Acetone Pro's - To Dip Or Not To Dip?, That Is The Question.

So I got this Fugio. I was able to (imo) steal it because it doesn't photograph well.

I love it! I wish I could keep it in my collection, BUT I'm afraid I need the money, so I bought it with the express intent to flip it.

So the challenge began to figure out how to figure out this bad girl to make her look as she looks in hand. For those interested in photography, you might find interest in the following. For those who are not, please skip ahead to the punchline at the bottom.

First, my standard photography set-up.





As you can see, it doesn't look like much. There is AU detail there if you can see it through all of the distracting porosity. The bottom star is complete! Are you kidding me?! All of the numerals on the sundial? Wow! And all of the beads on the base - this thing looks great!

(I'd love to keep it.)

But that ain't good enough. In hand, this thing looks amazing. A nice black patina over bright copper showing through on the high points. It looks corroded, but it could be that or just a poor planchet. Or some of both.

So I decided to give natural lighting a try. Propped it up on a dime roll and shot against my desk (which is a pretty, orange wood covered in some kind of laminate film or something).





And that's MUCH better! That's a lot more like what this coin really looks like. So good! But you can't really make out some of the details still. So I shot her on an angle:





And there we have it. I think you can actually get an idea of what this coin looks like in hand. There's nothing like holding it in your hand, but if that's not possible, these pictures are a decent second.

So now I have to find a dealer who has a buyer, or a collector who can't live without a nice 15-Y (starred reverse) Fugio for their collection. The 15-Y is not a super common variety, but it's not incredibly rare, either, making it, I think, desirable to a larger number of colonial collectors. There aren't a lot of people who are going to collect every variety of Fugio - but this one definitely falls into the list of major varieties most collectors would like to have if they're going to get more than one.



SO NOW THE QUESTION:

This black patina looks like the kind of gunk that should lift off easily with acetone. My first reaction is yeah, see if it will come off!

BUT since I need the money and I've figured out how do decently photographically represent her, I could leave well enough alone and see if the pictures will sell the coin for me.

OR do I take the risk and see what's under this stuff in hopes I'll like what I see? Or that the color will be better enough that it could make this one even more attractive?


To dip or not to dip...