How to remove a carbon spot

Hi all,
I searched the archives concerning removing carbon spots but find myself still uncertain as to how to proceed. The coin in question, 1966 Kennedy half, is not valuable but I want to put it back into a holder some of you may have seen titled "Strange but True!" (comparing Lincoln and Kennedy). The spot is in the field at the back of Kennedy's head and is very unsightly. My young grandson won a writing contest and is very interested in presidents. What do you recommend? A way to remove the spot or chuck that Kennedy and replace it with a normal one? I've tried Verdi-Care with no luck.
Steve
PS This is the first image I've tried to post. I'm of the generation that didn't grow up with digital technology. Used my iPhone. Constructive criticism warmly accepted.

 

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Waiting to hear from the experts, but my guess is that, even IF possible, it would be much easier and cheaper to get a replacement coin.

(And I don't even think it is possible to remove carbon spots, but heck, I'm just a newbie!)

 

I'll address this end, since Doug said all that's needed on the main subject.

Set the iPhone on a solid base, pointed straight down at the coin. Use a monochrome background - black, white, grey - to give its' camera the best chance to get color correct (not that it's bad in your image). You may need to experiment with distance a bit to determine the optimal combination of sharp focus and image size - your image is a bit out of focus although plenty good enough to see what you needed seen here. I wold be hesitant to grade from it, though.

Trigger the shot remotely, without touching the phone. There are a few different ways to do this - earbuds with a volume control can be used with an iPhone. This prevents any chance of introducing vibration from your touch.

The coin should be presented square to the viewer, with no rotation. This makes visualizing features and spatial relationships easiest. Yours is a bit rotated counterclockwise. Crop the extraneous background away after the shot, right to the edge of the coin. None of that background is necessary, and it interferes with the final image size available to the viewer, especially if you're not reducing the filesize. The image is 783kb as it is; cropped just to the coin it would be down around 500kb or less.

Be picky, and hold to a high standard of quality. iPhones are terrific coin cameras, and there is no reason why you cannot shoot gradable images of all but the smallest coins with one.

 

And yay he doth say onto all, "Sneeze ye not upon thine coins."

 

also why go through such a lengthy process for such a common coin???

 

@GDJMSP, thank you for the distinction between real carbon spots and what is likely saliva from the "person or persons unknown" who put the little set together. @SuperDave thank you for the very helpful advice. I'd appreciate advice on how to crop an image I take on my iPhone; I'm at a loss as to how to go about that. @Kasleeroy,
I wanted to experiment on something of little value; that is why I wanted to go through this process. As our esteemed moderator said in his post, it's likely to prove futile, but I will experiment anyway. The lesson I learn here will hopefully keep me from destroying something valuable in the future. Thank you all!
Steve

 

@SuperDave, please ignore my question about cropping an iPhone photo. I mentioned it to my wife and she showed me how. It seems that my wife and I, although we are both senior citizens, each have a LITTLE expertise with modern technology and it is nice we can teach each other instead of calling our children and grandchildren for help .
Steve

 

Funny how that works.

 

If the coin is not valuable but more common, it would be ok to use "Coin Care" on the coin with a cue-tip. Yet that does not always work. Because this is a more common coin and if your willing to experiment try buying "Parsons Amonia" and puting some in a shallow dish just enough to cover the coin when laying it in the dish. Leave it only for 15 seconds at a time, rinse the coin in tap water and dry without rubbing, blott with tissue. remember the coin is not all that valuable and this proceedure should not cause abrasion on the coin.

 

Please don't ever touch a coin with ammonia.

 

Hey SuperDave, please explain to me, how ear buds can control the shutter. Thanks much for your post. Dave

 

I have read that connected earbuds trigger the shutter when the Camera app is open via "Volume Up."

 

<taking notes> hoping to hear how to remove those and how to remove verdigris and just plain old dirt without damaging a coin (maybe i'm dreaming but i wonder what's under the grime)

 

It's twue, it's twue.

 

Hey, watch that...I'm 5 years older than you. BTW, who wants to go to the trouble or expense to buy another coin and what the heck are you going to do with this one. The very first thing I would try is to wash your hands and gently place the coin in the sink so that the water hits it and run hot water over it for several seconds. Might not do anything, but can't hurt. Now, there are two ways to go, a drop of potassium hydroxide (what you don't have any!) or MS70 applied with a cotton applicator, allowed to sit a few seconds and then rinsed off with hot running water, or the application of some eZest with a cotton applicator followed by a hot water rinse. With either (or both) way, follow by blotting with a soft cloth.

 

Thanks @Kentucky,
Steve

 

Of course your right not to put ammonia on a valuable coin, this isn't!

 

I have about 50 coins that were wrapped in masking tape.
I used warm water and a Q-tip on some but stopped after I started reading and understood rubbing the coin could erase some marks that are key (not only for grade but for detecting errors). There they sit, with hardened glue on them...till I know what to do.