This one looked like it was a spectacular coin until it was dropped in the dirt awaiting a metal dectorist to find it 150 years later..... Dang, this is a nice one underneath the years of crud.
I would say you won't like the results. The surfaces are scratched and pitted. Removing the black corrosion will only emphasize the pits and scratches. My advice would be to leave it alone.
I don't mind a few extra crusy coins in my set. It is not a rarer date so who knows; maybe the patina will grow on you. James
Well, I saw the piece on a local auction site. I'm not one for crusty coins these days but if that one stays under the radar, I may throw a tiny bid at it.
Doc says no alcohol and stick to a low fat diet. I do manage a snort every now and then. I'm just not a professional any longer. The daughters tried to convince me to switch to Turkey Bacon. That stuff ain't fit for human consumption....
Oh heavens no!! My wife tried to do that to me thirty years ago. That and ground turkey burgers too. Man I was happy when she got over all that.
This. Since the environmental damage is essentially irreversible, it's better to leave it as-is, to show it for what it is: a dug relic. More interesting that way, and better at least than a cleaned corroded coin would be.
He did find one, as a matter o' fact. I once dug an 1855 Arrows in low grade. Only Seated quarter I ever dug. Did you ever find one, Sal?
I just want to take a sec to clarify my earlier comment. I'm not an advocate for cleaning or coin doctoring. By Conservation I meant sending it in and having a TPG service give it a try. Yes, it's costly. Yes, I know it's a problem piece and will forever have that designation. Since this coin has so much detail it's hard not to think that there could be something done to help it along. Just my two cents.
Spending money on having that coin "conserved" is wasting money. If the TPG conservation service is ethical, they will send it back to you as is with a note that “Nothing can be done to improve this piece.”
It’s way too far gone. Professional conservation services can indeed do some good work, but there’s a limit to the miracles such miracle workers can perform. Such a conservation attempt in this case would not only be a waste of money for nothing- the coin isn’t valuable enough to make that worthwhile even if it did work (which it wouldn’t). And any (futile) attempt to conserve that coin would change it into a problem coin that’s just plain ugly. Robbing it of its historical context as a dug relic serves no purpose. Best to leave it as-is, so it can tell its story as a dug relic. It’s much more interesting that way. Don’t give CPR to a dead victim.
