Cloudy Proofs.

[RI AL]

A little bit but question applies to U.S. coins too.

 

I found a music coin today that is from Peru, 2 of my areas of collecting interest, which is a proof. It is E-Bay 330294806710. Anyway, the coin is a proof but the fields are cloudy whitish. I was wondering if there is a way to safely restore the deep fields without damaging the frost on the devices?? I have a few modern issue U.S. pieces with a similar problem. Is there help?

 

Thanks!!!

 

RI AL snowing like a son-of-a-gun

[TomB]

In a very large number of cases one may simply dip the haze off. Alternatively, the haze can be due to PVC and this might clean up with acetone.

[bsshog40]

I have a Ben franklin Comm, 2006? Well it had haze and dipping would not even phase it. The haze is probably there for good. I don't know if NCS has any luck with hazing but moderns are probably not worth the cost.

[michael]

i have not looked at the coin in question but from my experiences with brilliant proofs usa pre 1916 silver only

 

if the coin is basically white or has a champagne colored cast and is hazy/cloudy

 

this is most always the case of a coin that was dipped and the haze is the toning that has eaten into the surfaces of the coin and the strong dip usually turns this toning hazy, cloudy white; in other words this toning that is so deep into the coin does not "dip out" the dip just turns the toning hazy/cloudy white

 

and this is again due to dipping

 

and the resulting champagne and/or ugly urine colored secondary toning is dip residue toning on the coin

 

and AGAIN TO VERIFY THIS FOR SURE I NEED TO SEE THE COIN IN HAND SIGHT SEEN

 

and there are of course many different varibles to this that only many decades of experience can assess

 

also with coins everything is subjective conditional on if this is YOUR coin and you are selling it; or you might be the possible buyer of the coin then it will be degrees of what is considered eye appeal to the dipped coin in question with the owner being more lenient and the possible buyer considering the coin to be more wary/harsh in the assessment

 

everything is highly subjective in coins same with the pricing services slabbing coins well not really slabbing coins but pricing them in little sonically sealed holders and the higher the grade the more subjective the pricing system but with pre 1840 coins even circulated grades with the same circulated grade of two identically dated coins of the same variety there could be a small even huge price difference depending on eye appeal

 

good luck!!

[ant]

" this is most always the case of a coin that was dipped and the haze is the toning that has eaten into the surfaces of the coin and the strong dip usually turns this toning hazy, cloudy white; in other words this toning that is so deep into the coin does not "dip out" the dip just turns the toning hazy/cloudy white "

 

like this!

[bsshog40]

And this is haze straight from the US Mint. Well, a couple months after receiving it.

[BillJones]

And this is haze straight from the US Mint. Well, a couple months after receiving it.

 

This type of haze comes from the solutions that the mint uses to clean the planchets before the coins are struck. In some cases the residue is not rinsed off properly, and the coin turns. Sadly you can’t predict this when you get the coins from the mint. It just sneaks up on you. A year or so ago I noted that one of my State Quarter Proof sets had developed this problem.

 

It's been my experience that most hazing Proof coins can't be fixed by dipping. It's sign that the mirrored surface has been damaged and can't be restored.

[James_OldeTowne]

I have never bought or owned a drop of coin dip, but a friend of mine has curated haze on quite a number of coins by dipping them for me. I have also removed haze using acetone, but this does not work on all coins by any means. It's probably the best place to start, though.

[prudden]

I have never bought or owned a drop of coin dip, but a friend of mine has curated haze on quite a number of coins by dipping them for me. I have also removed haze using acetone, but this does not work on all coins by any means. It's probably the best place to start, though.

 

Speaking of Acetone, what is the procedure for this. How long do you soak a coin such as the one in this thread? And, can you use a very,very soft brush for lightly touching up? I read someone used a q-tip,but I think that might not be soft enough. Some artist brushes are even finer.Maybe something else?

[physics-fan3.14]

prudden, there was a very good thread not too long ago on using acetone (I think someone had a pvc contaminated coin, and I was helping him with it.) I don't remember the name of hte thread, but maybe someone can link it if they remember?

[prudden]

prudden, there was a very good thread not too long ago on using acetone (I think someone had a pvc contaminated coin, and I was helping him with it.) I don't remember the name of hte thread, but maybe someone can link it if they remember?

 

Might have been mine. I remember posting my problem coin 1880S Morgan(cloudy fields) and getting some responses on what to do with it.I ended up sending it out and reposted the results although almost no one could see the differences. It came out great.

But I'm not sure if the procedure was covered? I will do a search.Thanks.

 

Yup.Did the search. There's are a couple of threads dealing with this. So I re read what is there. Lots of good info.

[James_OldeTowne]

Speaking of Acetone, what is the procedure for this. How long do you soak a coin such as the one in this thread? And, can you use a very,very soft brush for lightly touching up? I read someone used a q-tip,but I think that might not be soft enough. Some artist brushes are even finer.Maybe something else?

 

I don't know if there is an official procedure, but I do not rub the coin with anything! I use a ceramic bowl with a bottom that is concave enough that the coin never comes in contact with any part of the bowl, except the rim of the coin, of course. By making sure the bottom is fully concave, it also ensures the coin side facing down will get touched by the acetone.

 

Just swish it around, pull the coin out, rinse with distilled water and air-dry using canned air. This last step is pretty important.

 

One extra thing I do is to warm the bowl up so that the acetone is warm. Not hot, just very warm to the touch. (If it's too hot, the acetone simply evaporates very quickly.) This procedure has kept me in good stead. It has never damaged a coin, and the only time I have gotten unexpected results is when a coin turned out to be contaminated with something particularly nasty. In that case, I had my good friend dip it for me, using coin dip (not acetone). That took away all toning, but that was to be expected, and it was AT anyhow.

[bsshog40]

I tried acetone on the Franklin above too no avail. I dipped it to no avail. If there is a process that removes hazing, I would really be interested in knowing it.

[physics-fan3.14]

James, I've never heard of warming the acetone. Why do you do this, that is, what special benefit is derived from it?

[TomB]

It is extremely dangerous and foolish to warm acetone. The dangers far outweigh any perceived benefit. Don't do it.

[ldhair]

I have a group of different sizes of shot glasses I use for acetone and pick one that will keep the face of the coin from touching the glass. I'm not in favor of any type of rubbing. I have had some luck removing haze with dip but not always. The haze can be in the surface of the coin and won't come out.

[James_OldeTowne]

It is extremely dangerous and foolish to warm acetone. The dangers far outweigh any perceived benefit. Don't do it.

As I mentioned earlier, I don't want the acetone HOT, just WARM. I store mine in the garage, and today it is 2 degrees above zero. The acetone works better if warmed. At 2 degrees, it doesn't seem to do much.

 

Again, you do not need to heat it to the point that it is evaporating quickly.

 

In the summertime, it isn't an issue.

[EZ_E]

I have a set of 1 oz sterling rounds with one of them hazed to the extreme and a dip in EZest didn't even phase it.

[Dwaine]

I've had good luck in the past with a quick dip in EZest and then rinsing to remove haze on modern proof coins.

[RI AL]

I guess I'm going to have to get some Ezest. Is it hard to find? I'm a bit of a purist about "altering coins", but removing haze from non-valuable world coins just flies in under my radar. I did have success with Acetone on PVC, but I didn't feel badly by "altering" the coins because they would have eventually gotten butt ugly without the PVC removed, and they were just bullion coins anyway.

 

RI AL

[ant]

here is some pics of e-z-est dipped coin proofs. once dipped i find a coin is dipped. the haze left will not get any better. its like a log once it has the water to fill it it cant hold any more. the dip used more than once can start to carode your metal. i left a coin in the container of est and it looked like i left a penny in coke cola.

 

best after very fast dip and rince WELL.

 

worst after dip and rinced WELL.

 

and im trying to find a coin to show ,where the second dip ruined coin bad trying to remove the left haze

 

also the haze was left where the tone was blackish looking (very very dark) all the light colors were removed. it looks like the sheen was taken right off!

[RI AL]

Thanks for the tip, Ant. As it turns out, the coin I was bidding on on E-Bay (not your favorite site I know) got too high, :cry:even for a modern foreign piece, so I won't need the E-z-est for a while.

 

RI AL

[ant]

im not totaly hating them right now i have made sales and i get to send flyers for my site with the items so its turning out ok

 

sorry u didnt get that coin

[physics-fan3.14]

It is extremely dangerous and foolish to warm acetone. The dangers far outweigh any perceived benefit. Don't do it.

As I mentioned earlier, I don't want the acetone HOT, just WARM. I store mine in the garage, and today it is 2 degrees above zero. The acetone works better if warmed. At 2 degrees, it doesn't seem to do much.

 

Interesting. I think I would be more inclined to let it warm to room temperature slowly than attempt any accelerated warming. For those of you new to acetone, It is worth repeating TomB's warning that acetone, if improperly handled, can be an extremely flammable and explosive substance. This fact alone should warn people against heating it.

 

With the right precautions, though, acetone is extremely beneficial. Don't let the warnings scare you away from using it.

[Conder101]

also the haze was left where the tone was blackish looking (very very dark) all the light colors were removed. it looks like the sheen was taken right off!

That hazing wasn't created by the dip, it was caused by the heavy tarnishing. While many of the toning lovers may decry the statement, toning IS corrosion and the darker and heavier the toning the more damaged the surfaces are beneath it. And on a proof surface that surface damage is much more visible.