A beautiful coin (a half cent, by the way) - other than the nasty corrosion... By what percentage does the corrosion devalue the coin? Dare I ask what could be done to clean it up? Thanks.
Personally, for a common date/variety I would expect to pay around 50% for one with issues that strongly impact eye appeal.
This was my instinctive reaction, too. At least 50%. But it's hard for me to make that determination, since an issue like that would be a dealbreaker for me, and I'd rather just pass and get something better looking, even if it was slightly lower grade. This is one of those questions whose answer depends on the coin and the opinion of the individual collector. Some people would consider that coin ruined. Others might see an opportunity there. Asking what could be done to clean that one up is not a bad question. It could indeed benefit from some careful conservation, but without seeing the coin in hand, I'd be reluctant to advise how to proceed. Personally, I'd just pass and forget about it, but if you don't find it that objectionable and want a "project coin" to tinker around with, and could get it at a deep discount, then why not?
Thanks for the good responses. 99 times out of a hundred I wouldn’t even consider a problem coin. I guess this is the rare exception: the detail is otherwise so beautiful it makes me sad (for lack of a better term) to see what might have been (or could be?). The fact that it’s *just* a ‘53 does make me hesitate a bit more... I’ll probably make a low-ball offer that will be unsuccessful...
Yeah, good luck. Who knows, with a little mineral oil soaking and some careful work with a bamboo skewer and a soft cloth, maybe you can improve it. I suspect some if not most of the damage will be irreversible, though. It will never pass muster at a TPG, but with a little TLC it might be slightly improvable into a coin suitable for a raw album collection. "Problem" coins need lovin', too, and there's nothing wrong with collecting them, if you go into the deal knowing they have issues, and if the price is right.
That is fairly extensive corrosion across a significant portion of the coin. Honestly, I'd discount the coin 100% or more. You'd have to pay me to take that coin. Conserve it, get rid of the rot, stabilize that poor creature, and then we'll talk again.
