Thanks Owle, yes I would have been able to salvage something. Our regulatory body over here the BNTA have a code of practice that says any coin later proved to be unsatisfactory, no time limit, should be taken back by the trade member. So the lime limit thing isn't necessarily the killer here. Anywat, the BNTA met and said they couldn't/wouldn't do anything about it. So the old principle of regulatory bodies working for the regulated not the consumer comes up again. The seller hasn't bothered to reply to my letter so beware of Bucks Coins on e-bay who, funnily enough have come up in a negative way on quite a few other coin discussion forums. So do I now put it back on ebay and say, 'who wants to buy a harshly cleaned tooled Crown?' I paid £360, perhaps we could have bets on what it would sell for!
Just run it as is without comment and we will see what happens. I'm sure that you will not be the biggest loser in this type of situation. I have lost over $1000 on a coin more than once.
Took your advice, it sold in South Korea and I didn't lose much, very surprising considering the surfaces. I took accurate pictures and made no comment about grade.
NCS will return a coin untouched. This has happened to me on more than one occasion. In one case, I sent in a CuNi 3¢ PR-55 (ANACS) that had a dull surface. It was returned still slabbed with the comment that, in NCS's opinion, conservation would not improve the coin. Yes, I was disappointed that I didn't get a highly reflective proof back, but thankful that things weren't made worse. As far as removing organic material, a simple acetone wash should suffice. There are other organic solvents that can also be used. Weimar White's Coin Chemistry really doesn't address acetone, but those interested in relatively benign cleaning methods should take a look at his book. My personal opinion is that, it you buy a coin that has organic residue on it, you consider isopropyl alcohol, ethanol or acetone. These solvents will not damage the underlying metal (affecting luster). If you plan on submitting the coin for conservation and/or grading, you let the seller know at the time of purchase (or within a short time period). That establishes a paper trail that should allow you to return the coin after the usual 30-day return period has expired. A week after purchasing a 1795 small eagle dollar at a local coin show (San Diego's Coinarama), I notified the dealer I was sending it to PCGS. Three months later (sell past the 30-day period), it came back from PCGS "questionable authenticity" (PCGS-speak for counterfeit). Because I had notified the dealer within his 30-day period that I was submitting the coin for grading, I had a very strong case for—in case he balked at—returning the $2,000+ I had paid for the coin (the dealer was quite reputable and not only immediately returned my money, but paid the $75 grading fee—I never had to make any legal threats). While my situation was much more cut and dry (counterfeit vs. artificially toned) than Marbury518's, if there are concerns, let the seller know what you plan to do with his coin as that may give you some recourse should problems arise.
Interesting and useful advice for the scenario you describe. But as you may have read I kept the coin for about a year in lock up and only upon re-examination had the organic matter appeared. It was there in minute form and not a concern but in time it got worse. The lovely dark patina promptly fell off after NCS treatment to reveal a dreadfully scratched surface and the spots were left on...oh and the filed rims were the final kick in the guts. As I said, the seller told me to go to he--. I still buy a combination of slabbed and raw coins but keep learning from my mistakes and hope to make fewer as I go along.
