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 Replies: 56 / Views: 5,458 |
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Valued Member
United States
325 Posts |
I'm pretty sure I got this among a bunch of supposedly "junk silver" coins from a dealer. I was just trying to buy silver, and only years later decided to take a close look at the individual coins. A bunch of them are very worn or very cleaned and somewhat worn, and are probably worth roughly their bullion value. But quite a few others are dirty (or not so dirty) and are 19th century, and in pretty good shape. The one pictured here is probably in the worst shape of the most valuable ones I found.   Edited by Pauldog
01/07/2019 11:29 am
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Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
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Valued Member
 United States
325 Posts |
Thanks, John. I was having trouble posting both pictures in the same frame, so I posted the reverse in a reply.
From the little I know about grading so far, it's better than "Good" (which seems to me to mean "pretty worn out, but you can tell what it is and see the date"), and worse than "Very Fine." But is it VG or F?
It's pretty cool to have something this old lying around the house. It's either my oldest coin, or very close to it. And it's my only seated liberty coin. I have a bunch of Barbers, but ony one Seated.
Edited by Pauldog
01/07/2019 04:44 am
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Valued Member
United States
325 Posts |
One more thing...
Would it hurt it to do the kind of cleaning that just removes dirt? I've read about using olive oil or something else relatively mild like that.
My first inclination is to do nothing.
Edited by Pauldog
01/07/2019 04:46 am
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Moderator
United States
34423 Posts |
Quote:
My first inclination is to do nothing. That is a very good first inclination; however, a bath in pure acetone (no rubbing) might be an ok thing to try. Since you have so many slicks, you could practice on a couple of them to get the hang of it before potentially ruining a coin with value above melt. "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
It is certainly quite grotty.
Perhaps a dip may help. No big risk to value if you do. Proceed in small time steps, rinsing after each step. Reasoned circumspection is the name of the game.
Try acetone first, but I don't think it will do much good.
I wouldn't use olive oil, because that stuff is mildly acidic, and will darken it further over time. Olive oil best used with ancient bronze coins to soften encrustations, but even in this case, ancient bronze coins will darken over time.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
987 Posts |
Quote:Speaking of grotty, here's my Barber half dollar - in better shape, but more dirt. I like that look. As stated above, acetone soak with absolutely no rubbing is okay, but beyond that any attempt to change the appearance would be easily detected by other collectors and hurt both the appearance and value of your coin. |
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Moderator
United States
56855 Posts |
Pauldog, You are right about good meaning pretty worn out. The grading scale is 0-70,the lower the number the more worn it is. John1  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
772 Posts |
Edited by ty88ty2
01/07/2019 08:29 am
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
18681 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
G details (environmental damage).
Edited by Coinfrog
01/07/2019 10:01 am
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
36800 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8715 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11896 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3479 Posts |
I'm fairly certain that is ED on the eagle on the reverse. But it's hard to determine the difference between gunk and ED from photos. The person with the coin inhand is the best judge. So Take the coin and hold it under a light source at an angle. Move it around until light reflects off of the coin in your field of vision. If you see depressions, like something has eaten into the coins surface, then it's ED. If those areas are raised then it's most likely gunk buildup.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2125 Posts |
Textbook G-6. And yes acetone soak should get the dirt off.
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Replies: 56 / Views: 5,458 |
to CCF. Going to need a pic of the reverse also. Here is a good source on grading 
Posted 01/07/2019 04:38 am
