I've used verdicare and am pleased with it. After a day, I pat it well so it doesn't look so moist when I put it in a holder. Good product
So is Verdicare the replacement for Blue Ribbon which if you have any that has not evaporated works well?
I agree. But what I said was that if the coin was not properly stored that verdigris could still form. What I was pointing out is that proper storage is the key, that proper storage, all by itself, would prevent verdigris from forming on coins.
Proper storage is the KEY to preventing/controlling corrosion. Even without addressing existing corrosion, you can bring it to a crawl if a coin is properly stored. For such coins I usually recommend an acetone rinse to dehydrate the verdigris followed by immediate storage into an airtight holder.
Thanks everyone for the feedback. I,m a believer in Verdicare. It works great. Here's a pic of one of my classic head cents. It had the verdigris when I bought it. look above the ribbon. Heres a before and after pic. Nice job BadThad!
Oh Goody, the green is gone. VC did a greet job doing what it was designed for. Unfortunately, the coin still has a BLACK CORROSION SPOT! I don't think VC works on that.
Thankyou. Never had any luck with acetone. I was thinking of a product specifically made for carbon spots. I think it would be a real winner.
Nope, not for us. The coin doctors use lasers but the spot removal can usually be detected using a stereo microscope and the proper lighting IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR any type of surface alteration in the first place. Most dealers/collectors are not. I have heard that only one TPGS employee uses a microscope on virtually every coin he examines. The color and texture of the coin's surface often can give-away areas on a coin that have been altered.
Acetone does not help a corroded surface. Not entirely true. I should have said that acetone will not RESTORE a black corrosion spot on copper.
BadThad is of the opinion they're permanent. I have had a very little luck with them on a couple of occasions, but they may not have been the classic chemical problems we refer to as "carbon spots," and the temperatures involved were....high. As in, I was probably flirting with melting the coin completely.
I have seen Randy Campbell use a stereo microscope to authenticate coins at coin shows. From our conversations, he rarely uses one at work. Randy worked for ANACS and now is at ICG. Several long time authenticators at TPGS's keep one handy on their desk though. The fact that they have been authenticating coins for decades using a hand lens lessens the need for a higher power examination. Problem is, while they will virtually always be able to detect altered dates and mint marks with a hand lens (if the are attentive); and in cases where something does not look "right," they can take out the scope; state-of-the-art forgeries produced at this minute are slipping past at first, until they are detected. Fortunately, the majority of excellent fakes are detected within a few months at most! One of the best things about attending ANA Summer classes is the chance to meet, speak with, eat with, and drink with many of the TPGS employees and well-known numismatic researchers. You will learn a lot inside and outside class. I have been many times and can attest to that.
@BadThad is basically correct; however, based on experience, that spot (due to its size, mildness, and location) can be rendered undetectable in the hands of a knowledgeable conservation specialist , copper collector , or coin doctor . Chemicals make a better world but they are not the answer to every problem. Mild Warning: There have be suggestions on coin talk about heating copper coins to remove corrosion spots. IMO, that will not help this coin and is not needed on the OP's coin. Nevertheless, if you decide to try this method to see for yourself how a coin can be ruined if you don't know what you are doing ...
A couple of things that should be considered. One - what exactly is that you (and when I say you I mean people in general) are talking about when you use certain terms and phrases ? For example, when a person says this coin has carbon spots, how can I get rid of them ? Are the spots you are talking about actually carbon spots ? Based upon what I have seen, in most cases they are not carbon spots at all, but merely some dark colored spots caused by surface contaminants. It's the same kind of thing with milk spots, a lot of people refer to almost any light colored spot as being milk spots when they are not milk spots at all, but merely surface contaminants. So what's the difference or how do you tell the difference ? Experience mainly, you have to know, be familiar with what you are looking at. But the main thing is this, carbon spots and milk spots are not "on" the coin, they are "in" the coin. In other words, surface contaminants are "on" the coin. Surface contaminants can be removed. Carbon spots and milk spots are "in" coin, they are within the metal of the coin itself. And that is why they cannot be undetectably removed because to do so you have to physically remove some of the metal. These are important things to understand, to be aware of, because when you start talking about something or asking questions and call a spot something it isn't then the person you're talking to won't know for sure what you're actually talking about. Nor will they be able to help you because not describing your problem correctly. What often happens is this - people will see, read, or hear a discussion where dark spots are referred to as carbon spots or light spots are referred to as milk spots. And they very well may be actual carbon spots or milk spots. But the person observing, all they see are light or dark spots, they don't understand what they really are. So when they see light or dark spots on their coins they refer to them as carbon spots or milk spots - when that's not what they are at all. And then other people reading or hearing their discussions are exposed to same thing, and they in turn begin to refer to any light or dark spots as milk spots or carbon spots. And it becomes a self perpetuating problem. This is why definitions and terminology are so very important in our hobby. Common usage bastardizes the definitions and terminology to the point that people don't actually know what they are talking about anymore. They may "think" they are talking about one specific thing when they are actually talking about something entirely different. So you have to learn, you have to become aware, you have to ask questions when you "think" you understand something being discussed, just to make sure that you really do. Otherwise "you" become part of the problem instead of part of the solution.