Getting that shine back in your coins...

[5 rubles]

I have been going through my decimal RAM issues from 1985 to 2015. the old PVC holders or cards, no matter where they are from will stain and cloud coins as we know. the break point seems to be just over 10 years, 2003 coins are badly clouded and from 2006 they seems to very little affected.
I tried to clean the older ones in acetone, some for days, although they get better, they are not great. They are left with sticky surface and if you swipe it with your finger it draws a "finger swipe" mark. So back to testing and experimenting.

I discovered the a series of rinses make the coins as good as they were just after leaving the press at the mint. It is a 6 step process and the key process seems to be WD40 to degreaser, the chemicals seem to react better together than separately, neither WD40 or degreaser make much difference but put them together and voila!

1. soak in acetone to get the PVC removal process going. this could be minutes to hours depending how bad the coin is.

2. remove from acetone and by holding the coin from its rim, spray both sides with WD40 and place in small holding tray. use rubber gloves and at any point do not touch the surface, let the chemicals to the work. This step takes abt 1-3 minutes. Do 10-15 coins at a time.

3. pick the coin up again holding it by its rim and spray degreaser, just the ordinary you get from Supercheap for less than $3 per can. place in holding tray again until the lot of 10-15 coins are done. now you see the shine starting to appear. this step is removing the oily WD40.

4. using the normal blue window cleaner spray, spray the coin to clear off the degreaser and let drip most windex off. Always spray with the coin in  your fingers and let the spray run off so that it takes the contaminants with it.

5. dunk the coin in a small bucket of hot water holding its rim and move around a bit, this will remove most previous chemicals. do not rub the coin. Then place the coin on a cloth to dry and dab with another cloth to dry.

6. when the coin seems dry dunk in a small acetone container to rinse off the last water, degreaser and windex. use chopsticks to handle the coin. let dry on a clean cloth and dab with another clean cloth to absorb the acetone to prevent vapour stains.

Like I said before, none of these chemicals do much by themselves by combine them and a miracle cleaning happens.
If the coin surface has been attacked by the PVC, then nothing is going to fix that but at least the sticky cloud is removed.

[stevo1962]

I use acetone and an earbud and can usually wipe the PVC residue off them and mostly
they will then be graded by PCGS with no problems.I have only done this with unc coins
from sets 1966 1969 1971 1972 1973 and the PVC is always removable and has rarely
damaged the coins in the 50 odd sets that I have bought.Maybe I've just been lucky but I
do only buy sets that look OK to start with

[JeffH]

Have you tried xylene?

[5 rubles]

Not xylene...

I use acetone and an earbud and can usually wipe the PVC residue off them and mostly
they will then be graded by PCGS with no problems.I have only done this with unc coins
from sets 1966 1969 1971 1972 1973 and the PVC is always removable and has rarely
damaged the coins in the 50 odd sets that I have bought.Maybe I've just been lucky but I
do only buy sets that look OK to start with

I bought the coins from RAM years ago as new, some of the discoluration is due to coin being partly in contact with air, the original cardboard cards were not airtight.

[runway]

I have been going through my decimal RAM issues from 1985 to 2015. the old PVC holders or cards, no matter where they are from will stain and cloud coins as we know. the break point seems to be just over 10 years, 2003 coins are badly clouded and from 2006 they seems to very little affected.
I tried to clean the older ones in acetone, some for days, although they get better, they are not great. They are left with sticky surface and if you swipe it with your finger it draws a "finger swipe" mark. So back to testing and experimenting.

I discovered the a series of rinses make the coins as good as they were just after leaving the press at the mint. It is a 6 step process and the key process seems to be WD40 to degreaser, the chemicals seem to react better together than separately, neither WD40 or degreaser make much difference but put them together and voila!

1. soak in acetone to get the PVC removal process going. this could be minutes to hours depending how bad the coin is.

2. remove from acetone and by holding the coin from its rim, spray both sides with WD40 and place in small holding tray. use rubber gloves and at any point do not touch the surface, let the chemicals to the work. This step takes abt 1-3 minutes. Do 10-15 coins at a time.

3. pick the coin up again holding it by its rim and spray degreaser, just the ordinary you get from Supercheap for less than $3 per can. place in holding tray again until the lot of 10-15 coins are done. now you see the shine starting to appear. this step is removing the oily WD40.

4. using the normal blue window cleaner spray, spray the coin to clear off the degreaser and let drip most windex off. Always spray with the coin in  your fingers and let the spray run off so that it takes the contaminants with it.

5. dunk the coin in a small bucket of hot water holding its rim and move around a bit, this will remove most previous chemicals. do not rub the coin. Then place the coin on a cloth to dry and dab with another cloth to dry.

6. when the coin seems dry dunk in a small acetone container to rinse off the last water, degreaser and windex. use chopsticks to handle the coin. let dry on a clean cloth and dab with another clean cloth to absorb the acetone to prevent vapour stains.

Like I said before, none of these chemicals do much by themselves by combine them and a miracle cleaning happens.
If the coin surface has been attacked by the PVC, then nothing is going to fix that but at least the sticky cloud is removed.

Does it remove the green tinge often seen in the 20c ?

[Basil]

I've been waiting for someone to comment but Windex & similar glass cleaners contain Ammonia,not sure you should be treating coins with it,or any metal for that matter.Happy to be re-educated if it works.

[autocoupler]

1. soak in acetone to get the PVC removal process going. this could be minutes to hours depending how bad the coin is.

I've been looking around for suitable containers with screw on lids to hold the  acetone and coins, and found some that are perfect for the purpose but are made from plastic.

Just a bit concerned that the acetone may react with the plastic and contaminate the coins.

Is this OK, or is something made from glass the best way to go.

TIA

[Robster]

I use  small 'Masterfoods' mustard jars with the red plastic lid to place Acetone in for individual soaking of coins. No problems.!

[stevo1962]

I use  small 'Masterfoods' mustard jars with the red plastic lid to place Acetone in for individual soaking of coins. No problems.!

Yes Robster I use similar jars but mine are clear glass makeup jars with red plastic lids and are not very tall so I don't waste too much acetone

[Fulvio]

Just a bit concerned that the acetone may react with the plastic and contaminate the coins.

Depends on the plastic. The stuff ships in HDPE, remember?

Look at what the material is, and check it against the list of reactions. For example, PS (Polystyrene) will dissolve into a soup.

So plastic cups bad, milk bottles good.

[autocoupler]

Thanks Guys, got the picture :good:

[JeffH]

I suggest you don't bother trying this at home -I certainly won't! Coin Cleaning Process

Anyway I can't find my stash of silver and gold coins recovered from a shipwreck. :dodgy:
A little bit of trivia; muriatic acid is an old fashioned name for hydrochloric acid, also known as spirits of salt or acidum salis.

[autocoupler]

6. when the coin seems dry dunk in a small acetone container to rinse off the last water, degreaser and windex. use chopsticks to handle the coin. let dry on a clean cloth and dab with another clean cloth to absorb the acetone to prevent vapour stains.

Having absolutely no dexterity with chopsticks, and not wanting to dip the fingers into the chemical, I put together this little gadget for plucking a coin out through the opening of jar etc. It works a treat, thanks for the idea 5 Rubles.

[Fulvio]

use chopsticks to handle the coin.

Next time you go to the hospital, grab some of those disposable plastic tweezers. Scissors too while you're at it. Better than sending them to a landfill after one use.

[trout]

use chopsticks to handle the coin.

Next time you go to the hospital, grab some of those disposable plastic tweezers. Scissors too while you're at it. Better than sending them to a landfill after one use.

I tried the plastic tweezers and the acetone started to melt them :dash1:
But they are rather good as coin tweezers and the scissors are pretty useful as well :yahoo: