Is this coin salvageable? I know at the end of the day it will be cleaned and pitted a bit. but the details are still nice. If it can be cleaned would you use just acetone?
I see no harm in trying acetone, though I don't think it would have much affect. I don't think that one is going to benefit much from conservation and I suspect that any serious attempts would likely just make it look worse. Me, I'd leave it as-is. Sure, it's impaired, but it's not totally horrible. As you noted, it does have nice details.
I agree. I think any attempt to clean it might damage it further. Though badly impaired it still has appeal. Keep it as it is and enjoy it. Bruce
Cleaning it will make it worse than it already is. Acetone won’t hurt the coin but I don’t think it will help either. Best to leave as is sac the details are nice as you stated.
That's gonna be a tough nut to crack but you got nothing much to lose, I would set it aside and think it over for a few days. There's never a guarantee with Acetone and that cent looks like it has some gunk on it that's crystalized, especially on the reverse from 6 o'clock to 8:30, may have spent time with a Meth head or other undesirable, so whatever you decide proceed with caution!
It's just environmental damage. Not that unusual looking for a coin that's been in the ground for a while- or in a fire. To me it looks a bit like the latter.
This is an example of how copper-nickel coins look when they are corroded. These pieces most often turn black, but green spots are also possible. Since the coin has corroded metal, the only way to “fix it” is to remove the bad metal. That will result in pits and other problems that will probably look worse. There’s a very outside chance that this is really some sort of foreign gunk. Acetone might remove that, but there could be something unattractive under that. My advice is leave it alone.
I totally agree. Also, as a Metal Detectorist I've dealt with a lot of coppers and most are in bad shape environmentally speaking. I've tried everything from soaking in olive oil and other concoctions with little if any results. The best course of action for such coins as this and other copper and nickel compositions is to just leave it alone.
