Professional Coin Restoration?

I need to find a reliable coin restoration (not conservation) service. Anyone have any prior experiences, good or bad? I have an AU 1913 Barber 50c with the obverse off-color, as if it had been resting in a leather purse for many years. There's no corrosion, just an odd gray color. I am under the impression PCGS would not grade it in its present condition? Comments please.

 

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Depending on the year/mm and rarity of the coin it just may not be worth the expense.

 

I have used NCS, whose parent company is NGC, to restore several coins in the past. They normally slab the coin afterwards, which will also conserve it, as part of the restoration cost. If you wish to put it in an album instead, simply crack it out. You could call them and see if they would ship it without slabbing, if album storage works better for you. The cost is similar to grading costs.

 

Coin's in the bank, so no picture until early next week. I don't think the odd coloration will show up, but we'll see. Ads in Coin World make a clear distinction between conservation and restoration services. I've been collecting over 60 years, so I'm aware of the risks and rewards. And no, I certainly don't want dipping; I can dip the coin myself, free.

 

What distinction are they showing?

 

In general, conservation prevents damage; restoration mitigates existing damage, before they're slabbed. What made me post this topic, this morning I got an email about ANACS, announcing their new conservation service. In their words:

"ANACS now offers professional coin conservation, available as an add-on to grading submissions.

Collectors can opt to have the coins they've submitted for grading be examined by the ANACS grading staff to determine if any of the submitted coins would benefit from professional conservation, and then have them graded and encapsulated. This service is offered on a "per submission" basis, and is available at the introductory price of $12 per submission form (for a maximum of 20 coins).

As part of its conservation service, ANACS will remove PVC, debris, glue, stains, hazing and other easily removed substances or distracting flaws from submitted coins, according to the firm.

Techniques for preservation

Over the years, many collectible coins have suffered from attempts at cleaning that alter their surfaces and decrease their numismatic value. As a result, most coin experts advise collectors to never clean their coins," according to an ANACS news release. “ANACS Conservation Service employs techniques that are designed to preserve the coin's surface, while removing substances that deter from a coin's appearance and value."

Actually, this sounds more like restoration than conservation, but...whatever improves the coin. Plus, I believe ANACS remains a wanna-be; that's why I asked for alternatives.

 

It's all a matter of semantics and what you read between the lines, (Especially what you read between the lines). This is a direct quote from PCGS Restoration. "PCGS Restoration is designed to help you overcome environmental problems that have occurred to coins. Preserving originality and the natural condition of every coin is the number one objective of PCGS Restoration" You could get lawyers to argue this out and rationalize it anyway you want, but it ends up being subjective. Regardless of who says it or opposes it. They use the words "help you" and "number one objective" but these are not guarantee's.

url="http://www.pcgs.com/restoration"]www.pcgs.com/restoration[/url]

 

I have two points to add-

1) PCGS and NGC certify coins with odd grey color all the time.

2) Professional conservation/restoration is often dipping the coin. That's it.

 

If I had to pick a service, it would be NCS and that's only because they have been doing it for so long. I have never used a service like this but the time is coming when I will.
Sounds like a smart move on ANACS part to start this service.

 

It also seems a little odd to me that PCGS calls itself PCGS Restoration when their number one objective is conserving as stated in the second sentence. Conserving and restoration are two different things. Makes you wonder what their priority really is and what you are actually paying for.

 

Well we know the priority is making money.

 

SaltySam "gets it" -- "...Conserving and restoration are two different things."

And you are paying for "something" that might squeeze out a higher grade, which translates into more bucks than it cost you to restore..." After the coin's slabbed, who's going to argue?

And for Tom B., this may be true: "PCGS and NGC certify coins with odd grey color all the time." But it's likely to hurt you on price. Sounds like good economics to pay $75 for "services" and boost the price by $100-200.

 

I hope you decide to do this. If so, can you post a before and after picture of the coin? It would be nice to see what they can do.

 

I made my comment based upon what you wrote in your post about the odd grey color-

"I am under the impression PCGS would not grade it in its present condition?"

That question/statement is completely different than the latest statement-

"But it's likely to hurt you on price. Sounds like good economics to pay $75 for "services" and boost the price by $100-200."

 

Because it is a low mintage 1913 I would take my time making a decision.
I don't know how many were melted but the figure of 188,000 makes it a coin of value.
If it is indeed AU that's remarkable.

 

I [for one] would be interested in seeing a photo of the coin if you can visit your SDB next week. Then we interested parties can tell if we would leave it alone, dip it ourselves, or send it out. The coin is after all, 100 years old.
It took me several years but I managed to put together a complete set of Barber halves. Some of the coins are not beauty queens but they were not tampered with either.

 

Just a FYI: If they meant exactly the same, there would be an "or" instead of an "and" between the two nouns. But you need both preservation and restoration for conservation, for this definition to stand up. That's because they are indeed different entities and independent of one another.