I have this war nickel and was thinking of throwing it in with my next submission.. The coin has a area on the reverse with some type of crud. Should I try a acetone soak to remove it? What would you say it will grade if I leave the crud on vs removing it??
It's a beautiful coin, that's just a minor bit of toning and shouldn't have much of an effect on the grade. Coins are mostly graded on eye appeal and luster, this coin has them both. That said, I would at least rinse it with acetone prior to submission. In general, this is a good practice to prevent the appearance of fingerprints and to remove any light surface debris prior to slabbing.
It doesn't look like something acetone would take off, but a rinse wouldn't hurt. I think attempting to remove it in a more aggressive manner would affect the grade more than leaving it alone.
Looking at how exquisitely that's reflecting, I wouldn't even chance hitting it with a short acetone. I'd let it completely alone, Barber.
Thanks for posting guys . A week or so ago I came across a listing on eBay of 4 infamous SGS coins , normally I would have passed but the bid was really low . Well I won the four nickels for less than 3bucks each , out of the lot 1 was a problem coin with a large scratch and 2 of the other 3 have a area on the reverse with this crud.. The nickel above is the best one out of the four , it's flawless except for this crud on the reverse. It has a really nice gold tone and appears to be dripping luster, problem is I need it to go MS67 to make it worth submitting. I'm afraid this crud might keep the coin from grading that high..
It's really hard for me to make out exactly what it is. Does it look like something that may be loosened-up? Acetone does loosen-up nail polish. It's really a cost-benefit analysis from there, with the cost being the acetone may compromise the delicate "skin" a little.
The best way I can explain it, It looks similar to A bit of dryed mud/ dirt. I believe acetone would probably loosen it up , but might take a good soak. As you stated I wouldn't want it to affect the surface.
@BadThad is a chemist and created VerdiCare , if he recommends acetone , whom am I to argue with him .
Well, sure. Then something goes wrong, and he sits back and goes, "Oops!" There are certain coins that, let's just say, have a certain complexion. One can't really describe it, outside of, just, "Wow, isn't that lovely?" Tell our chemist-friend, if he doesn't yet know acetone can obliterate that, he needs to take more chemistry classes.
Well I'm the one who spoke for Thad , blame me . Though I personally haven't had acetone ruin any coins I soaked in acetone . Also Thad didn't say soak , but rinse , so my bad .
I would just leave it alone. I'm at 66 and can't see 67 from the image. I also can't see spending $25 or $30 to have it graded.
If acetone did anything to it, it would just be revealing altered surfaces such as smoke products, etc. If it is real chemical reaction toning, accetone would not change it.
It's nobody's "bad." It's just a clinical or field observation. Call it from experience as opposed to education as a chemist. Acetone doesn't "ruin" the coins, but it changes them. Most of the time, that's virtually imperceptible. But when you've got some killer "skin," or very vibrant color, and you remember what the coin looked like, before, that's when you notice that went down a notch.
I agree the grading fee's plus postage just don't justify as this is not a 67 nickel,And also Not FS.
