1866 Shield Nickel, Rays And...

Nice coin.

Looks like it may have been buried, at least it does appear to have some environmental damage.

It looks to have been cleaned.

Probably should treat the green stuff at the date.

Love the die crack. OD letters on reverse are probably Struck Through Grease.

Probably Post Mint Damage on the bottom of the 5.

My guess would be XF Details.

Another vote for XF details. Light corrosion. Don't know if that's verdigris. A soak in acetone may help.

Shield nickel, rays and....Longacre doubling.

Brian... what kind of strike issues? Is this a double strike error? Look at the five... and on the front, I was wondering if that was a repunched date. I bought some acetone today from CVS, just as so many have advised, and will apply it soon to this coin and the 1829 Bust Cap half. I appreciate your wisdom...

The black stuff in the date are most probably salts of copper and nickel; that is what you would naturally expect Most of these salts are blackish or greenish.

Is it verdigris? Most probably, some of it is copper based. The fact that is is a copper nickel alloy may slow down the progression of 'copper disease'.

Actually verdigris is a complex and variable double salt, otherwise known as
copper hydroxycarbonate. Black sulphide salts of copper and / or nickel often show up as very dark or black in colour, not green, which seems to be at least some of the case here.

By way of experimentation, put a droplet of vinegar (ascetic acid) on the black area of an old nickel that has no value to you, such as an old Buffalo nickel which are quite often black in appearance, and observe.

Having said that, if I had a rays nickel like the one pictured, and with some of the schoolboy chemistry that I do know, I would be still be VERY reticent to do anything at all in terms of treatment.

I have been trying to track down a rays nickel for some time now, and yours is way above the average condition I have met with these coins.

After much internal debate, I took the proposition to my friend that the coin did not quite add up to XF status. Considering the wear on the horizontal lines, the scroll work and the tips of the leaves, I lowered my assessment to VF, which also lowers the cost of the coin. When I laid out my case, my friend agreed and we struck a new deal at a lower price. It's hard to find a good coin from this strike, despite the fact that over 14 million were struck that year and many people hoarded them.