A HUGE coin TRAGEDY from "My Father's Collection"

I am devastated. First let me say that my scanner is 'down' and I cannot post photos, but no photos are really needed. Just imagine the coins with the worst damage imaginable.

Here's what happened:
I have a closet next to my A/C unit. I knew there has been a dampness problem in there for years. On occasion, I would hang a Damp-Rid bag and try to tame the mildew problem. What I was NOT aware of, there was a shoulder bag buried in there with coins from "My Father's Collection"
It basically destroyed the silver (turned blue)
and the copper (turned green)
I mean fully crystallized and many stuck together. The books were not just damp, they had droplets of water on them. The Red Book dripped when I picked it up.

And now for the carnage:

The CENTS:
The "casualties":

1886 Indian AU (some edge crust)
1858 Flying Eagle AU (no crust, but now silver and colorful)
Unidentified Large Cent (complete crust)
Unidentified Large Cent (Matron?) (complete crust)

The "survivors":

(3) 1957-D Micro Double Dates
(2) 1957-D (not sure what is special about these)
(3) 1958
1936 Wheat
1960 Double Die Obv
1957-D Micro Double Date
1938-D BU
1956 Double D
1941 Last 1 Slanted
Indians (survivors-all XF to AU):
1891, 1879, 1894, 1895, 1893, 1903, 1889, 1885, 1906, 1881, 1898, 1900, 1907, 1888, 1904R, 1861, 1860, 1884, 1899, 1883, 1902, 1904, 1895, 1901, 1892, 1863,1896, 1887, 1864 Br? L?, 1890, 1908, 1909.
==================
The NICKELS:
The "casualties":
(6) 1945P War Nickels
1928 Buffalo
1913? Buffalo
==================
The DIMES:

The "casualties":
1892 Barber
1912 Barber
Unidentified worn Barber

The "survivors":
25 Constitutional Mercs
10 Semi-numismatic/Constitutional Mercs

42 Constitutional Roos
5 Toned/High grade Roos (still likely junk)

===================

The QUARTERS:
The "casualties":
1896-? Barber
1892 Barber

The Green Ones:
1950-D, 1957-?, 1947, 1941-S, 1940-S, (2)1942, 1947-D, 1935-D, 1941, 1954, Unidentified Wash quarter.

The "survivors":
(close to in tact)
1950-D, 1941-D, 1953, 1960-D, 1961, 1957, 1951-D, 1960, 1948, 1962-D, 1961-D, 1959-D, 1952-D, 1956-D, 1954-D, 1945, 1946, 1955, 1945-S, 1959, 1958, 1934, 1938, 1958-D, 1939-D, 1949-D, 1944-S, 1956, 1955-D, 1953-D, 1953-S, 1940,1946-S

=============

The HALVES:

The "casualties":
1936-S WL
1935-? WL
Unidentified WL

The "survivors":
1942 WL
1945 WL

=================
The DOLLARS

The "casualties":
(extremely blue crusted)
1902-O Morgan
1880-O Morgan
1879-S 2nd Rev. Morgan


I would appreciate any help with this, if anything could be resurrected, and what to do about it. I know it is all still silver, at the very least.
My Father would be SO sad about this neglect on my part, but at least it only got about 1/10 of the collection and none of the gold.

 

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Wow, really sorry to hear this. You will get some help here. Keep us posted to how things progress.

 

Oh dear!!! I believe that with some of the brilliant numismatic minds here, somebody will have a solution for you. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Stuff happens. Your pop is looking down on you and smiling. As long as his daughter is happy, he knows those coins don’t really matter.

 

Thanks Randy, I hope some people can give me an idea of which need rescuing. I will take them to my LCS, but he's got the Covid now. Pray for him, he's the real deal.

 

A vat of acetone and a plan........heck, what's to worry?

Pictures would be swell.

 

I will try to take some photos, but I have to get my scanner back online. It may take days....and like you say: "What's to worry?" It is at least melt. I've got nothing to lose, but I would like to attempt rescuing it carefully.

 

Sorry to hear about this. Can only imagine how you feel. Best of luck making some sort of recovery.

 

What are "constitutional" Winged Liberty and Roosevelt dimes? I have not heard this term used in reference to coins before.

 

Acetone them soon before the crust you mentioned hardens. Slowly, and dab dry- never rub. Final rinse with water and into 2x2's or Air-tites.

 

To start. I would say a soak in distilled water and a run through hot tap water. That sucks. I am in the same boat a couple cell phone pics of what they look like wouldn't hurt.

 

AH, no smart phone for me either. I already rinsed off the blue liquid. I think I might have to move to acetone. Thanks!

 

Constitutional is worn pre-1964 dimes, quarters and halves. (aka junk silver)

 

I understand your pain @rosethe
I also experienced some catastrophic, irreversible IHC damage many decades ago. They were all from my grandmother. She's the person who got me started with coin collecting back in the '60's. It truly is a heart wrenching pain.

The knowledge and expertise of many CT members will hopefully guide you through the resurrection of the damaged coins. Best of luck. The pain is real.

 

Restoration is not my thing, but you have my wish you can rescue the coins.

 

So sorry to hear of the mishap. What a bummer! I hope you can salvage many. We'll look forward to your progress reports.

 

Sorry to read what happened. Put them through several changes of acetone. Acetone will draw out all the water that’s not chemically bound … acetone and water are miscible in all proportions. Remember acetone is very flammable, and its vapor is flammable and explosive … like gasoline. Do NOT rinse with water … whole idea is to arrest the nasty process caused by water. Store them in a clean, dry environment after all the acetone has evaporated from them … should not be able to smell acetone on them … won’t take long. A sealed plastic container with a packet of desiccant is ideal.

Now that they’re safe, either you’ve got to learn a lot about restoring coins (internet, books, clubs, dealers, etc.) or take them to someone who knows.

Cal

 

OH! I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID NOT LIST THIS ONE!

*********1914-D cent*************

It is in tact on the obverse, but the reverse has two colors in a definite line, like half is natural and half is bright. There is another 1914-D in the collection that I previously posted, this is not that one.

I am so sad.

 

You will learn a lot about restoring coins. By a gallon of Acetone from the hardware store for the silver coins and xylene for the copper coins. Get glass containers for the Acetone and Xylene. Acetone will not hurt the silver coins and you can leave silver coins in it for long periods of time. I've put 300 year old silver coins in Acetone for a month at a time with no adverse affects. There's many threads on how to use Acetone on coins.

It will be satisfying restoring your father's coins. And let us know how it turns out. And when you finish you will be an expert on restoring coins.

 

Next time store coins in a dry spot in the house

 

Sorry to hear about your coins, but there's a lot of help for you here and elsewhere. And remember at the end of the day you still have a nice collection of undamaged coins. Even better, you have the good memories.

Bruce