I was reading in another thread about black toning. I wanted to know others thoughts about this coin. I am tempted to just throw this in acetone and then into my 90% junk stash. Any thoughts on what I should do for this coin? When I first got it going through a box of halves I thought someone had dropped it into a thing of oil.
True black toning is the natural progression (5th stage) of thin film interference (toning) your coin however looks more like environmental damage. Go ahead and throw it in the pile. Not worth doing anything to it unless you want to experiment
The coin is still made of 10% copper. It was probably exposed to air and moisture for years. Maybe someone left it out in their basement and forgot about it for the next 5 years? Or it could've been buried, but I doubt that.
I think I am going to experiment on it with an acetone bath. Then throw it into my 90% stash. I'm going to my coin club tonight and we are all supposed to bring a 64 Kennedy. This will be the one I bring before I put it into some acetone. I might get some of the members thoughts on it too. to be honest it does look like environmental damage.
Acetone won't do much I don't think but I would suggest putting it in a boiling pot of water for about 20 mins first. Can't hurt and it might remove some crud. Don't forget to post some after pics out of curiosity
Looks like it's either crud or environmental damage. If it were undisturbed toning, the lighter part on the obverse would be a darker purple color rather than the yucky, filmy look it has now. The great thing about it being a 64 Kennedy is you can't really ruin its numismatic value at this point. The acetone soak sounds like a good idea. A dip probably won't help it, but won't really hurt it, either. This is a good coin to experiment a little with.
I agree with @Cascade ! It is probably environmental damage. Soaking it in acetone won't hurt it. Chris
Your photo is blurred but the coin looks dirty and corroded. Learn something from it...soak it in acetone first (one of the FEW times it might do something to a "black" coin if some of the color is from foreign matter." Post another photo afterwards. The "black" around the rim looks like late stage toning (corrosion) and may have already etched the coin's surface under it. DO NOT DIP IT YET!!!
I'll get some pics up for those that are curious. I am going to give it an acetone bath for about six hours (I have a warehouse at work that I can throw it into right now).
My bet is acetone will not do anything. I am guessing black toning, which IS corrosion. I would dip it and throw it in the junk silver pile. The reason to dip it will be to stop the corrosion. But, throw it in acetone and see what it does. It won't hurt it.
There are five important requirements needed to clean coins properly (conservation): 1. Experience/knowledge/training. 2. Know which coins to touch. 3. Know what chemicals/treatment methods to use. 4. PREPARE THE COIN'S SURFACES BEFORE THE FINAL CONSERVATION is started. 5. Don't forget #1 & #2.
Boiling water IS one helpful "trick" when conserving coins. Hot chemicals also attack surfaces quicker. However, DO NOT put coins in anything metal like pots or ultrasonic screens, etc. They will become scratched. Some numismatists use thin fiber "suspension rigs" while most probably use tongs.
I was thinking of putting it in a glass cup for the acetone bath. I also have several 40% Kennedy halves that might do well with some acetone. I was thinking of putting those in a glass caserol tray.
Glass works for acetone. Cover it or if you really want to go "wild" set it outside in the sun...LOL. Main concern when working with coins is not to hairline them. Even agitation in glass can cause hairlines. When soaking coins (in benign solutions), just let them sit. Flip them so both sides are exposed. After the soak, take a Q-tip soaked in more acetone and GENTLY ROLL it across the coin's surface until no more black comes off. NOTE: We are pretending your coin is a $10,000 rarity to learn some of the techniques.
I didn't forget. I've been sneaking around behind your back because I figured you would make me keep my ban in place forever. Actually, I was hoping you would soon forget. Guess not. I was on the other forums but mostly they are boring - especially NGC. Even got kicked off one for ragging on some member's insane opinion! Good riddance. Besides they don't have colors, faces, and alerts. CT is the best! With so many educational websites on the Internet I cannot believe all the misinformation that gets posted. I cannot wait for members to attack my posts on this thread
