1909-S VDB

Hi panzaldi, I would use VC on the whole coin if it was me, I think it will look much better.

Great looking Key date Lincoln, looks VF-30/35

One other thing you may try is take a soft tooth brush while the VC is on there and lightly go around the sides to help break up the build-up.

BadThad...isn't V-Care your product? if you recommend not using it, I'm going with you on this one. I have been afraid to do anything to this coin since I owned it. I dont think the crud on it is corrosive. also, I love my coins raw, it sits in my complete Lincoln set with all its brothers and sisters and looks beautiful there. . I'm going to wait for a couple more grades to come in before I reveal what I grade it.

Super nice coin. XF 40-45.
If it was mine I'd get rid of the crud with veri-care
and put it in my album.

Yes, it is my invention. I only recommend it as an alternative to paying for conservation services and to save less valuable coins. Leave conservation of high dollar coins to the pros. This coin is nice and original, let it be. That said, the residue is a simple organic grease and not corrosion. It would be easily removed in seconds with VC and a toothpick. But you also run the risk of making it looked like it's been worked on....not worth the risk IMO on a $1200+ coin.

Funny, the first words in my head upon seeing the coin were 'Verdi-Care' - but if BT says no, then that's what I'd go with.

I would send it in to be certified, and potentially conserved (but that's just me).

XF-45

Pay pcgs extra for their conservation service upgrade
Leave it to the experts

Panz, get the beauty out if the blue folder and into a slab IMO

Sweet penny

If you are in the business of selling coins based on grade, then don't touch this coin. Send it off to be graded, then hide it in a safe until you sell it. Even light might damage it over time, so minimize your observations of the coin and never, ever actually touch the coin.

If you collect coins and perceive the history behind it while viewing the artisitic details, then clean it up (gently) and admire it. Learn how to "conserve" your coins. (Experiment on the very common ones that are made up of the same metal groups, and not just the ugly dirty ones. Try your techniques on bright shiny common coins.) Get a digital microscope so you can view what you are doing on a big screen while you are doing it. It is a skill worth learning if you really enjoy your set of coins.

In a hundred years, when you're dead and gone, someone else will come across it and your efforts to clean it won't matter one bit as long as you didn't use a brillo pad or harsh chemicals. Your coin is more likely to be destroyed by the method of storage (some type of plastic) than gentle cleaning.
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I have only one reason for TPGs... is my coin genuine? Wasn't that their original purpose? Now, they are just a marketing scheme.

I would love to find a shiny coin from the civil war era, but I'd rather have a coin used by the infantry man to buy his last pair of boots, or saved his life by stopping a bullet.