I have collected off and on for years, and recently a few things have sparked my return to the hobby. I have a few questions if y'all don't mind: 1: I recently started going through my father in laws coin collection that nobody really knew about until he passed away. To my surprise he has an estimated 500 Morgan and peace dollars (combined) that were stored inside and old Coleman cooler, wrapped in brown paper. Looking at the tape on these rolls I am guessing they have not been opened since the 60s or 70s. One roll was ripped open so I took some coins out. All the coins I have viewed so far have a light green tarnish. Once a coin like this tarnishes, can it ever be returned to a MS grade? I have read about acetone and distilled water treatments, but at this point I don't have the experience to even think about that (dont worry I'm not going to do anything crazy). Right now my plan of attack is to sort everything and see if I have any key dates, then put them into the plastic square rolls. 2: I am very interested in starting a type set and will probably start with newer proof coins, which I think are safer to purchase off of the Internet. When it comes to older coins, I am pretty overwhelmed, especially walking into a coin shop. I guess my question here is, am I ok just purchasing whatever looks good and fits into the grade scale I want, or should I be doing a ton of research on each specific coin before buying one. Kind of seems like an obvious answer but there's a lot of coins and at this point I don't have the experience to be an expert on them all. 3. In the past I have collected modern coins because that's been easy. I spent money on the presidential golden dollar rolls... Which seems now to have been a stupid move. Should I just unload these at a loss to a coin shop and put that towards other coins, or are these worth holding on to? 4. Can you suggest anything I should buy for knowledge? I have a blue book, an older Whitman guide to coins, and downloaded the PCGS photo grade app, the price guide app, and coin book pro app. Seems like a good start. 5. Finally, I'm interested in seeing what has been the most rewarding set for you to collect? Thanks, looking forward to your replies.
Don't clean any of the coins until you have learned much about the coins and cleaning methods. I repeat. Do not mess with the coins until you have learned more about the coins. Coins are easily ruined & they can never be un-cleaned. P.S. Now that I have said that, I can edit my post & try to answer some of your questions with this post script. Always handle the coins by the edges. Avoid talking over them. Avoid handling them over hard surfaces (in case you drop a coin). Avoid sliding them across the table's surface, etc. Consider getting a Guide book of US Coins by Yeoman (The red book). Consider getting a $15 sampler copy of the coin grey sheet (The Coin Dealer Newsletter). These documents along with some coin grading skill will show you how the coins values fluctuate and how important it is to be able to grade coins accurately. Always feel free to post photos of the coins here at CT for opinions. You may want to visit some local coin shops or coin shows to see how item like your coins are actually selling. You might buy some coin storage supplies at these venues or you could buy supplies from an Internet store like Wizard Coin. I might suggest getting a package of PVC-free 2" x 2" flips. One brand name that is PVC-free is "Saf-t-flip" or something like that. This might be better than storing the coins tubes since you would be able to view the individual coins. I hope that you find interest in the coins & start collecting them yourself. If you elect to sell the collection, then let us know & I'm sure you will receive some advice from the folks at CoinTalk.
I would suggest using white gloves, handling the dollars by the edges, and carefully placing them in their own separate flips and not in square tubes. Write down the dates and post some pics here. I also agree that you should not clean any of them until you get some expert advice. TC
The "light green tarnish" concerns me because it could be PVC contamination, but without photos, that is just a guess. If it is PVC contamination, it would be pointless to put any of those coins in flips of any kind. Chris
I agree with Chris ! Don't put into any flips or such until it is determined if you have PVC problem, although you don't mention any plastics. Green is not usually the only 'tarnish' on silver. Welcome to the forum.
Agreed with my colleagues--silver coins rarely tone "green" exclusively--that sounds like substance contamination, either by PVC or some other source. Silver coins tend to tone in patterns that usually have many colors, or tend to go more towards brown/reddish coloration, in my experiences. Pure Green is definitely a problem.
First - welcome to the forum. Second see above about cleaning and storage. Third - if you are going to do a type set I do not think you need to be an expert on all of the coins, but you do need to know enough about the grading to make a purchase. Will it be raw or graded? If you are not very familiar with grading then learn some more, but buy already graded coins. If you are going to buy raw then learn to buy problem free coins - having a trusted dealer will help with this. I would also say don't be shy about buying any books that you think will help. One book in general is a United States Coinage: A study by type by Ron Guth and Jeff Garrett. I think this is intended to be what they think should be in a type set, but you do not have to included everything they did or even any of the gold. A lot of people like a matching set - as close to a specified grade as possible. Personally I think if I did a complete type set it would contain some high grade and low grade coins. And if I did a set it would be a graded set. This is all just my opinion. Last but not least the most rewarding set I have is my large cents. The album is complete (well so far I have not cracked 3 key varieties to put in it), except for one coin. I have the requisite Lincoln album and IHC albums(need a couple of coins), but not as rewarding as doing the large cent albums. I have some other sets, but nothing as rewarding or as fun as large cents. Forgot to mention down to 1 coin for the album and it will be a real toughie(1793 liberty cap). Still in holders:
In my opinion, no. I'm pretty sure PVC has never been used in food storage. But I don't know how old the cooler is, and what else they may have used for a cooler made in the 1960s, if that's the case. I'd bet something else, possibly even a slight amount of sulphur in the paper may have caused discoloration over decades of storage.
Thanks for the replies so far. Mark your large cent collection is pretty amazing. Very impressive. I will post some pictures of those Morgan's and peace dollars tonight, and a picture of the cooler. Maybe it's possible that the brown paper they were wrapped in had some sort of PVC. Hopefully it's not, but we will find out together! I went to another coin shop yesterday just to look around... Once again overwhelmed. I think I will start by purchasing the proof coins to finish off my Susan B Anthony collection and then start picking up newer proof coins and working my way back. With that said I am mesmerized by pretty much any coin older than, let's say 1913. It's really holding a piece of history.
Oh Yes! a 1913 LIBERTY V NIckel will be a BIG SUPRISE to ALL if you Have the number SIX, IF it EXISTED! Never mind... If you have one ( 5c 1913 V nickel)...For Sure, all you will read majority here it's FAKE! or Altered!
