I had a 2003 Silver Proof Calendar Medal from the Franklin Mint. The second to the last year they issued these. For 2003 and 04 the medals were NOT made by Franklin Mint as FM had sold its equipment. My medal started toning in the display box...I assumed it wasn't lacquered. Dipped it in some EZ lust and the tarnish cleared up but the medal had a cloudy haze on it. I guess it was lacquered. I let it sit in pure acetone and koin solv for hours...a day on the Acetone. The cloudy surface is still there. I can't rub on the medal as it will damage the proof finish. Let me try an post a pic of it. Any help on getting this coin back to proof perfect condition would be appreciated... Its rare...VERY few were made. Sorry but offers to buy or sell only in the open forum
Past the point of no return. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I've learned those lessons the hard way myself. What did me in was vinegar.
What caused my problem? Is that simply some lacquer being stubborn about dissolving...or should I dip again in Ez-Lust to remove the cloud. EDITED - Read the Rules.
Franklin Mint 2003 Peace Dove Sterling Silver Calendar Medal !!! edited I damaged mine and because it is the second to last annual Franklin Mint calendar medal I must replace this in my collection as I am an avid FM exonumist. Please see pic.
It appears like someone tried to clean it by the lines that are on the surface, or is it in plastic? Since it is modern, if a lacquer was applied, most likely it was acrylic and once hardened, would not be affected by acetone or xylene. etc. But it doesn't appear like such was applied as it would not flake off in just certain areas. I suspect the cloudiness is a toning process on the surface, but such areas on proof coins can be caused by chemicals used before striking, and maybe on this one, before the process of gold plating ( I am assuming it is gold plate). Safe answer : Leave it as is, enjoy the thoughts of that year. Unsafe answer: The Dip would be the only possible thing that could fix it or really ruin it ,IMO. Remember that the silver after your first dips/rinses would be "raw", with no invisible surface patina, and will react rapidly with toning substances if not put into a safe environment. Jim
Nice plate on the bottom, I have a set of 2 with the same pattern but mine are dinner plates. Those are highly collectable as well.
I have NO experience in this area...just throwing out a thought. If the cloudiness is due to a laquer/dip reaction, there may be a way to remove the remaining laquer without damaging the coin. There may even be a way to reapply the laquer to get the coin back to its original condition. I would contact the original manufacturer (FM) or a retail outlet that deals in these types of coins to see what they say. I would do that first, before attempting anything else that might do further damage. Short of that, replacement may be your only other option. EDIT: Franklin Mint coin cleaning kit (wonder what this is)... EDIT: There is a blog at FranklinMint.com where you may find some answers...but you have to subscribe.
Found this one, wrong date Dove of Peace (in Flight with olive branch in beak) // PAX 1975 – FM Christmas medal 39 mm sterling in holder $27.99 http://koinpro.tripod.com/ExonumiaList.htm Jim
Thanks, I saw that but that is one of many dove related small medals FM did. This large medal was the 2003 Calendar medal..3 inches...7 ounces of silver. FM sold all its minting equipment in 2002 and these were made by Keystone Mint using FM tooling.
Franklin Mint sold all minting equipment off in 2002...and later became an entirely different company with the same name and thankfully some of the same people and tooling. They may have one in archives which I am checking on...as I would like to find a replacement if I can't fix this. The gold plating may be the key. They apply a mask...paint the surface with some non-conductive coating, plate the exposed areas, then strip it off. Maybe some residue was left on there?
If it was mine I'd place it in a completely sealed type of plastic holder with no more air to get to it. As to the haze, it may well be to late and many attempts to clean that off may well make it worse. If chemicals like Acetone do nothing, then other such solutions may well also do nothing. If you really wanted to take a chance, there is Silver Cleaners available at Walmart used for jewlery. It really does a job on Silver and even works well on Copper coins. HOWEVER, I've had Copper coins turn actual Red from that stuff. What it would do to the Gold plating is difficult to tell. Actually the best thing is to leave it alone and try resealing it in something like an Air Tight.
Just curious..I posted the same on the open forum as directed stating that I needed one of these...but it was deleted. What are the rules on that..when I was told thats where the post needed to be?
I can find no trace of any post you made to the Open forum. You did however make a 2 posts about the same thing in the Coin Chat section. I edited out the parts that broke the rules and merged the 2 threads together because we do no allow double posts either. But if you want to post about your wants in the Open forum - you may certainly do so. As to what the rules are, they are posted for all to read - http://www.cointalk.com/t34131/
If the medal was darkly toned before it was cleaned the toning itself could have etched or hazed the surface. In that case it is hopeless.
