1888-O "Hot Lips" Morgan Dollar Grading Opinions Please?

to the Community!

I'm with @panzaldi and @ericgreen, put it in pure acetone overnight and rise with distilled water. There is no learning, just don't wipe it or anything. It may not need conservation after that. I agree with mid-AU as well. It does not seem to have much luster.

Great looking Vam-4 better than any of the Hotlips I've handled in the past. Acetone isn't something that is to be afraid of, just careful in handling as it is very flammable and the fumes are dangerous. putting it in acetone won't change it, colors don't change unless the coin has been painted with AT chemicals or the like. Acetone is for removing organic verdigris, such as PVC residue, and glues or adhesives. It doesn't change the color at all, it can cause an issue if it removes some gunk and the area under the old gunk is preserved or lighter, causing it to show through now the overlaying issue is gone.

I run 90% of all my coins through a minimum of a quick acetone rinse and leave to air dry (in seconds), it will remove organic stuff that can and will cause issues in years, yet are non-apparent now (finger grease, PVC, spittle drops, tiny spots of adhesive, microplastics, etc.). No real skill is needed just swish around in acetone and set aside to dry. That's it. Easy. - Use a glass or ceramic bowl, and get your acetone in quart or larger sized metal cans at the local hardware.

Don't go to ebay as shipping is trouble for a chemical like acetone. You can find it at any Lowes, Ace Hardware, or Home Depot, even Walmart. Price has gone up a bit since I last bought a quart it was around $5.00 pre covid, today I'm sure it's more expensive, Home Depot here in Dallas sells a quart for around $10.00 now. (A quart should last you a lifetime). I've used maybe 1 and a half pints on coins and other items over the past 15 years, still have over half the can full.

here is a past thread where acetone is discussed in depth, also conservation of copper coins:
http://goccf.com/t/404457

and an old thread of mine on what it's really good for:
http://goccf.com/t/370336

It only took 5 months, but here is the result of the conservation:




I had it conserved and graded at ANACS and then graded by PCGS, so if anyone wishes to venture a guess at either grade I will post them later this week. Thanks as always all!

Looking good!

I would have said au55, but if that is off the table, au53!