Would you dip this Liberty Seated Half? Why?

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by Gilbert, Apr 14, 2018.

  1. Gilbert

    Gilbert Part time collector Supporter

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  3. Santinidollar

    Santinidollar Supporter! Supporter

    I’d be tempted to try something with it, but knowing me, it would come out worse.
     
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  4. Clawcoins

    Clawcoins Damaging Coins Daily

    I would NOT dip it.

    I would carefully conserve it though to make it more eye appealing. Though I'm no expert so I would work on a lot of other cheaper coins to build experience at that sort of thing.
     
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  5. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    That ones bad enough I'd pay someone else to do it, but yes I would attempt to have that coin conserved
     
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  6. Paddy54

    Paddy54 Well-Known Member

    It was toned and stripped....hate to say it but nothing going to help or hurt whats already done.
     
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  7. TheFinn

    TheFinn Well-Known Member

    Dipping would make an ugly coin worse. The most I would do would be to soak in some solvents and use a sonicator if available to loosen the darkness.
     
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  8. longshot

    longshot Enthusiast Supporter

    I agree it's already been messed with.
     
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  9. jtlee321

    jtlee321 Well-Known Member

    Unfortunately, it's been messed with already. I would just leave it as is or maybe sell it to buy a better one. It is a nice Civil War date though, so I'm sure someone would want it to at least fill a hole. :)
     
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  10. Mainebill

    Mainebill Bethany Danielle

    I don’t like the surfaces either it’s not original and has been dipped or cleaned for sure once dipping this one would be a disaster. Maybe try acetone and see if the black came off
     
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  11. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    Wow, whatever you do, be careful. Professional conservation might be expensive, so measures you can do would include first rinsing/soaking in acetone to take off any organics and then soaking awhile in distilled water to loosen any grime or grit. Careful prodding with a toothpick might take off some of the black, and careful use of eZest with a cotton swab only in the dark areas.
     
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  12. Mainebill

    Mainebill Bethany Danielle

    It’s a $250-275 coin in xf which is where I grade it with good surfaces. Hope acetone gets the black off. Otherwise I’d unload it cheap or try using it as a pocket piece and wear it off. You might lose a grade but gain surface quality
     
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  13. C-B-D

    C-B-D Well-Known Member

    I would dip it and try to remove that black corrosion if it were mine. Try to get those surfaces all blast white. At least start with an even color/look. Then put it in a windowsill and forget it for a couple months.
    It will always be a problem coin, so why not make it a decent looking problem coin?
     
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  14. Gilbert

    Gilbert Part time collector Supporter

    Thanks for your opinions. I will try an acetone rinse followed by distilled water and possibly localized stripping with a cotton swab and stripper. And look for a replacement. :happy:
     
  15. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    You can try but I wouldn't bother. I agree that it's already been dipped, and harshly cleaned, mechanically, on top of that. So no matter what you do nothing is going to help it. I'd just sell it as is and move on.
     
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  16. SilverDollar2017

    SilverDollar2017 Morgan dollars

    I would try. However, it's been harshly cleaned before. If you remove the gunk on the surfaces, it may expose the cleaning even more.
     
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  17. dcarr

    dcarr Mint-Master

    I would first put it in some strong solvent and use a q-tip (or similar) to get black gunk off of it (as much as possible). If it is still spotty after that, then I would "dip" it. Nothing will make the coin "original" again, but you could certainly help it look a lot more presentable.
     
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  18. Omegaraptor

    Omegaraptor Gobrecht/Longacre Enthusiast

    I wouldn’t dip anything below AU55. Try getting the black crud off with acetone.
     
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  19. messydesk

    messydesk Well-Known Member

    The black stuff could be goo, crust, or staining. If goo or crust, it might be able to be removed with solvents and/or careful application of a rise thorn or cactus spine under magnification, but it's not going to be an attractive coin when you're done. If it's staining, then don't waste your time trying to remove it. Just sell the coin and move on.
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2018
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  20. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

  21. Gilbert

    Gilbert Part time collector Supporter

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