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 Replies: 9 / Views: 1,951 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
687 Posts |
Some would argue that even thinking about cleaning a coin is a mistake, but I had three mint mark-less Buffalo nickels I found roll hunting that I thought I would try to restore the dates on. I'd never done it before so I thought it would be kinda fun. So I put them in a mason jar with some white vinegar and checked on them periodically. The two less worn ones showed dates around two weeks and at three weeks I started to see something on the third one so I took them all out. Third one looked like 1913 or 1918 - very faint and only at certain angles. The other two were clearly 1925 and 1926. I didn't do a before pic but the obverse of the third one looks like this (sorry couldn't capture the date on my camera):  No problem until I flipped it over and looked clearly at the reverse:  It took a little while to recognize it, but the reverse is clearly the type 1 reverse, so, in essence, I wrecked the oldest coin I've found in circulation needlessly!  It's not exactly a costly mistake, but I'm pretty bummed about it so I thought I'd post this as a warning to any prospective nickel soakers. Look carefully before you do it! |
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Moderator
 United States
16677 Posts |
Doesn't look too bad. I restore Buffs on a regular basis and just found a 1913-S Ty.2 White vinegar is usually a common method over months to restore Buffalo nickels date and mm. I use Nic-a-date to bring out the date first then use vinegar or other chemicals to get the desired result. swcoin.ecrater.com
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Pillar of the Community
United States
781 Posts |
i really don't think it's much of a mistake, other than not recognizing the type 1 variety. even without soaking, it's still only AG at best and wouldn't be worth much in it's unsoaked state. I think if it were a worthwhile variety that had been treated for date recovery, it would still be valuable. it's the undeniable proof that will make it worth anything. if you had a 1916 DDO that had been discovered only by date recovery, it's still a significant find and would still be worth quite a bit. that's why I almost always try to recover dates...because you never know... |
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Valued Member
United States
323 Posts |
Yes, no major mistake. If you had recognized the type 1 in the begining, it would be avioded; however, its grade is AG imo
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
687 Posts |
Oh, I know it isn't worth anything - regardless of cleaning. I have a side project going of creating a 20th century type set from circulation and I'm just irritated with myself that the oldest buffalo I've found no longer has original surfaces. The pics make it look better than it is. Oh well, maybe I'll get lucky and find another.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
870 Posts |
lol - don't fret, mate. Wait til I post the '23 Peace dollar I used brasso on many many moons ago! I've been trying it out in my pocket to try to bring some of it back! =) |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1291 Posts |
Gee whiz. If you're beating yourself up over what you did to one Type 1 nickel you'd probably want to murder me...over and over again!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
687 Posts |
No way weerdsteev, seeing your site is where I got the idea from! I think your work is pretty interesting to be honest. I only really cared about the coin because I found it, but really, I'm pretty much over it. Just wanted to warn anyone else who is planning on messing with their coins to make sure they look at them closely before they start.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1291 Posts |
Oh, swell. Now I've become an accessory to the crime...!  |
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Rest in Peace
United States
2668 Posts |
Yeah, arrest yourself and put yourself on house arrest.
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Replies: 9 / Views: 1,951 |
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Posted 05/27/2010 01:59 am
