1866 IHC - send to NCS?

What's funny is that I've been thinking of getting an album for my IHC now that I've got a few. I personally hate the cheap Whitman folders - any recommendations?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Personally i prefer Dansco for copper. The coins look better in the tan pages as compared to Whitman's blue, or Littleton's green pages.

 

The older albums will tone copper quicker since there is more sulfur in the pages - Best is Wayte Raymond albums or Library of Coins.

 

The MS70 also seems to have stripped some of the nice brown coloring from the coin.

 

It did seem to remove some of the chocolate brown patina from the coin - at the benefit of removing all the green goo from both sides. IMO aside from the areas of blue toning (which I don't mind, personally) I think the amount of visible detail on the coin is greatly improved. It's an interesting conundrum - and I suppose this is why there are so many discussions on this topic - but this went from a coin I would have sold to pay for other coins (and at a significantly lower price than it would have retailed) to a coin that I enjoy looking at (and I'll keep it for a long while.) I can see both sides of the argument - but I suppose I sit more closely to the middle, thinking that it would be extremely difficult for anyone to tell if a coin has ever been cleaned, dipped, rubbed, exposed to unseemly elements...and at the end of the day, appreciate an attractive coin for what it is.

 

I honestly feel the coin was more attractive before with the original surfaces. As soon as I saw the second set of pictures... I was a little sad. That coin could have ended up much better. This is exactly why I always say don't ever mess with a coin unless you know exactly what you are doing.

You didn't ruin the coin by any means... but it definitely had the potential to look better then it does now.

 

Yep - this one makes a good coin for a dansco type album. Nice details on it.

 

I suppose the best way to put it is that at my level of expertise (which I will admit is still in the learning phase) I'm happy with the coin. Perhaps in 5 or 10 years I'll look back and think "What did I do!" ha ha... ...but then you never know. I really do appreciate all the comments and advice - so apart from soaking it in acetone what would NCS have done to this coin? (I realize it may all be guesswork at this point.) This is to help me out - my inquisitive mind and all.

 

FYI, acetone and/or CoinCare along with a little picking with a thorn would have removed all the debris without the necessity of using MS70.

 

Just read the description of CoinCare and it looks almost word for word the same as MS70. I know there are some chemists lurking around on here...what's the difference between the two?

 

I regularly use Coin Care on my circulated copper to remove dirt and debris and it absolutely does not cause the discoloration that MS70 does. In my opinion, it also conditions old dry copper and protects it from spit specks and other moisture.

 

I think what's going on in my head is that I wish there were a comprehensive, unbiased, scientific study of different conservation/cleaning products (ALL of them) and methods (complete with high-grade photos at different time frames.) Think of it as a coin case study. As I stated earlier, there seem to be many posts, many discussions, many opinions on the subject - some feel really strongly about it (which is their right) and some (like me) enjoy the discussion, for the most part (until the name-calling begins), because we haven't yet arrived at a conclusive decision. I'd also like this study to include representatives of the major TPG companies and other authorities weighing in with opinions and insights. Perhaps this will be my letter to the editor of CoinWorld or other magazines. Of course, most of the articles I see in there have about as much depth as Charlie Sheen's acting ability...but that's a topic for another day. Does anyone have the time/resources/desire to pull this off and put their stamp on the discussion?

Once again, thanks to all for their input. I'm glad at this point no one has gotten angry~

~although page 3 seems to be about the time frame when that happens...lol

 

One of the problems with trying to attempt such a study is that no two coins will have the same surface conditions, the same crud, the same toning etc. This means that what works on one may have disastrous effects on another. And different chemicals will have produced different toning compounds on the coins. If you wanted to run such a test you would have to start with a group of coins or metal samples as close to uniform as possible, strip them down to the bare metal and then treat them identically with various chemicals to try and produce as near as possible identical subjects for your cleaning tests. I have never seen anyone try and do anything close to this. Instead they gather random coins clean them with the various cleaners in a non-systematic way and then try to reach conclusions from the random results.

 

Conder - totally see your point. I was thinking the exact same thing...which is probably why it hasn't been undertaken at this point. But still - until that day comes when it's done, does anyone agree that it seems moot to say things like "x product does this" and "y coin looks like x product was definitely used on it?" Unless you're the person who was standing there when it happened - much like the creation of the universe - it's all conjecture and opinion. Which is precisely why life is so interesting in the first place. Who'd collect coins if they all looked the same?

 

If someone has used the same product continually for years on similar coins with all types of debris, over and over again, I think they can draw some pretty specific conclusions as to what that product does to those coins, and how it works on one type of debris over another type, as well as what it does to the coin itself. I have done that with Coin Care on copper coins.

I also tried MS70 on several coins with issues and never liked the results, especially that it seems to strip the original brown patina off a copper coin, so I haven't used it in years.

 

Good discussion, pretty coin too

Thanks Penny lady for bringing in your years of experience in this, i'll make sure to come back to this thread if I have issues with a coin like this sometime.

 

I'll give you some advice. Never let the tail wag the dog. That's a technically strong and problem-free coin and the job you did on it helped it. Let the TPGs give it a "no-grade" by their standards, if that's how their verdict should come down. Not everybody collects by those standards. As a matter of fact, it's my perception, anyway, most don't.

 

I agree with everything Charmy has said, FWIW. Keep your coins away from chemicals unless you know exactly what you are doing. Copper and MS70 do not generally get along.

CoinCare is pretty benign. So is acetone, but even it can have a side effect on red copper (giving it a pinkish hue). Oil soaks are also safe.

The rest...eZest, MS70, even BlueRibbon, Verdicare, Xylene, should not be used carelessly or on valuable coins without expert experience or a willingness to accept a major screw up.
Lance.

 

Thanks everyone! There are a couple of minor "problems" with the coin as I see it - there is a horizontal ding across the vertical lines of the shield on the reverse, and there is a big of cloudiness on the obverse right by the eyes and mouth. Otherwise - I agree. It's still a really nice IHC - probably one of the best I have in my collection (the only better ones being the early 1900's with much higher mintages. Not too bad for someone in college who can't spend a lot of money on coins, I'd say!

BTW - this has been a great learning experience for me. Even if some think I ruined the coin - knowledge is power! Ha ha ha...