nic-a-date recipe help.

Ferric chloride is what I heard was main ingredient but don't know what it is mixed with

 

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They said earlier in the thread that ferric chloride is mixed with hydrogen peroxide. I'm not going to try and mix any, but the chemists here can correct me if I'm wrong. I don't know the difference between ferric chloride and muriatic acid. I found a reference on a Knife-making forum that says:

"Muriatic acid is hydrochloric acid (HCl) in a less pure and diluted strength for non-technical applications like cleaning bricks. Ferric Chloride is an iron 'salt' of HCl that is nonetheless very acidic, though not as 'strong' as HCl." reference

BTW, the last post in this thread was 3-1/2 years ago, but hey, still a fun topic!

 

Ferric chloride really wants to turn into rust and hydrochloric acid, so it acts a lot like the acid. I'm not sure why it became the standard for date restoration -- it's probably a bit safer than hydrochloric acid, and it doesn't make fumes, but it certainly makes a mess.

I'm still happier with the results from full-coin "restoration" (sacrifice? taxidermy?) with vinegar.

 

Using NicaDate will effectively ruin your coin. If it's so worn that you need this type of help just to read the date, the coin is pretty much only worth 5-10 cents, regardless of the date.

 

1918/7-S acid-restored coins consistently go for hundreds of dollars. Any of the key dates can go for $10 or more.

You may think the people paying that much are idiots, but their money is backed by the same full faith and credit as yours.

 

So, chemically treating a nickel is all right but chemically treating or touching any other coin is a no-no, worthy of banishment to the darkest recesses of heck.

 

Any other coin will display a date and mintmark. There's no effective way to restore dates on anything other than nickels.

Etching a coin that already displays a date and mintmark will knock a quick 80-90% off its value.

A dateless buffalo nickel is worth somewhere between a nickel and a quarter (depending on your market). A chemically etched common-date Buffalo is worth about the same. A chemically etched Buffalo that happens to reveal a key date may be worth a few dollars, or if you're extremely lucky, a few hundred.

So, yeah, chemically treating an otherwise-worthless nickel is all right. And chemically treating any other coin is a no-no, or at least pretty stupid from a value perspective.

 

A date and/or mint mark can be chemically pulled from any coin - copper, nickel, silver or gold. The process of minting results in different densities of the metal on and around the devices and dates. Acid treatment can selectively etch the less dense part leaving the denser part visible. That's the process law enforcement uses to raise a serial number from a weapon the number has been filed off of.

 

please make sure that you wear the green acid protecting gloves if you attempt to use acid. I know there are Forensic videos out there to reveal VIN numbers on cars, and serial numbers on guns that have been altered or obliererated. You might check these methods out on youtube if you really want to do this. Do you suspect a 26S?

 

After lots of discussion here, my understanding is that it's the work hardening done on copper-nickel that makes the date more resistant to etching. Metal flows toward the voids in the die, hardening as it's deformed. (You're not going to compress most metals to a higher density with ordinary pressures, and even if you did, that should make the compressed areas more resistant to attack.)

Copper should be subject to the same effect, but I'm not aware of many copper coins that lose their dates in such a way that they're amenable to restoration. You'd need an oxidizing acid like nitric, or an acid mixed with another oxidant like hydrogen peroxide, to make it happen.

Steel is most definitely subject to work-hardening, and so you'd expect restoration to work there, too.

I don't think silver work-hardens as much, and I'm quite sure gold doesn't -- it's one of the most malleable and ductile of metals.

One member here has posted photos of date-restored SLQs, but I still don't think we've got an answer about what was in the product that did it. And more to the point, while venues like eBay still offer a steady stream of dateless SLQs, I see no "restored date" keys there or anywhere else. Why the difference?

And what other coins are commonly found "dateless"? I see Buffalo nickels, a few Liberty/V and Shield nickels, SLQs, and occasionally Walkers. Maybe an occasional cent, although they're usually trashed in other ways as well.

It's possible that I'm completely wrong here, and that you can restore dates on silver coins just as reliably as on copper-nickel, except that the chemicals are too hazardous to be generally available. But if that were true, given the financial rewards available, I'd expect someone would be doing it, and we'd be seeing the products on eBay and/or in Details slabs. I'm not seeing them, and that makes me think it's because nobody can produce them.

 

The SLQs in the thread you mentioned were said by the poster to be "heavily photoshopped" , so I still do not believe there is a reliable process to enhance undistinguished numbers or lettering in 90% silver, besides of course mechanical engraving. I agree with the work hardening theory.