Hello, I'm looking for some advice on some 1942s quarters I recently acquired. I'm new at collecting so bare with me. Each of the coins appear to be in mint state but have a white film on them. The only way I can describe it is they look dusty, there is no luster whatsoever. After looking them up in numismedia they apparently carry quite a premium but I don't know if there is a safe way to clean them up without hurting their value or if it's too late and I should just leave them alone. I don't have a good camera to take some pictures but hopefully someone will have an idea from my description. Thanks in advance.
Some Chinese fakes come with a white haze, better weigh them first and if they`re fake, go ahead and clean them.
We need a picture to know exactly what were dealing with here. Try your best at a picture, and post it still.
Put them in your flatbed scanner and scan them... That often makes better pics than any sort of camera.
Here's a scanned image, didn't think about that. As for them possibly being fake, I don't have a scale but they pass the magnet test. Thanks guys...
The 'cloud' about the coin is a form of ugly toning. Most likely environmental damage from where or how they were stored for many years. An expert dip might be in order... Not a job for the inexperienced though.
Thanks Ratio! They appear to have been stored in a plastic tube for no telling how long. If I was to get these dipped, would it hurt their value or keep them from being graded in the future?
If the plastic tube had PVC in it's composition, that would explain alot. As for the dipping, you might have someone who knows what they are doing try it on a single coin, just to see. ???
If the clouding is from PVC exposure, someone else on the forum, more knowledgeable than me, will have to chime in and clarify if casual dipping would even help at all. From what I have heard, PVC damage can be permanant and deadly to coins. PVC is the Debbil!
The coin looks pretty normal to me with ordinary toning. And I see nothing that looks like PVC contamination. Yes, it's possible they could be helped by dipping, but as said already that would need to be done by somebody with experience to avoid ruining the coin. I would recommend just leaving them alone. The toning they have will act as a protective layer and they will not change if stored properly. And down the road, should you ever decide to sell, anyone familiar with coins will recognize the same things I do and might even pay more for the coins because of the possibilities.
Thanks for the input GDJMSP! I think I'll test the waters on pricing for professional dipping just in case. I'll certainly be taking them out of the plastic tube to avoid any further toning or damage as well.
The tube doesn't have anything to do with it, it's fine. Hard plastic tubes do not and never have contained anything harmful to coins. So the coins will stay just as they are now if you store them properly. That means in a sealed container like a safe or a Tupperware container with silica gel packs inside to absorb any excess moisture from the air (changing or recharging them as necessary), and store your container in a cool, dark, place where the temperature doesn't change much. As for professional dipping, NCS is about your only option and to be honest the coins aren't worth it. But of you happen to run across a dealer or another collector who has experience dipping coins, and you trust that person, then you could have them dip them for you - one at a time - so you can judge the outcome before doing any others.
