This was in an old Whitman folder of Indians/Eagles I bought 2 years ago Don’t know if it’s grease or paint but it doesn’t come off with my fingernail Any thoughts for restoration?
It is always best to start off with the basics. Lay it on a cotton rag. run hot water over both sides. If you see an improvement soak it in distilled water for a week or two. Removing it every once in a while to rinse under hot water. I am not a big fan of just a rinse or soak in acetone or xylene right off the bat. Start small first and then go to stronger treatments.
I started looking at some other Cu\Ni cents in my hoard This 1863 Indian has the same patina. Different old (pre WW2) Whitman folder, different collection Is this normal for these?
I'll guess the coin spent some time in the ground. Looks like someone has already worked on it. Try soaking it in water as said above but I don't think it will help very much.
Yeah, forget about it. Looks like plain old corrosion to me. The dark color could probably be removed with dip, but it would likely look worse afterwards than it does now. There really isn't any help for that coin.
It’s a good thing I didn’t allow anything for these. Bought along with some old US silver collections several years ago Paid 8 times face for the silver and improved my Mercury dimes and Walker circulation books Nothing to lose so water it is to start
Most collector know that the most common copper coin corrosion is green. Sometimes it can be a dark red, or sometimes black. Copper-nickel coins, like the Flying Eagle Cents, "thick white" Indian Cent from 1859 to 1864, Nickel Three Cent Pieces and the five cent nickel usually turn black when they corrode. You can can get a little green here and there, but black is the standard color. If you are looking to buy copper-nickel coins, the black color is not is good. The coins can't be fixed because the surfaces are made of the corroded metal. It is best to avoid them.