I inherited a pretty extensive coin collection from my parents, especially mercury dimes. Years ago, my then new wife, decided to "clean" the dimes for me by soaking them in bleach with disasterous results. I asked a friend in a coin club how I might be able to restore them, & after consulting with his friends told me to cover them with olive oil & put them in the freezer until they returned to normal. That was 15 yrs ago, & while some of the dimes actually do look better, it really has been a bust. Just wondering if anyone has a different method that may work. I have one more question...where is the mint mark on Morgan silver dollars? Thanx, Lee
The mint mark on the Morgan is on the reverse between the "D" & "O" in the word dollar on the bottom. As far as restoring sorry cant help you, my wife isnt allowed to touch my collection for fear of similar results.
I'd say that the damage is pretty much done. Oil will sometimes break loose different 'things' in the coin. But I think that's all you really can do after soaking them in bleach. Welcome to the forum rotty508 and Lee. Bill
They are cleaned and forever will be viewed as such. Unfortunately there is little that you could do to undo the effects of the cleaning that damaged the coins' surfaces. Those surfaces are marred by what happened and it is impossible to undo the damage; aven if the appearance of the coins were to be improved, a competent numismatist would recognize the damage immediately upon inspection. I'm sorry to be the bearer of such bad news, I just hope there weren't any 1916D's, 1921's, or 1921D's in the bunch, that would be a shame.
Thank you for your replies. I was pretty sure the dimes were ruined. what does an "O" mint mark stand for on the Morgan silver dollars, & what does no mint mark mean? Thanx, Lee
The 'o' stands for New Orleans. I think the dates it was used was 1889-1909. Pretty sure-but would have to check my Red Book
Not in Morgans. If you're talking about other coins I think they had the 'o' mintamrk from 1839-1909. Again would have to check my Red Book
