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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Oldhoopster, post: 2713991, member: 84179&quot;]The black spot is going to be difficult to remove.&nbsp; And I think it will be nearly impossible to do it and not severely compromise the look of the coin.&nbsp; The black spot probably isn&#039;t simple toning.&nbsp; When a coin tones, the metal at the surface reacts with the environment to form sulfides, oxides and other complex stuff that most of us slept through when discussed in chemistry class.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Cleaning a coin with a mild abrasive physically removes this layer.&nbsp; Dipping does the same thing through a chemical interaction.&nbsp; Bottom line is that in either of these processes, you are removing metal.</p><p><br /></p><p>IMO, black spots are the worst.&nbsp; They can come from a variety of sources.&nbsp; The trick to removing them is to understand the makeup of the spot and use the correct chemistry to remove it.&nbsp; I have no actual knowledge, but I strongly suspect that professional conservators physically remove the most of spot with a steady hand under a microscope.&nbsp; They probably also have some chemicals that can start to soften/degrade the spot to make it easier.</p><p><br /></p><p>If I were to try to remove the spot, I would say there is a very high probability that I would leave the coin looking worse than when I started. It&#039;s yours so you can do whatever you want but I don&#039;t think it too bad, and would leave it as is.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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