Can I conserve/clean this properly?

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by C-B-D, Mar 27, 2017.

  1. C-B-D

    C-B-D Well-Known Member

    Fingers crossed!
     
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  3. ldhair

    ldhair Clean Supporter

    Maybe the coin looks more like this.
    20170327_152012.jpg
     
    Blissskr likes this.
  4. Michael K

    Michael K Well-Known Member

    What is going on by the left eye under the LI and the left nostril?
    Is this wear (or surface removed by many factors) or the initial start
    of an aborted clean/ conservation attempt?
     
    mynamespat likes this.
  5. chascat

    chascat Well-Known Member

    It's not perfect but we've all seen far worse...altering it would have never been a thought for me.
     
  6. SuperDave

    SuperDave Free the Cartwheels!

    It's not whether the coin will "survive" a diluted dip, it's whether the result will make it plain exactly what happened to the coin. You don't have to learn from my mistakes, but how the hell do you think I know this stuff? Pro tip: it wasn't because I succeeded.

    I'll reserve judgment until I see C-B-D's pics. Good call, Larry.
     
  7. IBetASilverDollar

    IBetASilverDollar Well-Known Member

    I gotta say I do find it funny that you made a thread with no intentions other than doing what you were set on doing regardless of responses but still titled the thread as if you were open to suggestions.

    That said, as someone who is constantly trying to learn I sure am curious to how this turns out and wish you luck!
     
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  8. GoldBug999

    GoldBug999 Well-Known Member

    Me too - I look forward to seeing the finished product, and good luck!
     
  9. MisterWD

    MisterWD Active Member

    I have a suggestion. Clean it with a soft toothbrush and toothpaste. Now there will be another outcry of criticism to this, just like before. You really need to try it before you condemn it. Toothpaste used to be very abrasive. They used ocean sediment composed of skeletal remains of protozoic sea life. Microscopic shards that were highly abrasive. Toothpaste isn't made that way anymore. It's made with plastic microbeads which are non- abrasive. Don't take my word for it, try it out on some pocket change. It cleans away stubborn build ups but does not damage the surface of the coin. Does not even scour away the luster from MS coins.
     
  10. Stevearino

    Stevearino Well-Known Member

    Very interesting thread, folks. Thanks for everyone's input. How about we consider our friend @C-B-D's thread title a rhetorical question. Count me in as very interested in the "after" photos.
    Steve
     
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  11. Jintoh44

    Jintoh44 Member

    I'm going to throw it out there, Olive Oil. I've been collecting for a very short while so I was talking to the dealer about coins (cents) I've found that look good from a physical perspective but just look, dirty.

    Of course I got the lecture "don't ever clean your coins" :) but he did say if you have to do something soak them in Olive Oil and very light soap/water to get rid of the oil.

    Whether or not I'm doing future damage I don't know (only doing it to plain cents I found CRHing so not too concerned) but it does really does clean them up w/o making them look cleaned, if that makes sense.
     
  12. desertgem

    desertgem Senior Errer Collecktor

    The HDPE microbeads used in some toothpaste are abrasive, that is why it is there. They are used as sand is in 'sandblasting' as well as an abrasive in lapidary work of polishing stones and jewelry products. They are mainly still found in 'CREST'(tm) products as some states have passed laws banning them, such as Calif by 2020. The surface of a coin will be affected, the question is how much to be noticeable. Just as now with acids, it is always 'how much', and with beginner's use of any product, it is usually too much . Jim
     
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  13. Oldhoopster

    Oldhoopster Member of the ANA since 1982

    Olive oil is good for removing dirt and organic materials encrusting a coin. Although it can be slow, I've used it successfully on low grade, crusty ancients. Toning is caused by a chemical reaction between the atoms on the surface and the surrounding environment (sulfur for example). Olive oil will not remove the sulfides/oxides and other chemically bonded layers
     
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  14. Oldhoopster

    Oldhoopster Member of the ANA since 1982

    AMEN!
     
    Kentucky likes this.
  15. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    There once was a guy who had a Morgan toned black. It was graded MS and sold for about $50k. It's new owner decided he wanted to gamble and dip the coin. Everybody he knew told him not to try it. But he did it anyway. When he was done he had a gem on his hands, he sent it in for grading and it upgraded 2 grades from where it was previously. He then put it up for auction, the coins sold for $126k.

    It is stories like this that cause people to risk dipping a coin. And that's kind of what you're trying to do. Different numbers but same basic thing. There's a difference though, his coin was MS, yours isn't. His coin still had underlying luster, completely invisible of course due to the black toning, but since he could detect no signs of wear (and neither did the TPG who had previously slabbed it) he was willing to gamble that it was indeed there.

    Your coin however does show signs of wear, that is a given. And as such there is a very good chance that there is no underlying luster remaining due to that wear. This is the thing that really makes the difference with this coin. The other guy, the one with the Morgan, he had like a 50/50, maybe 60/40 (against) chance. But you, I'd say you have like 90/10 chance, against.

    Now I've made bets with worse odds than that, 30/1, and won. In fact I did it twice in a row once. But ya don't do it very often.

    So fingers crossed ? Ya might wanna try crossing your eyes, toes, arms and legs - and then pray :) Needless to say I wish ya luck !
     
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  16. Dave Waterstraat

    Dave Waterstraat Well-Known Member

    You're gonna end up with a $250.00 pocket piece if you get all the crud off. I know, I have a '21 Morgan I tried to rescue from what looks like the same affliction.
     
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  17. IBetASilverDollar

    IBetASilverDollar Well-Known Member

    I thought that story about the 50k morgan was going to turn out like this one. Sure most have seen this with all the views but came across this recently and cringed

     
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  18. Insider

    Insider Talent on loan from...

    This thread is getting comical. :hilarious::hilarious::hilarious::hilarious: IMO, any poster who has not "worked on" an extremely dark coin encrusted with a crust of sulfur products such as this should keep their "home remedies" off the thread.

    Since this coin cannot be conserved :( (improving its appearance and preserving it without leaving evidence of the treatment :)), the OP insists he is going to clean this coin. Let me offer some tips :bookworm: based on my experience.

    These methods will not work:

    1. Acetone soak.
    2. Olive Oil soak.
    3. Soap & water.
    4. Verdi-Care or Coin Care soak.

    These methods will work:

    1. Brillo pad.
    2. Whizzing.
    3. Heat.
    4. Toothpaste scrub.
    5. Brass brush scrub.
    6. Tooling away the surface crust.
    7. Baking soda scrub.
    8. Reverse electrolysis.
    9. Acid etch.

    Some work faster than others. Some work better than others. Some leave less evidence of cleaning.

    If the OP insists on trying to improve his coin, he should make this a learning experience for all of us. Divide each side in half and try different things on each half. That will give you four tries and the coin will be already ruined so may as well learn something. Don't forget before and after images.

    R.I.P. little half dollar. :bigtears::bigtears::bigtears::bigtears:
     
  19. Insider

    Insider Talent on loan from...

    I heard this was something Jim Halperin also did on a Draped Bust dollar with very dark toning. It was not encrusted as this one.
     
  20. coloradobryan

    coloradobryan Well-Known Member

    I would not try to "improve" this coin. All you are going to do is screw it up. If you think that it can be "improved" send it to the professionals to have them give it a try.
     
  21. Cascade

    Cascade CAC Variety Nerd

    I once bet the OP with odds that were, to many, much more long than that... And won

    In this case, I'd make the same bet but against :)
     
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