I found this half dime on Ebay and was wondering if someone could tell me what the black spots on the coin are. I dont think it can be tarnish, I've never seen tarnish on a coin like that but I could be wrong. Also looks like it could have been cleaned maybe at one time. Could you guys and gals give me your opinion of this coin. I was thinking of bidding on it but wasnt sure yet. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...o=CRX&its=S%2BI%2BSS&itu=ISS%2BUCI%2BSI&otn=4
just plain old tarnish (oops, toning). Usually from the old Whitman folders. They had sulphur in the books, not a bad thing, don't clean it.
Agree the black spots could either be album (Sulphur-S) tone or PVC damage. If the coin came from an album and is subsequently being sold raw, then I'd vote for the (S) reason for the dark spots. That green spot though is puzzling, looks like verdigris on a silver coin. Who said it doesn't happen?
Thanks for the comments guys. I know that this coin isnt offered for sale very often with a mintage of 208,000, thats why I had questions about it. I didnt want to spend much for this if it had any significant problems.
Common name for the green coating formed when copper, brass or bronze is weathered or exposed to air or seawater over a period of time. It is usually copper carbonate but near sea water is copper chloride. I havent found a good solution for cleaning this off of any coin. I'm sure there's a way to have it done professionally though.
