Some of you may recall seeing this item in another image I posted....... yeah this coin right here .....
well any suggestions....this is an 1913 D Buffalo Variety 2 mintage 4,156,000 somewhat a semi key...that I found some time back out on the street. I've given it a dunk...... but man it's asphalt and hard to remove. Yeah Jerry this is the Buffalo we talked about.... any ideas? After all I can't hurt it any more than what life on the street did.... Ball Park value in G-4 $100.-125.
Would xylene work? Xylene is nonpolar (whereas acetone is more polar), and I think asphalt is primarily composed of long nonpolar hydrocarbon chains (plus other things), so xylene may be better at convincing the asphalt to release its grip on the nickel. This is just a random speculation though; wait to see if anyone thinks this is a decent idea.
Thanks for all the suggestions , Even in its current condition it goes to show you that it's worth bending over to pick some coin off the street. God only knows how long it's been on my desk as well how long it lived on the street. But I do recall this one I did find......how could you forget?
Acetone is far from a universal solvent. Collectors like it because it's a polar organic solvent, it will remove a pretty wide variety of residues and it dries quickly. It's also an excellent dehydrator able to remove water which can help prevent corrosion. Xylene is the best choice for removing thick, long-chain, non-polar residues.
Thanks again, I know the condition is not worth spending the money on to send in but still a nice coin to enjoy. Plus its got a story.
As long as it takes. Me, I'd drop the Buff into a small glass of xylene, cover it with a piece of glass for an airtight seal and walk away for 48 hours before even contemplating how long it'll take. My guess is that'll be enough, maybe a third overnight in fresh solution.
As long as necessary to achieve the desired results. But, you'll want to keep a close eye on it. I've over-soaked a few coins in the past and removed some of the underlying patina which made the coins ugly. Sometimes you want to just leave a little gunk on the surface!
Patina is a lot like Chico Marx talked about in The Coconuts: Chico: "Any time you gotta too much, you gotta whole lot. Look, I explain it to you...sometimes you no got enough, it's too much, you gotta whole lot. Sometimes you got a little bit. You no think it's enough, somebody else maybe thinks itsa too much, itsa whole lot too. Now, itsa whole lot, itsa too much, itsa too much, itsa whole lot...same thing." Gee, I wish I had said that.
