What to do with spotty proofs

Post some pics of them Clint. What to do varies with what exactly is going on with the coins. But there are some things you can do.

 

From what I can see in the pics the coins look pretty normal to me. The '57s, I believe came from a Mint Set, and that type of toning is normal. There's nothing you can about it except to use a coin dip (acid) to remove it. And unless you have considerable experience dipping coins, it is not recommended that you try that.

The '63s and the '64s have haze, also normal, or commonly found on sets from the era. But the haze is easier to deal with. You can buy a product called MS70, dip the coins in that, and it will remove most if not all of the haze. But do not dip the cents in MS70 as they will turn purple or blue in color. MS70 contains no acid, but it is a detergent based cleaner.

A few words of warning - I neither advocate nor speak against its use, but there are many who consider the use of products like MS70 to be coin doctoring. I am merely informing you of a product that will do what you want done. Also, there is no guarantee that the haze, or possibly even worse, will not return in time. What happens after the use of MS70 has a great deal to do with proper rinsing and neutralization, followed by proper storage of the coins.

All of that said, the sets you have pictured are quite common and easily replaced at little cost if you were to sell the sets you have and seek new ones that you find pleasing as they are. That may well be your best route.

 

Not sure if you're asking me or not Ruben, but no, I do not think they are. As I said, I think the '57s are from a Mint Set.

 

Ruben, the MS70 he's talking about is a coin cleaner.

 

Nope.

No I would not. With slabbed coins, if you are unhappy with them then sell them and buy another that you are happy with.

With original Proof Sets or Mint Sets the sets are usually worth as an original set than they are if you remove the coins from the mint packaging. So they are best left alone. And again, if you are unhappy with them, then look for replacement sets. Once you find them, sell the sets you have.

But there is a difference when the sets are in Capital Plastic holders such as the ones you pictured. Those sets are not original and you can open them and remove the coins and then put them back if you wish. Or, you can remove the coins you don't like and replace them with examples you do like. Or, you can try the MS70.

But since you have no experience with using MS70, I would suggest looking for replacement coins. Otherwise you stand the risk of messing up the coins you have.

 

I've never seen it introduce yellowing. Is it possible that it has ? Sure. But it's also possible that the yellowing was caused by the person was trying to rinse off the coin and not caused by the MS70 at all.

Definitely better ? Probably not. But here's the deal, E-Z-Est is without a doubt dangerous to use. If you do not know what you are doing and do not have extensive experience with E-Z-Est, you could easily ruin the coin. There is little to no danger using MS70.

I have no idea. Could be true or not true at all.

Also Clint, you have to understand that my answers and comments are specific to the coins that you have asked about in this thread. My answers could very well be quite different if you were talking about other coins.

For example, that '57 Mint Set you've got there, MS70 will do nothing to help those coins. Those coins have well established toning, MS70 does nothing to toning.

The other coins have haze and a few spots. MS70 works great on haze, and on some light spots.

 

Not at all. That's because I've seen haze on Proofs from all date ranges, modern ranges anyway. Coins that came in the hard plastic cases had haze more often than those that came in the pliofilm.

I have long thought that haze is nothing more than the very beginning stages of toning. I have seen coins that had haze on them, in time develop into very attractively toned coins. They don't always, sometimes they just get plain ugly. But then that's how it is with toning.

It is also possible, maybe even likely, that haze is caused or related to the washing that the planchets go through before being struck. And if you think about that makes a certain amount of sense. Thousands of planchets go through the washing process all at the same time. So it seems logical to me that some of them may not get as thoroughly rinsed as the rest. And perhaps it is these that later develop the haze. That thinking is somewhat reinforced by the fact that not all Proofs do develop haze, only some of them do.