I Cleaned One....

now you can sell it on ebay as Gem BU, like many bad sellers do

Worst...suggestion...ever Baking soda is highly abrasive to soft silver.

Yeah, good thing you did it with a melt value coin.

I simply cannot believe the words of encouragement I'm reading in this thread. Yeah, I get it - unimportant coin, melt value, why not?

What kind of shape was that Roosevelt in, under the patina? AU? MS66? At what point do we say, "OK, fine, this one isn't worth preserving for a hundred years in the future?"

More 1916 Lincoln Cents were produced than 1954-P Roosevelts. Today, less than a hundred years later, it's pretty easy to find a 1916 Lincoln that's worth $400. An MS63 Red is worth $50.

I'm not one of those who advocates the "hands off under any circumstances" school of thought. The next coin I clean or otherwise alter won't be the first. But the response should fit the situation, and an abrasive never fits the situation. If you're gonna act on a coin, pretend that there will still be coin collectors when you're gone, and consider your responsibility to them.

Chances are this wasn't a Mint State coin, and chances are they'll still be plentiful in 2054. Unless the current run-up on gold & silver continues for long enough to make coins like this "common date" silver become a rarity simply because nobody worried about how many would be left when they were done melting them....

An appropriate response for this coin would be a diluted thiourea solution as BadThad suggested. Yeah, it might have killed it anyways, but at least you'd have found out what was actually under the patina, rather than dictating what was going to be under the patina as the OP did when he ground the surface off of it.

Sheesh.

Folks, thanks for all the comments.

As I work my way toward the 50 post level so I can buy here on the site, I should have known better to stay away from controversial topics....

After looking at the coin in my album, it looks about as out of place as it did before cleaning. Before cleaning, it looked ugly next to the naturally toned coins. Now, it looks out of place as it is too shiny compared to the naturally toned coins.

I'll probably just sell the ugly ones as they are and replace them with better specimens.

Regards,

Mark

Iowa,

What's important is if YOU like the looks of that dime. I've cleaned up silver Rosies and Mercs that I've found while metal detecting that look similar to your coin. I wouldn't do it to a valuable coin, but for one that is only worth melt what the heck. It is YOUR coin do what makes you happy. Sure, maybe try some less abrasive methods in the future first, but if they don't work (or you don't want to bother with them) go right ahead and use baking soda.

The best option. In my opinion, the best way to improve a coin is to buy a better one.

(Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. BadThad and SuperDave have enough experience to know what those exceptions are; I do not).

Prior to getting rid of that or others similar, try my system of putting on a piece of raw wood, on a kitchen window sill. Preferably facing South. Of course the results are pending many things. Such as an open window, humidity in the air, how often food is cooked, what type of food is cooking, etc. I've found many such coins end up toning down exceptionally. Takes a while but it does USUALLY, not always, works.