Greysheet who says it's the best and that one conservation company buys their product by the gallon. Most collectors are advised not to do their own coin conservation.
I've found acetone from the hardware store useful, but I hear it leaves a white residue. I once used ms70, but had downgrades that made it hard to get the coins back into an ms holder later. I heard they changed the formula. Silver dip is popular and word is that jewel luster is used in various dilutions at the conservation companies. Also spoke with the chemist selling a restoration product in Greysheet who says it's the best and that one conservation company buys their product by the gallon. Most collectors are advised not to do their own coin conservation.
0
Comments
Really ugly mint state coins dipped in E Zest for no more than 1 second then rinsed thoroughly will usually retain enough luster to grade if properly rinsed. Usually a second dip removes enough luster where the coin is ruined so use on low value coins only. Diluting with water or acetone doesn't seem to change anything. It's still quite harsh. A proper rinse is on the order of 5 minutes with warm water.
There have been any number of posts about things like dish soap, ammonia, vinegar, boiling, MEK, olive oil and God knows what else. I'd never recommend any of these however.
The best policy is to have the coin conserved by one of the Conservation Services if it has any real big value. It's just too easy to cause more harm than good.
Acetone is just a solvent. If you buy pure acetone, it should be fine. If you buy "fingernail polish remover" you might be buying acetone, perfumes, and who knows what else.
I tend to disagree with the length of a dip. I think corrosion (toning) destroys luster (along a continuum) and the dip just strips that stuff away, revealing what has actually been living underneath.... for silver anyhow. I used EZ-est on some moderately toned melt-value Peace dollars to figure this out for myself. After a few seconds all of the toning was removed. Further exposure in the dip bucket up to a couple of hours made no difference.
Acetone is not perfect. If there is artificial toning or surface substance on a coin especially that passed certification, it could pull that off exposing what was hidden by all the methods people use to cover up surface problems.
You can say that again. If there was some cheap putty used to fill some marks, you could be screwed. You can't fault the product though for exposing trickery.
As much as people like the old green PCI slabs, I have had more than a few where the filler came right off in acetone and the coin looked like crap!
Acetone is really the only thing an average collector should consider. It's use should always be followed up by a good warm water rinse....
This is nonsense. Acetone is an organic solvent. It is used to dissolve contaminants that don't dissolve in water. The only thing left after an acetone bath are the remaining contaminant residues that didn't get washed off with the spent acetone. 100% of the acetone itself evaporates.
If water didn't wash off the contaminants in the first place, what's the purpose of the final water rinse. NOTHING!
It's better to do another rinse in clean acetone and let it air dry.
None of them should have warnings. It's not their job to prevent people from doing stupid things to their coins.
Acetone is just a solvent. If you buy pure acetone, it should be fine. If you buy "fingernail polish remover" you might be buying acetone, perfumes, and who knows what else.
I tend to disagree with the length of a dip. I think corrosion (toning) destroys luster (along a continuum) and the dip just strips that stuff away, revealing what has actually been living underneath.... for silver anyhow. I used EZ-est on some moderately toned melt-value Peace dollars to figure this out for myself. After a few seconds all of the toning was removed. Further exposure in the dip bucket up to a couple of hours made no difference.
This matches my experience.
The damage to a coin's surface occurs when sulfur reacts with the silver and chemically changes a microscopic layer into silver sulfide. Silver dip (thiourea) removes the silver sulfide (toning) quickly. The acid is so weak that not much reaction takes place with metallic silver (at least not in the amount of time of a typical dip/rinse cycle).
Immediately re-dipping a coin has no effect on the luster, because there hasn't been time for further sulfide development. The process that dulls luster is dipping, re-toning over time, dipping again, etc. Each time silver sulfide/toning forms, damage to the luster occurs. Many of the dipped out coins on the market today didn't get that way through one or two dips. They've been dipped several times, and re-toned several times, over the last few decades.
If you use EZEst silver dip, the dip on the coin should be neutralized between dipping and rinsing. I don't dip coins worth much more than melt anymore, but I was taught to swirl the coin in a water+baking soda solution (no rubbing) prior to rinsing.
Collector, occasional seller
I don't recommend the J. Sanford Saltus solution.
It can also burn your skin pretty badly if you happen to splash it on yourself. Thiouric based acid dips are the best IMO for safety and effectiveness
Acetone is naturally ocuring, but can be toxic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetone
many years of use with E-Z-Est and a trusted technique has proven it safe for me. two things that I have found are the most important steps --- careful pre-dip evaluation of the subject coins --- and --- always use a diltuted solution that will work slower.
Do you dilute with distilled water? What sort of ratio have you had success with?
I have Goddard's silver dip, could cause cancer according to label: https://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/cgi......ds&id=14008005
Acetone is naturally ocuring, but can be toxic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetone
Pretty much everything causes cancer, acetone has that State of California cancer warning on it too.
Collector, occasional seller