White/Copper Spots Experiment

White spots of death, ghosting and copper spots are common issues we talk about when it comes to Pandas, Canadian coins, and many others. I was given some coin cleaner as a gift a while back and after using it on a variety of circulated 90% US junk coinage with impressive results, I thought I would give it a try on a couple of pandas ... one with some unattractive ghosting and another with some minor copper spots.

e-Z-est Coin Cleaner is the solution I tried. You dunk the coin in for 5-15 seconds, rinse thoroughly in a mildly soapy water, then rinse thoroughly with clean water and dry.

The description says, "A liquid tarnish remover for silver, copper and gold coins Removes tarnish and finger marks from uncirculated and proof coins Special formula keeps coins bright long after cleaning Invaluable to the numismatist Will not harm silver, but may remove artificial oxidation."

No scrubbing or brushing that will damage the coin's surface, just slosh the coin around in the solution. Well, it managed to remove the ghosting on the silver panda and the 4 mild copper spots present on a gold panda. I didn't have a before photo of the gold, so no images to share, but you can see the results on the silver coin below. The ghosting can be seen around the temple in the first photo...

Before:



After:



I know cleaning and dipping coins can be controversial, and some take it to extremes and try to mislead people about their coins, but I'm a curious person and wanted to see what would happen using this stuff since it isn't a harsh abrasive or require polishing, scrubbing, etc.

The surface of the coin is substantially better looking to me. I have some NGC coupons coming, so I may submit this just to see if it passes through grading or if it is flagged as 'improperly cleaned'. I thought I read on here, or maybe another forum, that someone uses mineral spirits (?) or kerosene (?) on MCCs before sending to NGC. Never had a coin returned and seemed pleased with the results. This solution seems somewhat similar in nature to those and it doesn't leave any residues behind after rinsing. Probably a long shot, but who knows, maybe this stuff is in PCGS' and NCS' conservation toolboxes?

Anyway, just thought I would share. Might be something you folks might want to try on your milky pandas, maples, wolves, etc.

 

wow pretty cool I dont know if I would dunk a 1000 usd coin but that is pretty impressive ,Derrick ,I am sending a bunch of coins to NGC in about 5 to 7 days ,more than happy to submit it for you and be part of the experiment ,I will even pick up the fee,s if you want to send it to me. my understanding is ez zest is a mild acid ,and you really need to watch how long you leave it, ............ let me know

 

Haha knowing the lottery that is NGC it will probably come back MS 70 and pending new variety designation. 2003 mirrored with frosted temple.

 

would not doubt it.... will be interesting to see if the ghosting re-appears..................... Derrick of course I will send the coin back to you once is graded your in the USA ,so it is only a couple of bucks to ship back ,no worries

 

You're absolutely right, which is why the directions say to limit exposure to 15 sec. and then dunk in mildly soapy water to neutralize. We all know that the certain white spots from the cleaning chemicals used at the mint can't be removed since it's embedded in the metal, but this seems to help well with environmentally caused residues.

I wouldn't swear by this as it was a pretty unscientific experiment, lol, but interesting either way.

 

LOL. It does indeed seem like a lottery at times. I don't think I have a chance at MS70 or even MS69 though since the coin does have some minor blems in the frosted regions here and there. I picked it up at a local show and it was in a different capsule that it moved around in. Looks more like a MS66 maybe 67 to me.

 

I sure like the initial results................ D lets get that coin in an airtite holder ,i am dying to see if those milky shadows re _appear ,send it to me, no worries , I will be submitting within 7/10 days ,I am just waiting for one batch of coins to come to to me

 

The suspense! :lol:

 

forgot to ask frosted or mirror??

 

Thanks for the experiment it will be interesting to see the results, if something could permanently remove the white spots and still grade that would be a miracle !

 

It will be very interesting to see if this coin gets flagged by NGC!

Also, on the same topic has anyone tried the electrochemical method of removing silver tarnish which involves table salt, baking soda, aluminum foil, and hot water?

 

my wife tried it for me on a silver USA quarter ,no luck......................

 

I found a 2005 and a 1989 panda ,that are toned pretty good in a bullion box ,the 2005 is a little rough and probably should not waste the money grading it..but for the sake of the experiment ,we got 3 coins going now ,I bought some e-Z-est Coin Cleaner ,will dip them and send them along with Heyimderrick,s 2003 bear .......i will try to post before pics tonight

 

It worked nicely on the gold panda I tried it on. Removed some minor copper spots without any rubbing or long exposure to the solution. Depending on the toning you're seeing, and the coin, you may not want to remove it. Toning on old US gold coins is desirable by many collectors, for example, and even traces of copper since it helps ensure authenticity.

 

so if silver is encapsulated it shouldnt go funny coloured or get spots right? (yes im still a noob stacker)

 

It helps against environmental effects to use an air tight holder of some sort (many brands out there), but if there are chemical residues in the metal from the minting process, nothing can be done to prevent or remove those.

 

Will you be using a neutralizing wash?
IIRC, a multi rinse process of distilled or deionized water & acetone is the basic/minimal rinse.

 

Oh, this will be good! I'm looking forward to the results.

 

yes ,the cleaner calls for soapy water, then a water rinse, after that i will dip in acetone to remove any trace of film ,then distilled water again...........