Cleaned Coin - 1793 Chain Cent - Before And After

ive been proactive about learning how to do this for about 10 years. it started as curiosity and hobby. more recently ive developed enough confidence to work on a chain cent (or something similar) and not ruin history. the time involved means there arent a lot of coins that can be profitable.

with this coin I made about $2,000 on the final sale or ~$50 an hour. I have never been paid to do this type of work for someone else.

Big improvement on a rare coin.

Great job of CONSERVATION and a most worthy posting, to boot .... THANKS!

As a longtime collector of counterstamps, I've long and gently removed debris from the recessed areas as a form of conservation. The early coppers are particular susceptible to corrosion if left unattended.

First I want to say congrats on an excellent job of restoration and conservation Carrscoins! That is very impressive work and you obviously have a gentle touch.




I did a write up on xylene and acetone differences not all that long ago. For those individuals which are not experienced with working around solvents or that have certain health risks, should look at this post and see the link I put on it. Can't hurt at least, and you'll be more informed for reading it.

http://goccf.com/t/398235&whichpage=2#3412791

@CarrsCoins, I'm curious if you know what conservation method makes most of these coins the same blue/brown color. I find it strange that he only uses NGC for grading and his uglier(less successful) coins are raw. He also has CWTs that look the same. I did ask him about it and he said he uses BlueRibbon, which I have used on Indians and it did not "change" their color.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dk...&_nkw=indian

@ jerry picker - I'm not sure. I havent ever seen blue ribbon do that. a guy at a show once told me a story about an Indian cent hoard that was stored near the ocean and that all of the coins that came out of it were various kinds of electric blue. I have no idea if thats true. ive seen a fair number of bronze indians with that kind of color but not many large cents, flying eagles, copper nickel indians or Lincolns. I suppose it could have something to do with them being bronze instead of copper. maybe salt in the air and bronze in the coin makes that color?

@jacrispies - I have raspberry bushes and rose bushes in my yard. the thorns from those are amazing. when they are fresh cut they are strong and pliable but arent hard enough to scratch copper. great for picking the green gack out of the protected areas. dried thorns will scratch copper so they are just worse than metal tools once they dry. I also have some hypodermic needles, engraving tools and dental tools. you have to be very steady handed if using metal tools otherwise you can easily move metal and damage the coin. if you move metal you have failed as a coin conservationist.

First off, fantastic job @CarrsCoins! Substantial improvement for sure. I very rarely even touch acetone these days, my go to tends to be xylene. Acetone has its place though. I find xylene to be very underrated in the conservation process. That said, definitely work in a well ventilated area when using!!

@Jerry Picker, that blue/purple toning Mikes mountain always turns out is from MS70. The blues can be exaggerated when it is immediately rinsed in warm-hot water after dipping in full strength MS70. There are methods pre and post MS70 use to help alleviate the toning. Mikes mountain either isn't aware of them OR the more likely, it's intentional, given the premiums he's received from his AT coins.