I've taken three coins:
A clad, Nickel Copper, circulated, 1976 Bicentennial Kennedy Half
A clad, Nickel Copper, circulated 1976 Eisenhower Dollar
A .999 Fine Silver, 1987 Walking Liberty, badly toned
And photographed them, then cleaned them in stages:
First, the original coin
Second, a one minute dip in pure acetone while lightly rubbing the surfaces by hand, then rinse in water and pat dry
Third, a one minute dip in vinegar while lightly rubbing the surfaces by hand, then rinse in water and pat dry
Fourth, rubbing with a magic eraser dipped in vinegar, then rinse in water and pat dry
An experiment in Cleaning Coins
Moderator: Daniel
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You also agree to follow these guidelines. You must agree to these rules to be a member of this forum. NO SPAM! Spam is deleted within minutes, no spam will ever be left in our community.
1. Post a front and back image of your coin with a specific question about what you’re seeing or asking about and one coin per topic.
2. Please remove coin from the holder unless it’s US or an official mint case or unless it is graded by a grading service.
3. Images should be taken by a camera or cell phone camera, we ask that members don’t use images through a microscope screen.
4. Always start your own topic, please don’t ask about your coin or post your coin in someone else’s coin topic.
5. Do not send private messages about your coin unless an Admin ask you too and the same for sending emails through the board.
6. No spam. Do not post any links to your coin or other non-coin websites.
7. Always be respectful even if something makes you upset or you don’t agree with a member. You can always get a second opinion elsewhere. If you have an issue then politely ask an admin in an PM. PM’s are for issues, technical and personal, but not for coin questions (refer to number 5 on this list). Our community is not a soap box for complaining or drama, so please refrain from doing so here.[/size]
Here's a link to how to post a topic with images in our community https://coinauctionshelp.com/welcome-to ... community/
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
You also agree to follow these guidelines. You must agree to these rules to be a member of this forum. NO SPAM! Spam is deleted within minutes, no spam will ever be left in our community.
1. Post a front and back image of your coin with a specific question about what you’re seeing or asking about and one coin per topic.
2. Please remove coin from the holder unless it’s US or an official mint case or unless it is graded by a grading service.
3. Images should be taken by a camera or cell phone camera, we ask that members don’t use images through a microscope screen.
4. Always start your own topic, please don’t ask about your coin or post your coin in someone else’s coin topic.
5. Do not send private messages about your coin unless an Admin ask you too and the same for sending emails through the board.
6. No spam. Do not post any links to your coin or other non-coin websites.
7. Always be respectful even if something makes you upset or you don’t agree with a member. You can always get a second opinion elsewhere. If you have an issue then politely ask an admin in an PM. PM’s are for issues, technical and personal, but not for coin questions (refer to number 5 on this list). Our community is not a soap box for complaining or drama, so please refrain from doing so here.[/size]
- mhonzell
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Re: An experiment in Cleaning Coins
Do you see hairlines?
Improper toning, or runny tones?
(You can super magnify all of these photos.)
Improper toning, or runny tones?
(You can super magnify all of these photos.)
- mhonzell
- Administrator
- Posts: 2734
- Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:14 pm
- Location: Arizona
- Has thanked: 172 times
- Been thanked: 461 times
Re: An experiment in Cleaning Coins
Do you see hairlines?
Improper toning, or runny tones?
(You can super magnify all of these photos.)
Improper toning, or runny tones?
(You can super magnify all of these photos.)
- mhonzell
- Administrator
- Posts: 2734
- Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:14 pm
- Location: Arizona
- Has thanked: 172 times
- Been thanked: 461 times
Re: An experiment in Cleaning Coins
Do you see hairlines?
Improper toning, or runny tones?
(You can super magnify all of these photos.)
Improper toning, or runny tones?
(You can super magnify all of these photos.)
- mhonzell
- Administrator
- Posts: 2734
- Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:14 pm
- Location: Arizona
- Has thanked: 172 times
- Been thanked: 461 times
Re: An experiment in Cleaning Coins
In hand:
The acetone left a dull milky white appearance to the surface of the coin.
The vinegar seems to have slightly darkened the coin, but did not remove the milky appearance. Maybe more so with the darkening on the Walking Liberty.
The magic eraser was like polish. The milky appearance was removed and the silver coin has high luster.
The Kennedy and Ike show lightness where there was wear on the high spots, which make both coins look "wrong", splotchy.
The Walking Liberty, which had no wear looks great in hand, but the reeded edge does not match the toning of the faces being almost black between high ridges. The heavier tone marks on the reverse are now reversed being somewhat shinier than the originally exposed surfaces.
Rotating the Walking Liberty and Ike under a bright light reveals the faintest of hairlines in the larger field areas.
So, what's the point?
A photograph can hide a lot. Remember that when you're shopping on eBay.
The acetone left a dull milky white appearance to the surface of the coin.
The vinegar seems to have slightly darkened the coin, but did not remove the milky appearance. Maybe more so with the darkening on the Walking Liberty.
The magic eraser was like polish. The milky appearance was removed and the silver coin has high luster.
The Kennedy and Ike show lightness where there was wear on the high spots, which make both coins look "wrong", splotchy.
The Walking Liberty, which had no wear looks great in hand, but the reeded edge does not match the toning of the faces being almost black between high ridges. The heavier tone marks on the reverse are now reversed being somewhat shinier than the originally exposed surfaces.
Rotating the Walking Liberty and Ike under a bright light reveals the faintest of hairlines in the larger field areas.
So, what's the point?
A photograph can hide a lot. Remember that when you're shopping on eBay.
- Paul
- Master Die Variety Examiner
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Re: An experiment in Cleaning Coins
Great experiment and info. Thank you.
Like you said, the light only has to hit the coin from a different angle to mask those hairlines
(or to make markers more visible on varieties).
Like you said, the light only has to hit the coin from a different angle to mask those hairlines
(or to make markers more visible on varieties).
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