Philippine Coinage under U.S. Adminstration - preservation question

The U.S. kicked Spain's ass in the Spanish-American War and ended up controlling the Philippines. The U.S minted coins to replace the worn out Spanish coins.

More info...in this CoinWeek article.

The coin in question is a 1 Centavo, dated 1944 and minted in San Francisco. Here is a link to info about it from Numista.

I don't know how this coin made it into my collection (I might have found it in a Coinstar machine or my father gave it to me - dunno). It is in horrible condition in terms of environmental damage and I am curious if there are any recommendations of improving its overall eye appeal.

The composition is bronze. Do I dare use acetone?

I will show pics of the coin under different lighting conditions. Except for the last two images from Numista at the bottom of this post, these are all the same coin!

Obverse photos with differing lighting...







Reverse photos with differing lighting...







Here are images of the coin from Numista...





Note: I'm posting this under the U.S. Coin forum because it was minted in San Francisco.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Can't answer how to clean it, but I had a silver color one growing up. It just seemed fascinating knowing the US helped controll other countries & that the US provided the coinage + eagle & emblem just seemed so cool & different compared to normal US currency.

 

Acetone is basically inert with metals and tends to only impact organic materials. There will be no impact on the metal if you soak it acetone, whether for one minute or one year.

Acetone is always the first line of defense. At the very least it removes organic crud, as well as PVC.

 

Acetone is what I used. This one had a bath for 30 minutes and all the crud on it just fell away after a rinse with distilled water

 

Thanks for the feedback. I will try a water soak first then an acetone soak.

I might even take follow up pictures since I am such a dedicated teacher of the ignorant masses.

 

Make sure to use distilled water!

 

Hmm. Would gin or vodka work?

 

Honestly, I don't see a problem with that. Alcohol is another rather inert substance you can use to soak coins. I wonder if the additional botanicals/substances in drinking liquor would cause any harm.
hmmm

 

2.5 hours in acetone...

Obverse after acetone with differing light...





Reverse after acetone with differing light...

 

Only in a pinch.........but in absence of that (pinch) scotch will do........

 

The whisky was suitably enjoyed during the acetone bath.

 

I am going to leave the coin in the acetone overnight. I don't think this coin will get any better looking but it can't get much worse looking by sitting in acetone. I might make it a pocket piece to hopefully even out the mottled look.

 

Glad to hear it. An old friend of mine used to call it 'grading juice'. The stuff does wonders...........

 

Not a bad thought.