Gambling on beat up 1916 dime

Ive bought a few slick 1916 dimes over the years. Hoping to get them home and find a D mint mark with better magnification. So far, no dice.
They been S mints every.single.time.
Same goes for the 1912 Nick-Nacks.
Well, i spotted this beat up, worn slick '16 with a black gunk on the reverse in a junk bin. So, i decided to take a gamble. So after 2 days in acetone, i decided to check the progress. I dont see much of a difference but here she is- before going back into the brewing pot with a fresh shot of acetone.
Disclaimer- i STILL cant tell if there is even going to be a MM under all that gunk. I also realize it probably isnt worth much even if it were a D. Still, this is sort of a fun side project

 

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Fun hunt! I have a large bag of no date buffalos and spent some time cooking some of them in a peroxide/alcohol concoction. It turned the nickels ghost white but did reveal a date on about half of them. Gave me the same sort of curious excitement..... I totally get it and hope you discover a “D” hiding beneath the gunk.

 

Looks like there might be a mm under there good luck.

 

AG-3 at best but if there is a D showing you have best the odds. Best wishes.

 

Honestly a drop of eZest spread on the reverse with a Q-tip couldn't hurt!

 

I dont have any E-zest, if the acetone doesnt end up cutting thru, is there any other house hold items i could possibly utilize ?? I do have a rose thorn somewhere around here. But this "gunk" might be tougher than i originally thought.

 

Lemon juice is fairly non-damaging. Try swabbing with some.

 

Ok, i am starting to get impatient so i pulled the coin out and swabbed with lemon juice. I believe ive cut through some more of the crud. Here is a new photo before i stuck it back in the mason jar with fresh acetone.
I am starting to think no dice once again, but hey, it was worth a shot. You cant win, if you dont play !!!

 

So its been soaking in lemon juice for the last 2 days. I still cant tell which mint its from. There is crud right on top of the MM area. I cant find the rose thorn i used to have so i guess im gonna go poach a new one. Its in distilled water this time. New pic

 

Based upon this photo you're probably wise not to get your hopes up.

You're right, though: no pain, no gain.

 

I would use diluted EZest and a small paint brush on the mm area, If it is what you wish, then dip the coin to even up any discoloration. Even an obvious dipped 16D is worth more than it is now. Jim