tips on removing PVC residue off of copper and silver coins

[Tedyoh]

I was looking at some of my late grandmothers early penny (Indians and wheats) and silver coins that were stored in these brown 3 ring binder books that had PVC pages with the year and mint marks marked accordingly for each coin - anyway, I took one out and noticed there's a slimy residue on all of the coins - any "safe" way of removing this residue? Safe meaning if it was to be graded it would not be graded as "cleaned" - Thanks.

 

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[blindbug]

Acetone. The pure stuff, not Nail Polish Remover... found at Lowes / Home Depot in the paint supplies aisle. Soak the coins for a short while, then rinse with water and dab dry. However, do know that almost any cleaning method, even something as simple as running a water faucet over the coins, has a potential to be flagged as 'improper cleaning' by the big grading companies. Also note that while Acetone is not harmful to the coin, it MAY remove some of the 'patina', if that patina is organic in nature (aka not natural). I'd also wait til someone else chimes in to get a better idea of what the options are.

 

[cudamark]

That's what I would do too. It may be that the "residue" is a preservative. After an acetone bath, I like to coat copper with Coin Care to keep any corrosion from starting. It's a silicone based liquid.

 

[Tedyoh]

Thanks guys - I will try it........these are old books, after looking up these old PVC pages / books I guess the residue is actually chlorine from the PVC reacting with the metal in the coins - green in color. Acetone bath was also recommended as well - Thanks again.

 

[jerseyben]

The acetone will not remove any patina from any coin.

Acetone soak and very light "rolling" of an acetone soaked Q-tip on the surface of the coin should lift off most PVC. This is probably the best method for properly cleaning any coin.

 

[collision]

Informative..Read .Thanks