Here is a metal detecting find 1805 Draped Bust Large Cent. It has incredible detail and I assume this coin was not in circulation very long. I only used soap & water with an xsoft t brush to gently clean. What would you grade this coin and how should I care for it. It has been suggested to me to coat with olive oil, vaseline, or send to PCGS for grade and preservation. What would you do?? Most of the images I have seen of draped bust don't have this much detail. THanks. RCPTUNA
================================================= Marshall ================================================= ps This is a S-258 R1 (common) Small Date, Large Fraction which will likely net no better than VG, even after removing the dirt. In my opinion, it would be far too expensive (~$30 plus shipping) to have it restored just to get it to about $50 (probable) to $100 (possible, but unlikely).
You could try an acetone soak to remove the verdigris. Coin Wizard Supply also has a product called Verdi-Care for soaking that might help. I agree the details look AU. The environmental damage might not be "conservable" but you could stop it from spreading. It might net out to F12 if all goes well. Great find!
Actone will not affect verdigris, but it will dry the moisture out of it and help stop it from continuing. Detail is nice but I wouldn't call it AU detail. Marshall is right on the attribution 1803 S-258 small date small fraction. With the corrosion it would probably get an EAC grade of VG possibly VG-10 but it is still a desirable coin. At least I think so. Personally I dsagree with him a little. If it was my coin I would do an acetone rinse and then I would use a little Blue Ribbon on it to remove the very dry appearance. It is not worth sending to NCS in my opinion.
Conder, You have the skill and experience to do such a thing. I'm not sure the OP does. I would seek a professional (or very experienced) conservator to restore the coin if I were in the OP's shoes (presumably lacking the requisite experience). There appears to be a lot of meat on that coin and don't think it should become an experiment. Do you agree?
The truth is that I have gotten all the materials I need to conserve some Large Cents and after a test run on some Lincolns a month or so ago, I chickened out taking it to my old copper. I have distilled water, acetone (hardware pure and not nail polish contaminated), Blue Ribbon (aged 20 years), XYLOL and Verdi-care. Now all I need is the courage to take the chance on the coins with the worst problems. I have many that fit the bill. But I'm afraid of damaging them further.
A suggestion: Experiment with some $0.03 (i.e. virtually worthless) wheaties. What you learn there will help you with the earlier stuff.
Thanks for all the feedback everyone. A coin shop sold me a product called coin care by better bilt chemicals and said it was good to clean and preserve copper coins. It smells like oranges. This guy also offered to buy this coin for $150.00. He thought it would grade VF-20 when cleaned up. I didn't exactly get a good vibe from this gent, and I am not looking to sell. I just want to preserve from further corrosion. I tried on a wheat penny and it seemed to work alright, but is this product wise to use on a Draped Bust? Thanks again for taking the time to provide feedback? RCPTUNA
I would have said sold. I am not sure about the cleaning using this product - you say "seemed to", almost like you are not sure. Do you have before and after pictures of the wheatie? Because it may take this naturally dark coin and make it the cleaned pinkish red on this coin. Way too hard for me to say.
gotta wonder what the guy was thinking when he was offering 150 for that. as it is youd be doing good at 50. problem free that would be worth 150. you still dont know if its going to look better when its cleaned.
Coin Care is similar to Blue Ribbon, silicone based oil disbursed in a solvent. Coin Care just has more solvent than Blue Ribbon. When used for "cleaning" the solvent acts to dissolve the gunk on a coin, but it won't do anything to the corrosion and while it dissolves the gunk it doesn't remove it from the coin. You also have the problem that you now have a bunch of Coin Care on the coin and no good way to get it off. These products work best when you use a solvent such as acetone to degrease the coin and flush the gunk away and then evenly apply a VERY thin film of the Coin Care/Blue Ribbon. The problem is that it is difficult to get that thin even coating. Get it too thick and it has a greasy streaky appearance and it becomes sticky attracting dust and dirt.
I took Coin Care into the lab and did an analysis on it. It is not silicone based. It is merely a light, napthenic white oil with citrus odorant....nothing more. It can be easily removed with xylene.
It's too bad you improperly cleaned the coin. Do not coat it with ANYTHING. If you want to preserve it, give a soak in acetone to dehydrate the verdigris and put it into an Air-Tite holder. This will essentially halt the corrosion process. PCGS will not grade this coin, it has been cleaned and there's no way to "undo" the cleaning. Personally, I'd take it back to the guy in the shop and snag the $150. :smile
Thanks for all the feedback! Thanks to all for the feedback. I have heard acetone mentioned quite frequently. Where do you purchase it and is there a particular brand to look for. I'm not sure any of you have ever seen a copper coin come out of the ground after a 200+ year rest in New England soil. Please see attached pic. ...this is what they usually look like. Now you can see why I am excited to have a speciman with such detail!! I curious if not soap and water to clean....how would you proceed? When I do pull a rare coin..I want to do the right thing. Hopefully you can see why I don't want to sell this little part of history after the fruits of my labors. Just looking to have a nice conversation piece and prevent the coin from further corrosion. For me it's knowing this coin was used and dropped by a local founding father, has much as the beauty of the Draped Bust.
