Has anyone ever seen damage to a gold coin after removing PVC residue?
Baylor8670
Posts: 248 ✭✭✭
I know PVC residue can react with and eat away at copper but I wonder if the damage would be enough to destroy the numismatic integrity of the coin.
Whether the PVC is a film or a little red blob, I imagine any pitting or other damage on a 90/10 gold coin would usually be too minor to matter but please let me know if you have experience with this. Thank you.
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It's not likely but not impossible. It's acid etching. It would need to be equivalent to 22k acid in a test kit.
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I haven’t seen any gold that had permanent damage from pvc contamination. Plenty of ruined silver, but gold always cleans up nicely with no etching for me.
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Gold? No.
I've seen many slimy green PVC soaked double eagles, and they turn out fine. The coins are very resilient.
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I have not seen damage, but the PVC may have been present long enough that the underlying surface appears to have a different hue upon the PVC being removed in comparison to the remainder of the coin.
“Red blob” on a gold coin is not from PVC.
The usual red (and sometimes darker) spots on gold can not be safely removed.
Edited to add: I routinely removed PVC from gold coins with no harm whatsoever, using acetone.
Also, gold coins with ambient rust stains can be slathered with Rustoleum overnight to good effect. But: NEVER monkey with planchet streaks! you can remove them, but then PCGS won’t grade the coin.30+ years coin shop experience (ret.) Coins, bullion, currency, scrap & interesting folks. Loved every minute!