seeing i have a canada large cent, thats gone a greenish ugly color, can it poossibly be brass would brass possibly turn the same color, i figure i would weigh it tommorow to see the weight , as i know the brass cent weighs different then the cooper cent.. am i correct?
how can you tell if its bronze, brass or copper or what ever, with all that greenish stuff on it,, god what a waste of a good year, can it ever be cleaned?
They do make cleaners that remove verdigris, I would search this site with "verdigris" in the search bar for methods of conservation. As to telling bronze, brass or copper, I look them up in the Standard Catalog of World Coins by Krause Publications.
oh ok, i didnt think a catalog could tell unless you had a pro look at it, and where this is so green, i figured a good starting point would be weighing it as i know theres a differnence in the weight of brass and bronze and whatever else..i have books as well . but like i said to even get a close up of the coins to see if its a double punch on date is to hard to see, unless its cleaned abit..
To my knowledge, all the Canadian Large Cents were struck on Bronze. Calgary Coin is a site that might help you further. I hope I have been of assistance.
1859 canadian cents are common and not particularly valuable as a rule unless they're in really nice shape -- maybe a couple of bucks or so in common grades.
are you sure its only a bronze variation, i thought in the canada 2011 charlton guide there was a bunch of different variations to the coin and made of different metals. anyone in to canada large cents want to conform what the last response was? thanks for your opinion.respected.
There's a product made by E&T Kointainer Co. called Koinsolv that should remove the verdigris. It's supposedly a neutral solvent that removes dirt, grease, tape residue, etc. I use it occasionaly and it does remove dirt and grease very well, but haven't tried it for "green stuff". Most coin collector supply houses will sell it, or some bigger coin shops. Bruce
1859 large cent thanks, right now i can barely see the coib s markings , but i know if the green crap was off it would have nice markings and the wear on it is even, ill check that out for sure ill try to find it here in canada some where. is it expensive and do you use a lot of it. thanks
I've had my bottle so long that I don't remember how much I paid for it. No, I don't use it much, but some coins are so dirty I have to clean them up a bit. There's a company called Brooklyn Gallery Coin and Stamp who sells it mail order, but I don't remember their web address. If you Google it, it shold come right up. Good Luck! Bruce
the product you mentioned i found a listing the states but will they ship to canada, i dont want to pay for something then the us customs say its not permitted in canada or something.. is it the best product on the market or is there other products just as good or better, maybe some canadian company sells it.
That's right Maggie, The new issue of teh charlton catalogue is dedicated to Large cents. The post I quoted above yours isn't quite correct. Yes, the 1859 large cent was heavily minted, but that also leads to many many many different varieties. There are so many overdates and repunches for this date it's incredible. You shouldpost a picture, preferably a close up of the date and the legend on the obverse of the coin. If you do this, some of us here may be able to give you an idea on rarity and value for your coin. If the coin is heavily encrusted in verdigris and there is too much gunk on teh coin to make out any detail around the date, then I suggest a soak in olive oil, or some coin care so we can make teh details out better. Welcome to Cointalk
There is no difference in the weight of a bronze vs a brass 1859, as they both are 95% copper .. and wear of dirt/crud wuill more than compensate for the minute difference. If the green crud that you have is soft, then acetone and a Q-Tip or soft toothbrush will remove it. Acetone in fingernail polish remover. WD-40 soaks help and work with a Q-Tip. If it's green and crustly, nothing will help. A non-variety coin with any corrosion on it is essentially worthless. There are maybe 1000 varieites of the 1859's .. unless it's a rare one, very littl epremium for minor varieites.
Coins from 1858-1859 (Province of Canada) weigh 4.54 grams with a diameter of 25.4 mm. They have a composition of .950 copper, .040 tin, .010 zinc. There are 4 MAIN varieties of 1859, all the same composition though. Wide 9 , Narrow 9, Double-Punched Narrow 9 #1, Double-Punched Narrow 9 #12
