Noticed my Mercury dimes yellowing

[retired22]

Thought I read where the coins could be reacting to the cardboard holder. I don't think it's natural toning. Do you think a mild cleaning could be done. I really don't like the spotting.

[Iceresistance]

Acetone might do the trick?

[JTCC]

A dip in 100% pure acetone may work.

[DSCoins]

In the future, please keep in mind that the rule for posting coins on the Board is one coin per topic.

[Earle42]

Personally I would try the acetone - and as has been said - make sure the bottle says 100% pure. Acetone cannot chemically interact with the metal and so is not considered "cleaning". Acetone is like rinsing a coin off with water when you spill Pepsi on it, but acetone can remove more than water can.

And...if they were mine I would ditch the blue album.

I do not know what is causing the yellow spots exactly, but to me it would not be worth it to have it happen again. I have seen theorized it was the glue used to hold the album cover to the back of the cardboard that toned coins.

I also would suggest you store them in a non-humid environment (use silica gel packs as well).

And no matter what (learned my lesson the hard way) I will not put lustrous coins into any container having cardboard touching them (like these folders and even Dansco albums). Cardboard absorbs humidity and tarnishes the coins.

[retired22]

Thank you all for replying. Do you think nail polish remover would be alright? My coin holders have been kept in a steel lock box for years. I should at least add a silica gel pack to the mix and see what happens. Would hate to lose all luster to my coins. And certainly don't want to have to go through this again

[retired22]

In the future, please keep in mind that the rule for posting coins on the Board is one coin per topic.

I did not think the rule applied under the general coin question format. And just thought the visual would give an overall view of the problem. I was not asking you to look for anything else.

[SensibleSal66]

Please don't use Nail Polish remover.
The main ingredient in many nail polish removers continues to be acetone, which is that pungently scented but effective ingredient. If you have stubborn polish to remove, you can find removers that are up to 100% acetone, although 98% is more common. The average drugstore remover is 30%-60% acetone unless you opt for an acetone-free remover.

[Earle42]

Sorry late getting back with this - been out of town!

Fingernail polish remover can have fragrances and colorants added and therefore may actually interact with the metal of the dime depending on what they use.

Pure acetone is sold in the same department as fingernail polish remover though. In fact you can pure acetone for 1.00 (well, 1.25 b/c of brandon-economics) at the dollar (twenty-five) store.

[Peggysis]

Looks like humidity damage. Seen the same thing with Canadian Mint set from 1967.

[Daniel]

Looks like it was taped at one time and it's toning from the residue. Acetone would fix this.

[Paul]

Looks like humidity damage. Seen the same thing with Canadian Mint set from 1967.

HUH?

[Peggysis]

I have a Mint set from 1967 and it's got pretty cheap cardboard and that phony felt stuff. After a few years in the boxes I store in, they got a little yellow too. Acetone works good on stuff like this.

[retired22]

I finally got around to using 100% acetone on my dimes and it took hardly any effort to remove the yellowing. So I don't know if it was humidity or the coin book or a combination but I also remedied both

[Earle42]