Picked up this Israel 5 Lirot 1958, with really nice toning. They were sold in wooden boxes, and spent 62 years in them. New kind of toning: Wood box toning.
Thinking about it. It would grade Gem, I am sure. Don’t see anything to preclude a 65-66. Here is one on eBay that graded 65. I think the one I got is cleaner, and the obverse toning far nicer.
The black spots on the "5" denomination side are a bit unsightly. Any chance you could soak that off without disturbing the toning? Out-gassing from wood does weird things to coins. Sometimes they are very nice, other times they are completely ruined.
I was thinking more of an acetone bath. A dip could accidentally ruin the whole coin's look. Tread lightly I guess. As long as they aren't PVC or something active, I suppose they'd still slab it as is. Lover the obverse toning - that iridescent stripe of teal is fabulous!
That is the only reason I am reluctant to do anything to spoil the obverse toning. I am sure it would straight grade as 65 or more. The dark spots on the obverse are just crusty toning, so I could live with it the way it is. It could get a * for obverse toning from NGC.