Help me to save a rarity - proper xylene usage instructions

Discussion in 'World Coins' started by TheCrownCollector, Jun 10, 2024.

  1. serafino

    serafino Well-Known Member

    The Southern Italian King on this coin was "Ferdinando IV di Borbone" and he was the son of King Charles III of Spain. Next to him is wife Maria Carolina of Austria. He ruled what was called the "Kingdom of the Two Sicilies". This coin was minted at the Napoli mint and was .833% silver, weight 27.53 Grams.
    This was a coin minted for use in Southern Italy, Sicily had it's own coinage minted at the Palermo mint.
     
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  3. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    All the TPGs offer the service, even some private individuals offer the service. But every one of them will say their methods are proprietary and they will not discuss them.

    But there are no secret concoctions that only they know about. The only things they can do are the same things that have been discussed on this forum a thousand times - distilled water, acetone, xylene, and coin dip. The only difference is that they know how to use them properly where a lot of collectors don't know how to use them properly. And when to use what one on what coin.

    They also know when not to use them, and they know that not all coins are not candidates for being properly cleaned. Some coins should simply be left alone.

    As for Verdi-Care, I have no idea if any of the TPGs ever use it or not. But they easily could.
     
  4. gmarguli

    gmarguli Slightly Evil™

    First off, you're vastly over-estimating the rarity of this coin.

    What you have is a cleaned coin that had started to retone. Looks like there was some PVC residue that PCGS caught and in your removal or it, the cleaned surfaces shined.

    I know people here will scream, but you might as well strip the surfaces and let it retone naturally.
     
  5. Hi Greg, respectfully, I strongly disagree on your first point. Take a look at archives and tell me how many examples of this coin you see let alone with this level of preservation (cleaned or not). Most examples out there (when they do come across - which is not very often) look like this:

    Piastra.jpg

    This a PCGS VF30 graded example mind you... this is typical of what one sees - smooth/flat devices.

    Higher grade examples are EXCEEDINGLY rare.

    Now this is my coin and I know everyone thinks their coin is the best, problem free example out there and would easily grade MS65 but I'd like to believe I'm a bit more realistic. I can't tell just yet what the surfaces truly look like but from the few areas I gently wiped with a Q-tip... I see "life". Some would argue my wipe polished the coin... I strongly doubt it but I can't say without a doubt that didn't happen. The jury is still out.

    I just managed to get a hold of a nice 1 gallon can of Sunnyside Xylol (xylene) - it was no easy feat. Apparently Xylene is restricted/banned in NY and is not sold ANYWHERE one would typically look.

    I'll give it a nice long dip in xylene and see what happens.

    If nothing, next up would likely be VC and if that fails... likely off to the TPGs it goes. Using acidic cleaners is just not even a consideration. Had this been a $50 coin, I'd say sure, why the heck not.
     
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