| Author |
 Replies: 21 / Views: 3,890 |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
7375 Posts |
My hand couldn't help but pull 3 dateless Shield nickels from the dollar box at my LCS a couple of weeks ago. Had this one in vinegar for a week or so. The date was unreadable, and the reverse was almost worn slick except from 6 to 9 on the edge. I was surprised the tiny date on it showed up as well as it did, and the reverse is almost totally visible including the big 5 and all the stars.   Edited by edweather
02/09/2015 09:07 am
|
|
|
|
Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
 what brand of vinegar ?  |
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
7375 Posts |
Acme XXX brand   the strong stuff!! I think I remembered it from a Road Runner cartoon Just regular 5% white vinegar  Edited by edweather
02/09/2015 08:44 am
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2189 Posts |
I think I have a few dateless kicking around, so I may give it a shot with the white vinegar.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5172 Posts |
If I ever get another dateless Shield nickel, I'm definitely trying this. I don't want to mess with my only "rays" nickel (bought for about Twenty Cents incidentally). |
|
Rest in Peace
United States
7075 Posts |
Will the vinegar contiue to eat away at the coin in the future or did you give it an acetone rinse too?
I've got several dateless coins that have only sentimental value. It might be fun to try this but I'd hate it if they were destroyed. (I'm such a chicken.)
|
|
Valued Member
United States
301 Posts |
Always cheap fun! My son found the only Shield nickel we have found roll hunting. You guessed it, dateless! Did the same thing, and.....the same date!! |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
7375 Posts |
Quote:
Will the vinegar contiue to eat away at the coin in the future or did you give it an acetone rinse too?
IMO acetone not required here, the vinegar easily rinses off with a little water. |
|
Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5172 Posts |
Quote:
I've got several dateless coins that have only sentimental value. It might be fun to try this but I'd hate it if they were destroyed. (I'm such a chicken.) Are they nickels? This method is pretty nickel-specific (it depends on some chemical properties of cupronickel). It definitely doesn't work on (high-purity) copper, and as far as I know doesn't work on silver. I believe it was originally developed for Buffalo nickels (which suffer from unfortunate date position, and are very often found dateless). Edited by january1may
02/09/2015 1:12 pm
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
509 Posts |
Do you just soak them in the vinegar or use the method of freezing the vinegar first, etc?
|
|
Pillar of the Community
861 Posts |
The fastest way (less than 5 minutes) to restore the dates/details is to use 1/2 Vinegar and 1/2 Hydrogen Peroxide. The solution will turn green/blue. (secret) after the treatment, put them over an open flame for 10-15 seconds. The coin will tarnish and make the dried-out acidic look appear more natural and toned.
|
|
Moderator
 United States
187862 Posts |
Quote:
IMO acetone not required here, the vinegar easily rinses off with a little water. And what gets rid of the residual water? Acetone.  Of course, patting dry a low end coin like this is not really problem. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
898 Posts |
Awesome results. I'll have to remember to look for some shields in the dollar bin in the future.
|
|
Rest in Peace
United States
7075 Posts |
Thanks for the info. Yeah, I've got a little jar of dateless buffalos. I've had them since I was a little kid -- way back -- mid-century.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
7375 Posts |
Quote:
Do you just soak them in the vinegar or use the method of freezing the vinegar first, etc? Ya know, I've done the freezing vinegar thing in the past, but frankly I just forgot about it this time. I just used regular vinegar and stuck it in the closet and forgot about it for a week or so. Quote:
Of course, patting dry a low end coin like this is not really problem Yea, failed to mention the 'patting dry with a towel' part. You're right, hard to make a coin like this worth much less |
|
Moderator
United States
187862 Posts |
True. If anything, it is worth a tad more in that someone can fill a hole with it (knowing the date now).  |
| |
Replies: 21 / Views: 3,890 |
Posted 02/09/2015 08:23 am
