Should I Clean My Spanish Pieces of 8? PVC Damage?

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jacahan
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Should I Clean My Spanish Pieces of 8? PVC Damage?

#1 Unread post by jacahan »

Team,
When I was a lot younger (1998) I bought a Spanish Piece of 8 at the plaza mayor de Madrid. This coin regardless of the value is my favorite coin in my collection. To hold something that was made at the time of our country's fight for independence thrilled me. The quality seems very defined as well. However, it now looks like the flip it was stored gave some PVC damage to it. I was wondering if it should be cleaned? Any suggestion would be appreciated.

V,R
John
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Pieces of 8 1775 Front.jpeg.jpeg
Pieces of 8 1775 Obverse.jpeg.jpeg
Last edited by jacahan on Mon Jan 24, 2022 6:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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SensibleSal66
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Re: Should I Clean My Spanish Pieces of 8? PVC Damage?

#2 Unread post by SensibleSal66 »

I don't know. It looks fine to me. What have you tried?
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Re: Should I Clean My Spanish Pieces of 8? PVC Damage?

#3 Unread post by Iceresistance »

SensibleSal66 wrote: Mon Jan 24, 2022 12:50 am I don't know. It looks fine to me. What have you tried?
I do see the green stuff on the reverse, suspected PVC damage.
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Re: Should I Clean My Spanish Pieces of 8? PVC Damage?

#4 Unread post by jacahan »

The Green is slight that's why I'm asking. I was thinking of sending it out for grading and am not sure of the impact. Since this coin is so old I doubt any original luster would be an issue. I could also ask the grading company to do restoration, but if it's a simple cleaning would work. Just asking for some professional opinions.

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Re: Should I Clean My Spanish Pieces of 8? PVC Damage?

#5 Unread post by Earle42 »

Acetone will likely remove it for you and the acetone cannot chemically or physically interact with the metal. It only gets rid of the PVC damage. So there is no damage to the coin from the acetone.

Wow...Playa de madrid! I was there during Christmas of '86. I had a non-Enlgish speaker walk up to me and offer me a Peace dollar for $10.00. I knew it was fake after seeing and extra word "PEACE" in the design on the REV. I told the guy it was a fake and how I knew it (interesting situation to talk about coins in a language where there is no word for "coin!"). But...I have kicked myself for a long time b/c I would now love to have the fake as a momento - I should have offered him a 5.00!

Sorry for the rabbit trail...good memories!

Anyway - acetone - inexpensive at Walmart in the health and beauty section where it is sold as 100% PURE acetone alongside other fingernail polish removers. Only use the pure acetone b/c the others have chemical coloring and fragrnaces added that might interact with the coin.
Common grading company shortcomings & resulting co$tly mi$take$ to collectors (using Kennedy No FG halves):
https://tinyurl.com/y7rksxu8

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Re: Should I Clean My Spanish Pieces of 8? PVC Damage?

#6 Unread post by jacahan »

I really appreciate the advice. I will just do the dip method and then rinse with distilled water and pat down to dry. Appreciate everyone's help.

As for the "Rabbit Trail" having the stories is a part of the experience in my opinion. It helps make a personal connection to my collection. I almost didn't buy this coin because of the cost and I was worried it was a fake. But glad I did and I'm pretty sure it is worth a good amount in its current condition. I will probably have it graded after I figure out the most effective way to get many of my coins done.

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Re: Should I Clean My Spanish Pieces of 8? PVC Damage?

#7 Unread post by Earle42 »

There will be no problem with letting the coin stay in the acetone to make sure the PVC is gone. I once deliberately put a mercury dime into acetone for 1 month (sealed lid so the acetone did not evaporate) just to tell people on forums I did it so they would understand the metal cannot be harmed or altered in any way.

You can rinse the coin afterwards if you wish, but all the acetone will completely evaporate off of the coin by itself. Rinsing will just introduce water to the coin.
Common grading company shortcomings & resulting co$tly mi$take$ to collectors (using Kennedy No FG halves):
https://tinyurl.com/y7rksxu8

How much squash would a sasquatch squash if a sasquatch would squash squash?

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Re: Should I Clean My Spanish Pieces of 8? PVC Damage?

#8 Unread post by jacahan »

Updated coin scans after acetone dip.
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spanish 8 reale Front.jpg
spanish 8 reale Obverse.jpeg

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Re: Should I Clean My Spanish Pieces of 8? PVC Damage?

#9 Unread post by Triple C »

👍

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Re: Should I Clean My Spanish Pieces of 8? PVC Damage?

#10 Unread post by Earle42 »

Looks like the green PVC slime is gone 👍
Common grading company shortcomings & resulting co$tly mi$take$ to collectors (using Kennedy No FG halves):
https://tinyurl.com/y7rksxu8

How much squash would a sasquatch squash if a sasquatch would squash squash?

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