You can save some coins with MS70 cleaner. Others are a goner. We show two types.

PVC stands for polyvinyl chloride, an additive to plastic that makes it pliable. Problem is, it poisons coins with a green tint that eventually eats away and destroys metal. PVC was used for decades in coin flips. Some you can clean; others are beyond hope. Also, some coins come with grease or ink/contaminant stains are really tough to remove. You can try using MS70 for these, too. But never use Jewel Luster to remove surface metal. That’s a very advanced application, and I cannot share it here, for fear others will destroy their coins.

I have used MS70 coin cleaner on this otherwise desirable 1884-O coin, reverse, which has a stain. It took me three days to eliminate the stain, wetting a Q-tip with MS 70 coin cleaner and simply placing the Q-tip on the stain, It was removed within three days. Now I need the coin to re-tone. Keep this side in mind as I till update later in the year.

For now, let’s look at these two coins with PVC damage:

The green toning is an indication that this might be a damaged coin with PVC poisoning or just a seller’s omission of that for an advantage in bidding.

You can use MS70 to see the true condition of a coin, but please be aware: MS70 sometimes strips coins of their original luster.

This coin is beyond repair as it as eaten into the metal:

This example might be saved:

As such, I won’t use MS70 on the above coin, however, because it is so common and worn. I would save it for another coin, like this one, which has grit rather than PVC poisoning:

It took me three days to eliminate the crud. I dipped a Q-tip in MS70 and left it on the coin for 48 hours. I got rid of the stain, but if I submitted the coin to PCGS now, they would see the cleaning. So I housed this coin in a velvet holder so that it might re-tone one day and hide the cleaning. If it works, I will share that in a later post.

MS70 is a detergent cleaner so it doesn’t remove any metal. However, Jewel Luster, otherwise known as e-Z-est, strips a layer of metal from the coin. Some professionals know how to use this and still preserve a coin for grading. I know how, too. But I won’t share the recipe, as so many coins have been destroyed by amateur processes. I only use this product once or twice a year, and I buy and sell hundreds of coins.

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