an OLD question re-asked " Is there a way to get black off of silver coin without looking cleaned?"

I believe the recommendation is to do the XRF as a screening. There's a good probability that it can determine if it's 75Cu25Ni or plated. If it looks promising, then he can send it in.

@Southernman189 take a pic or copy the results (no need for stuff <1%). There are some members here who are pretty good at analyzing XRF data. You're not going to see 75.0% Cu 25.0% Ni. There's going to be some variability due to the the software algorithm, corrosion, trace elements, etc.

 

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<WARNING> if you have a weak heart don't read this... I did the totally unthinkable BUT smartest thing for me to do and get away with it. I KNOW it will be graded as circulated and expected to have bumps, bruises and scrapes. So I went to the edge of the Wheat cent with a VERY sharp pocket knife and scraped the same place twice about 1/4" NO COPPER!!! All shiny silvery color, and pictures to prove it. Take THAT doubting Thomas's. and Thank YOU supporters.

 

Now go take a Nitro pill. sorry for that shock of scraping a coin on purpose.

 

I'm not a stickler about coin cleaning to the extent that the US coin numismatist establishment would like me to be. I'm more interested in coins looking nice than worrying about whether or not removing gunk and fungus is a good or bad idea.

But, I still find it funny that, in a forum that would mostly lambast a person for altering a coin in any way, we get so many threads that are essentially asking:

"How do I clean this coin without cleaning it?"

If anybody figures out the answer to that question then please let me know. I'd like to apply that methodology to my house and car!

 

Never be afraid to ask and learn. I am 67 years old been collection coins for over 50 years yet I NEVER heard of cleaning coins with sterile water and acetone before coming here. I learn something new most every time I come on. So thank you coin folks for teaching an OLD DOG new tricks! not sure you need to use acetone on your car though.

 

The answer to that question is conservation.

 

Cu-Ni is REALLY hard to clea...conserve.

 

yes just was grasping at clouds trying to get the best answer. Answer I got as I read between the lines was, "Leave it to hell alone" lol

 

Congratulations! Also, for the afflicted I'm having a sale on fainting couches

 

I am sure there were a few eyebrows raised reading that about the scraping of the coin edge

 

If you had sent it in to a TPG, then they probably would have done something similar to make the determination. However, much like with cleani ..... Er Umh! ... conservation, it is perfectly fine as long as you pay somebody else to do it!!

 

There's a right way and a wrong way to do anything. There is a way to clean a coin without damaging the surfaces, but there are many ways to do it and damage it forever. Unfortunately due to the "never clean coins" stigma, and the fact that it's trial and error for anyone learning, it's an underground practice with the exception of conservation services that are in fact "cleaning coins", just for a price and with better PR about what they are doing.... "oh we aren't cleaning, we're experts and we are conserving, it's different!".

Anyways. All dealers will dip coins and all dealers will clean coins if it will benefit the sale price of what they bought. Done right it won't damage anything and it won't make it a "cleaned coin". Done wrong or an unexpected result from doing it will cost them also though.

The "don't clean coins" was meant to stop novices that don't know what they are doing from damaging valuable coins. It's been turned into a deviant behavior almost though, what has hurt the hobby in the long run, so many coins could benefit from conservation, darkly toned and corroding away, and the owners not cleaning coins thinking it will hurt their resale because that's what they were told and they don't want to lose value, while losing value anyways.

I'm not saying you have to be a professional to "conserve" coins but it takes knowledge and practice, and even then things can go sideways and you get a bad result.
On the other hand polishing a coin will make it shiny and bright and reflective and "nice" but the surfaces are unnatural. A person needs to at least understand this difference before even thinking about "cleaning" a coin.
I use quote here mostly to show the word(s) as a term and that its subjective, not objective.

But to recap, "don't clean coins" was meant to protect coins from novices that don't know what they are doing from destroying a coin. It's become the be all end all mantra, and driven true coin conservation underground....

 

I did the same thing on what I had believed for years to be an off metal coin. Of course it was a dime and I scraped between the reeded edges, but nevertheless scrape I did in the least conspicuous place and I can't fault doing that.

Again I'm gonna say. You are 99% sure. I don't think anything short of a slab and a professional 2nd opinion gets you to 100%. To put it to rest, send it in for the grading and attribution and finish that last 1%.... in my opinion or you'll wind up spinning your wheels for a few more years and still be sitting at 99%, like I was.
Take all costs to confirm it an add it to you sale price if you ever sell, and if it's not write it off as money well spent to get you that last 1% and KNOW.

 

One of these days some idiot will take you seriously, then put out a contract on you.

 

Well folks, "checks in the mail" it's on it's way to NGC. Wasn't as expensive as PCGS. NGC all total $78.00. Membership + submission + S/H + insurance. not bad at all.

 

I’m still stuck back at the beginning. Why would you even want to clean this?

It’s really worn, so it’s not going to look like anything other than a really worn-out coin. This dark coating is ideal for showing that the coin has light-colored devices where it should be dark. The black patina shows the coin went unnoticed for decades in circulation, evading detection as a rarity, and is a badge of honor.

It just seems like the ideal appearance for this coin, and any attempt to change it would just result in an inferior coin.

 

"Cleaning" wasn't to make it look better, I was hoping to find a safe method (if that's possible) to find out if it was zinc plated or Mercury coating or even some other coating that's all, if I have a ZINC coated cent then to me it's worth ONE CENT even if it is a 1920. I wanted to varify what it was. Now I have my answer without dipping, bleaching, Ketchup, brillo, or sand blasting.

 

Leave it alone... That's just me though!

 

it's GONE, off to be graded and slabbed by NGC. I'll re-post the results when it gets back

 

Yep, and the older the harder it becomes. I tried to conserve a Bactrian copper nickel coin once, (earliest in history) and gave up. Nickel reacts differently with the elements than I am used to.