How can I ID no date SLQs?

Are there any tells for cull SLQs on what their date/type is?

P.S. I can tell that the 3rd one on the top is 1927.

 

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It's easy to distinguish Type 1 coins by the position of the eagle on the reverse, even if they're worn almost flat. (No stars under the eagle for Type 1; none of the coins in your picture match.) If you do have a Type 1, there are pretty clear indicators that can distinguish the very rare 1916 from the 1917-P.

It's often possible to distinguish Type 2 (raised date, 1917-1924) from Type 3 (recessed date, 1925-1930), even if they're badly worn.

If you can make out the last digit of the date at all, you can tell what you've got. If it's a 7, 8, 9 or 0, if it's a recessed date, it's 1927/1928/1929/1930; if it's a raised date, it's 1917/1918/1919/1920.

There are claims that there was once a product like Nic-A-Date that would restore dates on silver coins, but the only evidence I've seen is questionable (a Photoshopped image). There's a steady market in restored-date key Buffalo nickels, and even Liberty nickels, but nothing of the sort for SLQs or Walkers; this makes me think that no one can do it successfully. If they could, we'd be seeing the products.

 

Care to try your best at pointing out 2a vs 2b type coins? I'm not familiar enough with them.

 

I can't see any sign of recessed dates with confidence in the coins you show, except that 27 you mentioned.

 

From just a quick scan, I'm guessing a great majority are TyII (as opposed to so-called "TyIII" 1925-30) as one can often see remnants of the recessed dates in spots. It is somewhat of an educated guessing game at best though.

You do have a couple mintmark coins, so perhaps check into if there were any differences in styles used that may help narrow things down. It very well may be a lost cause though. It's been so long since I've even looked at one that I forget one way or the other.

 

There's nothing I know of that can bring up a date on these, either, even on the ones that aren't recessed. When they go, they're gone.

 

In a thread somewhere last year I was talking about my experiences with vinegar dating nickels and a member posted a picture of an acid dated SLQ.
I'm trying to find the thread but I can't remember what it was.
But it's an interesting situation. Everybody claims that they have a friend who did it, or that they knew they saw the product for sale in the 1960s, but solid evidence is hard to come by.
I'm not sure if the picture that was posted on that thread was the photoshopped one that Jeff mentioned.

 

Where's @Electron John when we need him?

 

Acid date them. It can be done with silver coins.

 

Do you have any evidence of this by chance? Also, what acid is best?

 

I've looked some, and I haven't been able to find any reference to pickups that would let you distinguish within major types. The closest I've come so far was a post on another forum that mentioned a change in "edge designs" in 1921 -- but that post doesn't explain what the change was, and I haven't yet tracked it down.

I've seen some discussion of (for example) diagnostics to help authenticate an 18/7-S, but they seem to rely on features that would disappear quickly with wear.

 

Here we are. (Thread topic was "PSA: Vinegar dating is the best", talking about nickels, but it veered into discussion of silver date restoration.)

I have no doubt that something was applied to the coins in the pictures. I'm also pretty confident that the photos show an actual faint date (I don't think the date was Photoshopped in). What I'm not sure about is whether the date was completely illegible before treatment -- in other words, I don't know that the treatment actually restored the date.

I'm not saying that the poster, or others who "remember" using a silver date-restorer, are lying. I'm just saying that this isn't the sort of technique that would be lost, and if it were possible to do this, I'd expect to see a lot of restored-date keys in this series. Whatever "Nic-A-Silver" was, I wonder if it actually accomplished anything more than removing distracting coloration or deposits from a still-barely-legible raised date.

 

http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=264539&SearchTerms=Acid

 

Meh. The "before" and "after" pictures are so different -- different lighting, and the "before" pictures are out-of-focus and over-compressed -- that it's hard to tell what was visible before and after. Also note that there were apparently no results on the SLQ.

 

He didn't try the SLQ.

 

Point taken.

 

I think it is also safe to say that the denticle detail on the obverse was not there before the treatment, given the abount of wear on the reverse.

 

Its hard to convince by the photos . I suspect that existing corrosion was removed. The peracetic acid produced is actually a weaker acid than the original acetic acid portion, unless evaporation concentrates it and then it can become a significant health hazard, but it can be used industrially. I went to my collection of 'interesting' ads from the past ( well to the 60s), and no Nic-A-Silver or similar products and then it was considered more OK to mess with coins, so I remain doubtful.

 

I definitely wouldn't feel safe saying that. I've seen plenty of Barbers in particular with a LOT more detail left on the obverse than the reverse.

 

Thanks! It was killing me trying to remember.
The "restored" date has a very tell tale acid look to it, in that it is in an odd relief and has a fuzzy look to it. It looks very similar to many acid treated Buffalos I have, such as the one shown here: