Hey Everyone, I'm new to coin collecting and picked up this 1878 Seated Liberty Quarter for $60 on ebay because I really like the look of the coin. After doing some reading about coin cleaning and toning I'm wondering if this coin has been artificially altered. What do you think?
I'm not too good at this but I think it's normal toning the black is probably tarnish since it's silver.
Yeah, looks like an overdipped (cleaned) coin... not harshly cleaned (ie.-no massive appearance of hairline scratches), but cleaned. Then likely put into a coin book and stored intentionally in a hot humid environment with the intent to cover up the cleaning or accelerate the growth of skin over the cleaned surfaces. Apparently it worked to some degree, however it also appears that the freshly exposed silver surfaces reacted too agressively with the sulfer laden environment in which it was stored and quickly turned into heavy rust (ie.-black, end state toning)... or it's some type of residue.... try dipping it in acetone to see if any of the black gunk will some off,, if not, then it is what it is. $60 was high imo.
The coins I've seen with AT don't have the same look. It could be natural toning. It's not obviously doctored, at least to me. Now, the coin could have been placed in an album and environment where it was hoped that the toning would accelerate. But there's a fine line here. I don't consider that AT. The AT coins I've seen have brighter pastel-like colors evenly distributed across the surface. This one seems more natural.
Over-dipped coins are designated as harshly cleaned just like the ones with all the hairline scratches.
Looks like it took an old cleaning, which is standard fair. The toning probably occurred because of that. With that being said, the details are very nice and I don't think you overpaid. I would consider an acetone soak to see if that black toning will come off.
Thanks for the input. Once the coin arrives, I may try the acetone dip and see if some of the black tarnish will come off.
Acetone will NOT remove toning. It won't even remove ordinary dirt and grime. Acetone works well on removing PVC residue, some light oils, some glues, and some varnishes & lacquers. And that's about all it will remove.
Roger that, GDJMSP. I will leave the coin as is. After all, I bought it because I like the way it looks.
It will remove "toning" that is caused by a foreign substance laying on top of the coin surface. But whatever, it certainly can't hurt.
Look closely... this coin has problems well beyond simple overdipping. TimCoinMan, When the coin arrives, you would be wise to just return it and take this as a lesson learned.
lol. Thanks for the advise, but I'll make a judgement when the time comes. I don't really consider myself a purist when it comes to coin collecting. Most coins with this age have been altered at some point. I go after the ones that have character and $60 certainly isn't overreaching for this coin. That being said, I hope for the best and will post some more pics once I receive the coin.
if you are happy then that is the most important.you may want to get some pricing guides at some point.then you can get more coins you like and a better return later.
