I have a H10c that came back from PCGS as "environmental damage"--AU details. How do I determine if this coin can be conserved? It is a nice looking coin with the minor problem neither I nor the dealer I bought it from detected.
http://www.greatcollections.com/Coi...-Half-Dime-No-Drapery-PCGS-Genuine-AU-Details Conservation candidate??
Probably. I think they were overdoing their censure of my coin. Mr. Russell commented that the coin looked a little flat to him.
The question is whether what they see as a problem and presumably all the major services would see as a problem prevents a numerical grade. I don't see the problem as eating into or etched in the metal, but any dip will have to be universal to be effective, i.e., you can't just dip the problem spot.
The definition of environmental damage - 97|N-7 Environmental Damage – i.e. corrosion, coating (lacquer), excessively heavy toning, etc. I don't think for a second the coin has lacquer or similar substance on it. Obviously the coin is not heavily toned, but the only reason that excessively heavy toning is even there in the definition is because toning of that type corrodes the surface of the coin. And the majority of the time, when environmental damage is listed as the problem, corrosion is the reason. The corrosion may have been caused by PVC contamination, it may have been caused by excessive toning, it may have been caused from being in the ground, it may even have been caused by an acid. But once caused, there is no fixing it. There is no conservation for this coin.
It can always be conserved, but conservation doesn't mean that it will actually be improved, or that will become "problem free" gradable.
My guess is that it was dipped in acetone, etc., from the dealer I bought it from. I did not look closely enough apparently for issues like this. Conservation means protecting a coin from further damage, the toning or substance on the surface was removed leaving the issue, I doubt that there is anything still on the surface of the coin that may spread. My only interest in having the coin graded was to get a decent numerical grade. Of course there are services out there like NNC and Accugrade that would love to put the coin in their holder and call it MS63.
