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 Replies: 10 / Views: 998 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1582 Posts |
Is there anyone on the forum with a coin that shows this type of stuff on it? I've no idea as to what it may be, nor did I even notice it until I enhanced the scan. I think it's very unsightly, but I'm always hesitant to clean a coin. Any suggestions on how I may remove this foreign matter without damaging the surface of the coin? Any help will be much appreciated - thanks. Ralph Image:  1888 Morgan.jpg95.96 KB Image: 1888 Morgan Rev.jpg95.72 KB |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Try a soak in water first to see if it dissolves. If not, use a toothpick to try and gently loosen the debris. If that fails, let it sit in an acetone bath for a while. If that doesn't remove it, it probably wont come off in a method that is gentle to the coin  |
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Forum Mom
 United States
5877 Posts |
I believe that's old PVC residue. I would suggest soaking it in pure acetone (not nail polish remover). Do not rub the coin. Acetone does not damage silver. This would be safer, in my opinion, than attempting to remove it with a toothpick and I don't think water will do anything. Be sure to be a in a well-ventilated area.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1582 Posts |
I haven't gotten around to getting any pure acetone yet, so I decided to see what a water soak would do. After about an hour or so of soaking in distilled water, I patted it dry with a cotton ball, and took the attached scans to show the difference. I think the coin might have been dropped into some kind of food stuff, the surface wiped clean, and the material that settled into the recessed areas dried and hardened. As you can see, most of whatever it was has dissolved, and lifted from the coin. I think I'll let it soak in the water overnight, and see if the rest of dissolves. Thanks for the suggestions. Ralph Image: 1888 Morgan.jpg93.14 KB Image: 1888 Morgan Rev.jpg99.5 KB |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1295 Posts |
Wow that's a nice improvement!
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Forum Mom
United States
5877 Posts |
Definitely an incredible improvement. I guess I was wrong...  |
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Valued Member
United States
287 Posts |
The coin looks great now. Maybe more soaking and cleaning will give it an artificial look. This coin now has still an aged look and I would be very happy with the improvement.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1582 Posts |
Everybody's entitled to be wrong once. I doubt it happens very often with you.
I'm kinda chompin' at the bit - wanting to see what it looks like tomorrow morning after an overnight soak.
If it gets rid of all the "stuff" on it, I'll post it over in the grading section. I already have it ghraded and listed on my sheet, but I always like to read the opinions of others - especially if they differ from my own.
SusanLynn, I don't know if I ever thanked you and Bobby for this forum, and for accepting me, so I'd like to do that now. I've gained a great deal of knowledge here, and my education has just begun. Thank you.
Ralph
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1582 Posts |
Silver Dollar - I got to thinking about what you said about more soaking making it look artificial... I went ahead and took it out of the distilled water around 15 minutes ago, scanned it again so you can see the final results. I'll post it over in the grading section to avoid redundancy from additional scans here in this section.
Looks like a different coin now; however, the soaking also lifted some of the surface dirt, and now it's possible to see small scratches from a previous cleaning - when the cleaned the gunk off of it, I guess. Still and all, soaking it definitely improved it's appearance.
Ralph
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Valued Member
United States
287 Posts |
Ralph,
I will be courious to see the scans. I think it will look just great, you are cleaning so very carefully. You must take so much pride in coin collecting as I do. I treat each coin as a newborn baby, with tenderness and a gentle touch.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Glad to see that it worked Ralph. I was searching the Heritage website the other day for Seated half dollars and I saw one that had an appearance almost exactly like yours- it was in an ANACS holder marked "glue residue" and that is why I suggested the water soak first  |
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Replies: 10 / Views: 998 |
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1888 Morgan.jpg
1888 Morgan Rev.jpg
Posted 10/19/2006 11:47 am
1888 Morgan.jpg
1888 Morgan Rev.jpg
