1837 Capped Bust Dime

Hi dsfreeworld, it looks like nice crusty originality to me. You know my preference is to leave them alone without the soak; soak only if there is something that is causing damage. I prefer my coins au naturale.

I am not sure about it being mint state. The pictures kind of look like there is rub on the cap and the eagle's wings. I am not familiar with these so it could also be a weak strike strike.

I look forward to see how others chime in on this pretty coin

When SSDD talks, people listen! He is da man on da cleaning advice.

Not so sure I like being the "go-to" guy on coin cleaning....

The vibrance of the green color on the reverse scares the stuffin' out of me. Even at AU50, if this makes a "righteous" slab it's still a $400 coin. My guess is the gouge on the shield might make it a Details coin, though. Either way, that green needs to go away before submitting or they'll refuse to slab it at all.

Here's what you do, dsfreeworld: Acquire a quart of acetone from Home Depot or Lowe's, in the paint section. Treat it like gasoline for storage purposes, and do this operation in a well-ventilated area like your garage or the bathroom with the fan on. Drop the coin into a shot glass, fill it with acetone and cover it with a little pane of glass to prevent evaporation - this stuff is volatile as heck and it'll evaporate quickly.

Latex kitchen gloves will provide sufficient protection for your fingers, but don't soak your fingers as it'll eventually break down.

Have a second shotglass or something reasonably small (so as not to waste acetone) to serve as a quick rinse after a soak; use that rinse only once each time. Have a magnifier handy, so you can see the "infected" areas clearly. Give the first soak two hours, pull the coin and swish it immediately in the rinse (which you pour immediately before use). Then lose both the original soak solution and the rinse solution; acetone is miscible with water so you can safely pour it down the drain while water is running, but give the running water plenty of time to wash it away. Rinse both glasses under pressure, as well, to "blast" away any crud that's been deposited.

No need to ever use water on the coin itself; acetone evaporates cleanly and leaves no residue once the PVC infestation is gone. I don't expect one soak will do the job, though.

Have a look at the coin under magnification, with a toothpick - even better, waste a couple dollars on a grocery-store rose to obtain thorns (tell the hubby you want roses but don't tell him exactly why), and porcupine quills work wonderfully if you happen to have a porcupine handy - and pick at the areas where you can still see green. Acetone softens the crud, and you should be able to physically remove what you still see.

Once this is done, repeat the two-hour soak/rinse/magnification/hubby's roses. This second soak should likely make the job "look" done. But I put that term in quotes for a reason. This is where you start a third soak, and this one goes overnight. Two consecutive quick rinses in the morning, and then go over it with a fine-tooth comb with all the magnification you have to bear. You can expect there to be smaller dots of PVC in areas not even visible in the photos above, and you need to make sure that nothing is left on the coin or it will just come back.

That should do it. Do not be afraid to repeat those two-hour soaks as often as necessary before the overnight; the acetone will not harm the coin.

Please forgive me; I'd mistaken myself for conversing with CoinsKelly for some reason.

no worries

If sent in, I think may come back EF-45 details possibly AU-50 details. While the coin has a nice crusty look, it is dark in spots and may be labeled environmental damage by the graders. The scratch on the reverse doesn't help either.

EF-45 in my book, with a fair chance at being slabbed problem-free. The new photos make the scratches more noticeable and surfaces look less original. Other than the removal of green spots, has the appearance of the coin really changed as much as the before-and-after photos suggest?