I did a thread a couple years ago on dipping some Morgans that had some pretty nasty black toning. Here if you want to see it: http://www.cointalk.com/t140858/ I purchased some old Whitman album unc Roosevelt sets since then. The rerverse on many were simply too far gone. So I decided to dip some of the terminally ill silver dimes and share the results. On some I only did one side, and others, both sides. As you can see, the black toning caused some catastrophic damage on many. It simply just started eating the top layer and luster. Not much else to say. I will let the images speak for themselves. Thanks for looking, and have a super day. -greg -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------
thanks for sharing. that's a nice die crack on the 52 Reverse, just before 6 o'clock.... about 5:30.... I could only see it in the before photo after I'd seen it on the after photo.
Not really Collect89, as you can see on the 1952, the dip did reach the lower right area. I hold the coin between my fingers, holding the intended dipping side down. I then carefully apply the dip to the bottom side. So any drips will just go straight down. I don't try and get it all at once. I apply some, wait a few seconds (gotta let that dip react with the toning), and quickly rinse the coin so hopefully it doesn't creep up around my fingers and reach the top. Repeat if necessary.
Too bad the black toning was too much and had to be removed. The other naturally toned colors was really nice.
Thanks for the pics. "Dipping" is still a major mystery to me. Maybe you next thread can be step by step pictures of the dipping process? I would love that!
Fyi Consider using some double-sided foam tape to protect the side you don't want dipped. Normally this foam tape is about 2 mm thick & has a paper release agent on one side. Don't remove the release agent so it is only one-sided sticky foam tape. The foam tape will contour to the edge of the coin and will protect the side you don't want affected by the dip. After your dipping process, you can then remove the tape & rinse in Acetone to remove any adhesive residue.
Oh nice, that is a great idea Collect. I will definitely try it. I no doubt have plenty more that need some "conservation".
When I read that you only dipped one side of some of the dimes, I assumed you had a dish with 1/16" of solution in it. Would that be a bad way to do it?
Well, I thought of that, but I am not sure how to handle the coin without getting any dip creeping over the rim. Since I don't actually "dip" it, I apply it carefully, I feel like I have much more control over the situation if I'm holding it.
Some time ago, I cleaned some silver with the baking soda solution cooking method. That works best of any process I have used to rid the sulfates without etching or harming the surface, as it's simply a chemical process that transfers the sulfate to aluminum. To speed the process, I tried running an electric current through the solution, much like they do with shipwreck coins. I acidentally reversed the Polarity on a Morgan and watched a blackness spread across the coin much like an eclipse of the sun. LOL The coin became a perfect black specimen across both sides. I managed to remove the tarnish eventually. The experiment was as fun as high school chemistry. LOL But how do you learn without trying something different ? I pass this along, "Keep your hands, dips, solutions, etc. OFF your coins", excepting the junk, or course. Then it really makes no difference. IMHO
lol. They have returned back to their original whitman album. They feel save their since that is where they have spent most of their entire lives.
Very cool Gary. I will give this a try as well. I'm all about alternative, and safer methods. I will make my kids help, and maybe, just maybe, they might learn something.
I have a set of bamboo tongs that i've used for dipping. They are the kind people use when they are trying to pull toast out of a toaser. They work great. There are ridges at the ends of the tongs that hold onto coins great. I used this to dip some similarly nasty mercs i had and was able to remove the crud off the back without disturbing the fronts.
Good call bhaugh! I am so dumb sometimes. I actually used tweezers one time. Those babies immediately slipped and made one helluva scratch. Thankfully it was just junk, but still.. duh.
Ouch, metal on metal... I have a whitman book of cents that someone picked up for me at a yard sale, and a lot of the coins have finger prints on them. I want to try to get the prints off. Is acetone the best for this or would another dip work?