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Pillar of the Community
 United States
7375 Posts |
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Will the vinegar contiue to eat away at the coin in the future or did you give it an acetone rinse too?
IMO acetone not required here, the vinegar easily rinses off with a little water.  |
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5177 Posts |
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I've got several dateless coins that have only sentimental value. It might be fun to try this but I'd hate it if they were destroyed. (I'm such a chicken.) Are they nickels? This method is pretty nickel-specific (it depends on some chemical properties of cupronickel). It definitely doesn't work on (high-purity) copper, and as far as I know doesn't work on silver. I believe it was originally developed for Buffalo nickels (which suffer from unfortunate date position, and are very often found dateless). Edited by january1may
02/09/2015 1:12 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
509 Posts |
Do you just soak them in the vinegar or use the method of freezing the vinegar first, etc?
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Pillar of the Community
861 Posts |
The fastest way (less than 5 minutes) to restore the dates/details is to use 1/2 Vinegar and 1/2 Hydrogen Peroxide. The solution will turn green/blue. (secret) after the treatment, put them over an open flame for 10-15 seconds. The coin will tarnish and make the dried-out acidic look appear more natural and toned.
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Moderator
 United States
189340 Posts |
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IMO acetone not required here, the vinegar easily rinses off with a little water. And what gets rid of the residual water? Acetone.  Of course, patting dry a low end coin like this is not really problem. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
898 Posts |
Awesome results. I'll have to remember to look for some shields in the dollar bin in the future.
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Rest in Peace
United States
7075 Posts |
Thanks for the info. Yeah, I've got a little jar of dateless buffalos. I've had them since I was a little kid -- way back -- mid-century.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7375 Posts |
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Do you just soak them in the vinegar or use the method of freezing the vinegar first, etc? Ya know, I've done the freezing vinegar thing in the past, but frankly I just forgot about it this time. I just used regular vinegar and stuck it in the closet and forgot about it for a week or so. Quote:
Of course, patting dry a low end coin like this is not really problem Yea, failed to mention the 'patting dry with a towel' part. You're right, hard to make a coin like this worth much less |
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Moderator
United States
189340 Posts |
True. If anything, it is worth a tad more in that someone can fill a hole with it (knowing the date now).  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1315 Posts |
So you're telling me there was no date before you soaked it in vinegar? I'm in disbelief, that looks to be a full raised date?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7375 Posts |
The top edge of the date was barely visible, but 90 percent of the date was gone. The only thing I was sure of was 1800 something. I'm equally impressed with the fact the whole reverse appeared. The only part of that that was visible was the lower left portion, the rest was slick. I looked at the coin after a few days in the vinegar, and not much progress, then I freshened up the vinegar and put it back for a week or so, and BAM, everything appeared. I have another one soaking right now. It definitely works. Many use the 'trick' on buffaloes, but those dates are beefier, and I wasn't sure it would work on the smaller delicate Shield nickel dates. I verified the composition of buffaloes vs Shield nickels and it's identical, so I figured it was worth a try. Try it, it will work for you too. I've done it with totally dateless buffaloes. The only question is when to stop the vinegar process. I usually stop when I can easily read the date. Some use the frozen vinegar trick which is supposed to concentrate the acetic acid. Edited by edweather
02/10/2015 8:51 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8518 Posts |
The dates are very fragile when you do this also. Any rubbing at all and they're gone again. At least in my experiments.
Oregon coin geek.....*** GO BEAVS ! ! ! ***
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8137 Posts |
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Moderator
United States
189340 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
9792 Posts |
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The only thing I was sure of was 1800 something. I would hope so cause they only made them in the 1800's!  Nice restoration job, looks 100% better seeing some details and the date now. "Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1981, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC) & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS), USMex, Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector. See my want page: http://goccf.com/t/140440 |
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Posted 02/09/2015 1:11 pm
