If I can tear you away from your BSA commemorative speculation I have a question I hope you can help me with. I don't like to dip coins, and can count on one hand how many times I've done it. But I was just at a local coin shop going through a big tub of mostly buffalo nickels marked $1.50. I then saw a really nice 1942-P nickel. It looked B.U., but I thought, "can't be or it wouldn't be here". Then I saw three more and realized that someone must have brought in part of a B.U. roll at one time and they got dumped in the $1.50 jug. Soooo hard to see because the lighting in there is atrocious and flourescent. So I bought them all and now I've got these war nickels, and they do look B.U., but B.U. should stand for "butt ugly" because they have a horrific looking toning. Like I say, I've swirled a 90% silver coin in my time without burning off the luster, but these are only partly silver. So...do I dip, or should I just forget the whole idea? 2 seconds? 5 seconds? TIA, Steve
Just do it fast and make sure to wash it well... You can dip war nickels the same as %90... tho they are more likely it seems to spot back up afterward too
Yes they could spot with little black spots, may only be one or two but I wouldn't do it. Besides, what is ugly toning to you may look really good to someone else, maybe you could post pics and then ask. just sayin'
I've never dipped, but if I was going to try I think a $1.50 coin would be a good one to practice on...GO FOR IT!! :hail:
Like the others said , dip it fast , no more than three seconds and then rinse completely with distilled water , tap water has too many impurities . rzage
OK, here are the nickels: Because you guys are jonesing for coin porn, on the left is a coin I just dipped...I swear it is like the fifth coin I've ever dipped that was/is worth more than a couple bucks: (FWIW, the other coin is undipped and safe inside a Dansco) And here it is after dipping: The standing liberty is on the high end of XF, but it sure has a lot of luster What the heck...here's the back of the V nickel: I've found the only way I can photograph the color is indirect sunlight. Steve
It bought them for $1.50. They are likely worth around $15. Like a dope, I left one in the jug. Guess I'll have to go back.
Pardon the adaptation to popular cliches, but for a 1.50 each, I would have just grabbed them all, and then let God sort'em out later! I learned the hard way that when see a bunch of keepers for a silly price, even if I'm a little trepidatious, I grab them all, and then let the ducks fall where they may.
I've always been a bit partial to the Mercury Dime (my first collection). I was at the Baltimore show last November and found a table that had circulated Mercs divided up into groups...$2, $3, and $5. In the $5 case, he had a whole bunch of very nice VF+ "s" Mercs from the '20s. I was particularly interested in the 1925s, but I bought up all he had. It may take a while, but I think these will go up in price eventually.
Dipping is unlikely to help those coins. At least 2 of those 3 coins have point-like spots of heavy toning. A quick dip will remove the normal toning from the majority of the surface, but will leave the localized defects. Nothing I've ever seen helps spots on nickels. That's why I stay away from flyspecks. I'll leave pointillism to the artists.
Borgo, If you'll pardon the pun, your assessment is "spot on". I dipped them tonight and the black spots did not come out. They must be a defect with the magnesium, or some kind of deep cancer that goes in toward the center of the coin. Even trying a little bit of pressure with the dip didn't do it. I might get more aggressive later. At least one of the coins didn't have the black spots and it looks stunning. Pictures forthcoming. Steve
Thanks for the update. I'm all-too-familiar with those black spots. You can take a Dremel to them, and damage the surface of the coin, and still not get them out. I'm glad the one coin worked out for you. I'm assuming it's the one in the upper-right of your photograph above. The toning doesn't look too bad in the picture, but I'll bet the difference post-dip was very dramatic.
Does anyone know what causes those black spots , I know it's some type of toning . I've had it form on high MS-65-66 Franklins that weren't propperly stored . rzage
I wonder if it was some sort of breath moisture bubbles, maybe from someone who had some potent onions on their burger before handling the coin?
Just my opinion , but the spots seem too big to come from breath moisture , those would be many small ones spread out compared to one or two large ones , but you never know . rzage
Go ahead and dip a war nickel in sulfuric acid. It'll clean up just fine! We need to get rid of all of these ugly coins ASAP. Seriously, who wants these "things". Yes, they have some silver in them. But no refiner will even touch them because they're too expensive to melt (not to mention illegal to melt). If you want junk silver, for the love of God just buy dimes, quarters, halves, dollars. PS. Don't say they're cheaper and you, "got a deal". I can get a crappy Chevy with spotty primer for less than your Mercedes. What's your point? My point being, you get what you pay for!
