what do I do? cigarette smoke on proofs.

TommyB · February 18, 2003 2:16PM

I received in the mail today some Washington Proofs, Some Silver, some clad, and the 2x2's reek of smoke and it appears some of the proofs are a bit yellow. Would the smoke do that? I want to put them into my Intercept Shield album, but not really in that condition. Should I give them a quick dip, or acetone? Return them? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Tom

stman · February 18, 2003 2:19PM

Maybe try that smokers toothpaste on them. Sorry I couldn't resist.

rd5425 · February 18, 2003 2:24PM

I bought a 1914-d lincoln off of ebay, and right when I opened the package, you can tell somebody had been smoking some cigars. I don't get it, do people like to smoke when they are looking at their coins or what?

Cam40 · February 18, 2003 2:34PM

You could try acetone on all of it to get the light stuff off maybe.
If you must acid-dip some to `restore` them only the silver should be dipped.Then acetone after that to rinse away any dip left.If your successful in doing that then you,ve only lower the grade by a point or so overall.A good dip will dull the luster slightly but noticably in many cases.
BTW.Dipping Clad and Copper in anything other than acetone is usually bad,or may have unfavorabe results.
Put em in the intersept sheilds like they are now and they will stay looking just about that way for 100 years.

Bear · February 18, 2003 4:19PM

Have the coin checked for lung cancer!!!!

maddox · February 18, 2003 4:24PM

I had a similar event, except there were actually ashes in the box with the coins, Looks like they were packing and smoking at the same time......Some people are just clueless

dorkkarl · February 18, 2003 7:48PM

dip it!

K S

BAJJERFAN · February 18, 2003 9:20PM

Stuff like that is enough to pi$$ the Pope off. If I were you I would send them back. It is really discourteous to send stuff out like that. In order to get yellow they would have to be exposed to a heavy smoke atmosphere for an extended period. Acetone will only remove contamination that it can dissolve such as some greases and oils. I don't see how dipping would help since it is intended to remedy oxidation problems and nicotine staining (if that is what you have) is only a physical problem not a chemical one.

Steve27 · February 18, 2003 9:53PM

If it's truly cigarette smoke residue then acetone is probably your best bet. I doubt dipping in a mild acid solution would help, but neither will lower the grade of the coin.

Petescorner · February 18, 2003 10:10PM

If it was just the smell, then I would say let them air-out in your garage for a while. But a quick dip would probably work for the yellowing.

tracker · February 19, 2003 1:30AM

"Greased Lightning" available @ most grocery stores will do the trick on business strikes. I am not sure what it might do to a proof, so I'd try the least valuable first. I used it on coins that survived a house fire and amazingly MS luster was restored. It does contain an alkaline detergent so I would try a 25-50% dilution to begin with and work from there.

flaminio · February 19, 2003 1:33AM

I'd send it back. And make sure to tell the seller why -- a surprising number of smokers have no idea how much they stink, and make everything around them stink.

cointoast · February 19, 2003 1:46AM

PM Russ..He's a pretty heavy smoker but I heard he came up with something for the coins.

semicycler · February 19, 2003 1:50AM

MS70 works great. It's a detergent that will not harm the luster. Also great for removing proof haze. I always use MS70 first then move on to dipping if necessary.

what do I do? cigarette smoke on proofs.

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