Any "tells" for dateless SLQs?

Certainly not for SLQs. But the 1916 issue has pickup points that you can distinguish long after the date is gone, so there's never any need to "restore" anything to prove you have a 1916. (If the coin is worn enough that you can't see the hair, the foot, or the drape, it's a lost cause.)

If there are no stars and there's a mintmark, it's 1917.

 

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A friend told me 2 parts vinegar, 1 part hydrogen peroxide for 24 hours. A stronger peroxide would be quicker. I have not tried it yet.

In the 60's I used Nic-A-Silver. It is no longer produced and no one in the coin supply business remembers it. It had limited effectiveness. Best luck was bringing up the date on a three cent silver piece or bringing out the mint mark on a Mercury dime. Changing a 1921 P to a 1921 D was beneficial, but I could never get a D to show up on a 1916 dime. It did not "etch" the metal like Nic-A-Date does on buffaloes. But it would stain your hands purple to black if you touched the chemical and you just had to let it wear off.

 

I remember you bringing this up in an earlier thread. I was speculating about nitric acid, but based on what I've read since, I'm wondering if it was iodine-based. But even that would stain your hands orange, not purple, I think. It's been a long time since I've played with iodine. (And now it's been annexed into the ever-growing meth precursor list, so it's hard to get, and likely to draw the wrong kind of attention.)

 

I tried H2SO4, HNO3 and HF in the chem lab when I was in grad school and never had any luck with SLQs. I don't think I ever tried glacial acetic acid or H2O2, however.

BTW: I would occasionally dip my pocket change and then spend it. Did that a long time ago, so I don't think they're showing up on CT But I did keep a couple Gold/Palladium sputter coated nickels. Just tossed them in the sputtering unit while prepping my SEM samples

 

I started with JUST vinegar, as a sort of baseline. Adding hydrogen peroxide tonight at 1:1, then in 24 more hours Ill go to 2:1

 

I'm just wondering why use any sort of metal when glass is available?

 

just what I had on hand.

 

Stainless steel holds up to vinegar better than aluminum pans, but glass is definitely best. In fact, it's quite possible the steel could destabilize the peroxide once you add it, reducing its effectiveness. (No explosions in any case, but maybe some fizzing.)

 

BTW, when talking about peroxide, I would assume that people are referring to the 3% stuff in the brown bottle under the sink in the bathroom...actually you can buy 9% at beauty supply stores. If you get the 3% on your hands, no biggie, but the 9% stuff can start to tingle and turn your skin dead white. Our staple in the lab was 30% and we had 50, 70 and 98% in the refrigerator.

 

I believe you can still buy 27% at pool supply stores.

But you probably shouldn't.

 

...that would be wicked...

 

Interesting

 

I don't think 27% is strong enough to go "boom" under any circumstances, but it will jump up to greet you if it hits the wrong catalyst.

 

Well 24 hours in vinegar did very little. I THINK I can see the 2 in 1920-something now though. Added hydrogen peroxide and now just waiting.

 

...nah, didn't mean it would go BOOM, just that it would not be nice to your skin. In graduate school we made peroxides from H2O2 and cyclohexanone. To see if they were pure, we put a pinch on the lab bench and tapped it with a hammer. If it went boom, it was good, if not, recrystallize...

 

WELL - 24 hours in Hydrogen peroxide and vinegar DESTROYED the coin - HOWEVER - the date is now TOTALLY VISABLE

1923



AND MY HEART BREAKS AT HOW F'ED UP IT IS NOW

 

It’s still worth a ton more now than as a slick cull

 

I gently ran my thumb over it under some water (I mean, it wont hurt it at this point) and a bit of the grey washed off so its not as bad looking now

 

And there ya have it - Key date found in culls. (For better or worse)

 

All said and done though - THis would be a kick-butt filler for someone doing a lowball SLQ set