TWO small picks off eBay tonight!

I love paying close attention to eBay while a huge coin show is going on (Long Beach Expo). Well, I found a couple of small Lots from a "Dollar General" seller (my favorite kind on eBay) and gambled a bit. See, I had to use my eyeballs on this one :yes:

A full 24-hour Acetone bath for the Morgan's followed by a distiller water rinse, and the Kennedy's get rolled up and stored away. $95 for both Lots shipped. We will see, and I will post results either way. I like that I don't have to leave my couch to go to the "coin show" :smile

First Lot:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1886-Morgan-dollar-and-3-Kennedy-40-silver-half-dollars-/181154045738?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&nma=true&si=A80wf%252Bh%252BUzJzcE8Ff8hPZufFsNs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Second Lot:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1901-Morgan-dollar-and-3-Kennedy-40-silver-half-dollars-/181154046852?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&nma=true&si=A80wf%252Bh%252BUzJzcE8Ff8hPZufFsNs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

I figure, which ever way this turns out... I probably won't loose, but I always intend to Win :thumb:

 

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um...$95 for 2 Morgans and (6) 40% haves???? that is a ripoff man. i wouldnt have paid more than $25 for those morgans, and i wouldnt even touch 40%...but even melt on them is $19 for all 6.....so melt on all is $51......you paid double.

 

It's an 1886 S and it's worth more than melt. That grey sheets at $45-$49 in VG condition. The one in the picture is probably VF-XF so I think he did pretty good overall.

 

enh...i feel like the 40% junk was thrown in to assist the swindle

 

Just to cool the fire throwers... Both Morgan's are S mint marks

 

Yes but the 01 doesn't get valuable till the AU range, which unfortunately that coin is not but it's still a good date.

 

Yes, but $65 for 40 and $75 for 45... If there is ANY luster left... Jackpot (small) :yes:

 

I was going by grey sheet pricing which is less, but still a nice coin.

 

I don't focus on Morgans, but if I'd happened across those, I certainly would've jumped on them. With titles that don't mention the mintmarks, they slide right under the radar of most bidders (including, apparently, at least one poster in this thread ).

 

I know that both Morgan's have PVC damage and the '86s has maybe some ED, but I have seen and gotten ridden of that exact garb before with Acetone. I know this isn't a great pick, but the fact that the seller doesn't sell coins and that he didn't list S mint in the title, but did in the description leads me to believe that these coins have not been looked at by someone who knows coins (at least for a while). Like I said, I'll clean them up (never harshly and I never dip) and post new picks here after. If the '86s is xf and I can get the gunk off, she's going in for plastic... If the '01s has any signs of mint luster left, she will go in with the '86s... If all else fails, I think I won't loose any sleep over it

 

How do you know that is PVC damage? The reason some metal smiths don't like acetone is it leaves a residue. <Carbon Tetrachloride is much better as a metal cleaner, but making Carbon Tet yourself is a true pain in ...>
Anyway, once you do that, won't soaking in acetone make it a cleaned coin and destroy collector value?

 

I don't know for sure it's PVC damage, but they both look to have gunk that an Acetone bath may be able to remove. I have been successful in the past in removing organic stuff from coins with the above method. After a 3-step bath, I always immediately rise the coin with fresh distilled water before letting any of the Acetone dry on the coin. Then I let the coin dry for a couple hours. The above method is a light cleaning with zero friction and doesn't remove luster or tarnish, and I have had many coins get slabbed by top TPG's after using this method. I'm not a chemist or a metal smith, just a collector of coins :smile

 

Interesting you aren't noticing a powdery residue a few days later.

 

I'm not sure what metal smiths are trying to clean off, but acetone is widely accepted as one of the standard solvents for removing residue from coins (as are xylene and distilled water). Soaking or rinsing a coin in these solvents is considered "proper" cleaning, and is not considered to impair the coin. (There is some evidence that acetone can damage copper coins under some circumstances.)

Carbon tetrachloride is effectively unavailable to the public at this point, and with good reason. Homemade carbon tet is extremely likely to contain residual chlorine or hydrogen chloride, both of which are catastrophic for coin surfaces.

 

Could be because its coin-silver. I think the Acetone sucks all moisture out if you let it evaporate on the coin, so maybe using the distilled water rinse help with that before drying? But I have never noticed a powdery residue on any coin thus far.

 

Yes to the Carbon Tet. We use to make and use it on steel in the shop, back in the 70s when Dad was alive. Like i wrote, the process was a total pain in the ... If you want a book to show you how, or at least point you in the right direction try "Grandpa's Book of Chemistry" Suffice to say I don't recommend it, many health and safety issues involved at all stages. Besides the health issues that officially took it off the retail shelves, it was found to have another property (can you say valence?) which I will not discuss further beyond noting the push to pull it off store shelves was deemed a matter of National Security. Nevertheless, it probably was the best cleaner for dirty steel you could get. The Carbona stuff that briefly replaced it wasn't nearly as good. I freely admit to never having tried using it on silver. However, like I wrote, Acetone does leave residues. Agreed it could be because of the rinse.

 

Pure acetone will leave absolutely no residue if used properly. Now if he acetone becomes contaminated either by use or age, is very likely would leave a residue.

 

I actually am a chemist, so let me give a short reply. Making carbon tetrachloride is not an easy task and involves EXTREMELY hazardous materials. Carbon Tet itself isn't really that bad, we used to use it for cleaning all the time. Same for benzene, but both of these chemicals have shown themselves to be cancer causing agents and not really that necessary in that there are substitutes. Acetone is reputed to cause discoloration of copper surfaces although I haven't tried it myself. I know of no issues of using acetone on silver or nickel as long as the acetone is pure and the rinsing is thorough.

 

Yes, acetone will affect copper - if it has oxidized. (It forms an acid that eats the copper.) That is why I qualified my statement as not being contaminated by age. And Thad agrees (look up his comments on the use of acetone). He is a chemist and the inventor of Verdi-care. BTW, I graduated as a chemical engineer. We both say that acetone will not leave a residue if used properly.

BTW:

 

And I agree with you about the acetone (BTW it oxidizes to acetic acid - vinegar. Doug posted an article about this) and admit that chem engineers do know some chemistry I started off college as a ChemE at the Univ of Louisville till I found out I liked Chem better than E.