Soaking in MS70 & Dipping in Care(?)

[gmarguli]

Just curious, has anyone soaked a coin for a LONG period of time in MS70? How does it affect the luster?

 

I had a silver coin which had dark brown toning with black spots that would not dip off in 100% strength of E-Z-Est. I gave it maybe 10-12 quick dips and nothing really budged on the toning. It lightened it a little, but very little, and didn't touch the black spots at all.

 

I soaked it for maybe 5 minutes in MS70 and rinsed, but there was still very little change. Then a couple of quick dips in the E-Z-Est and the coin came out completely brilliant. The dark toning was completely gone as were the dark black spots. The luster is strong and unimpaired and looks original. I guess the MS70 loosened the toning to the point where E-Z-Est could remove it.

 

I've got some other really dark toned coins which still appear to have good luster underneath it and I was considering a nice LONG soak in MS70. Any experience with a long soak in MS70 and the luster? I'm well aware that the surfaces and luster under the dark toning could be poor, but I am thinking about the MS70 actually disturbing the luster itself and not what might be under the luster.

 

Note: I would NOT recommend giving a coin as many dips as I did. It very well might destroy the luster and destroy the value of the coin. I would also NOT recommend dipping coins that have dark toning as usually the dark toning has already impaired the luster.

 

 

Also, when cleaning a copper coin with MS70 it will frequently give the coin a purple or blue tint to it. Someone told me to dip the coin in Care(?) after using MS70 and it will reduce the appearance of the purple/blue tint. They said Care is an oil based protectant. Anyone ever heard of Care and/or used it? How does it work?

[Count_Erfit]

I am in a similar quandary at this time. I have a birth year proof set that I got for my 15th birthday that I have kept ever since. It is a 1940.........if you can believe people live that long.

 

Anyhow.........about 20 years ago I dipped the cent in Care and put it back in the Capitol holder. Now it has the same color all over but you can see the oil is evaporating. Considering an acetone dip and a trip to Plasticville.

 

I...........think...........it would be okay. I...........think..........Care is just oil or a silicone glorp and would just dip off and leave a dry original coin.

 

Should I do it?

 

 

[Houston Investor]

Try a quick in and out at first and if necessary work the tough areas with a Q tip with light tap tap. Be careful not to scratch the coin.

[Oldtrader3]

MS70 works well to restore luster to hazy coins but will not touch dark toning. It works really well on old Peace dollars that just have bag storage haze on the surfaces. A really light quick wipe with a Q-tip will make these coins shine. I had some Peace dollars that had been sitting around for thirty years in an old box. MS70 made them look really lustrous.

[Houston Investor]

My method gets rid of dark toning - About 2 yr ago at a show in Lake Jackson, TX I picked up a huge lot of circ Morgan and Peace Dollars including a 1934-S in VF for cheap - average of $11 each. Many of the coins looked like they had been stored in the guys garage for years. He looked like an old refinery operator (Dow and BASF are the major employers there) and I told him about my chemical co experience in cost and financial so we had a common ground to discuss a deal. I had to work the 34S for probably 30 min with a Q Tip soaked in dip to get the dark toning off as it was practically black. After the dip work it was more of a nice circ tan looking. It looked much better and graded VF25 thru ICG. I eventually moved it for $75 so I guess all the work paid off. Almost all the rest of them have sold bringing good money in the $19 - $25 range. Cleaning these coins can be dirty, hard work! But its fun to pick up some nice junk for cheap and make it better.....The guy even came back later in the show and sold me about 10 half dollar rolls of mainly junk 90% and 40% silver....They did not look as bad as the dollars. Then he shook my hand and left with a grin on his face like he had really pulled one off.

 

Consequently, when I go to shows I still look for folks selling old circ dollars for cheap. A hobby within a hobby.

[MikeInFL]

Care is an oil of some type. It is frequently used on copper. In my experience, it doesn't completely hide the blue/purple tint of MS70, but it does minimize it. I believe it works to minimize the toning by making the "thin layer" not so thin -- but that's really just conjecture...Mike

[Oldtrader3]

There seems to be confusion for me on Googling the many types of "Care" oil including made from grape seed oil, almond oil, camellia oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, wheat germ oil etcetera. I guess they all would preserve and maybe impart some surface tone to copper or bronze coins.

[Coindude]

I had never even heard of CARE before this thread, but a quick search on ebay came up with this...

 

Coin CARE

 

Not sure how it works or what it does...anyone have any pics?

 

I have used MS70 and it does make copper purple.

[gmarguli]

My original post in this thread is almost 5 years old.

 

I've recently used Care. I found it to be OK. I wouldn't say it cleans coins. I've been using it on some circulated copper that had dull surfaces. It helped give them a more natural appearance. It's not nearly as good as the original (now banned) Blue Ribbon.

[Coindude]

Anyone here ever hear of something called "Black Magic"?

[robec1347]

It's not nearly as good as the original (now banned) Blue Ribbon.

 

When and why was Blue Ribbon banned?

[gmarguli]

It's not nearly as good as the original (now banned) Blue Ribbon.

 

When and why was Blue Ribbon banned?

 

As I understand it, one of the chemical components caused, I believe, liver cancer. Blue Ribbon was reformulated, but the newer stuff if not nearly as good as the old. I've got some bottles of both the old and the new and the old is clearly better.

 

I've heard of bottles of the old trading for $75-$200 each. I can't confirm first hand any actual sales at those levels, but I've heard those numbers from several people.