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 Replies: 14 / Views: 1,528 |
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New Member
United States
6 Posts |
A few years back my wife told me she liked the new State Quarters and so, I bought her gold plated sets of what was available at the time. Fully encased in plastic from the Kennedy Mint and stored for a few years, this is how she found them today. It looks as though they have green fluffy corrosion forming on the edges of the coins, probably 15 coins are affected so far. Is there anything I can do to "repair" this?   |
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Pillar of the Community
3660 Posts |
My guess would be that those coins are gold-tone plated rather than gold plated.... as such, I don't know what the proper method or material might be to use... it might depend upon what that plating actually is.... I will be interested to see what some more knowledgeable folks have to say about this.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7123 Posts |
It sure looks like degritis, that would indicate to me that the plating has a large amount of copper in it, you can try acetone and then a distilled water rinse, if it successfully removes the degritis, change the holders for something more stable and check where you have them stored, the growth of bright green degritis is an indication of high humidity.
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New Member
 United States
6 Posts |
Thanks zeewool for your quick reply.
I must admit I can't be sure what type of plating process was used here but after some reconsideration it looks as though the corrosion might have been caused by some reaction from contact with the display container designed to protect the coins.
I don't want to do more damage by doing the wrong thing here.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6381 Posts |
Welcome!  Don't want to sound harsh, but these plated State Quarters are just novelty items. To collectors they are altered coins and are only worth face value. If you like them as mementos I suggest you look on ebay or elsewhere to find nice-looking replacements. Many novice collectors bought these or similar plated items thinking they had value and later sold them at a loss. You can probably pick some up at low cost. Then protect them from moisture if you want to preserve their looks. Your coins cannot be "repaired". I suggest you give them away, spend them, or deposit them at your bank. |
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New Member
United States
6 Posts |
Thanks for the suggestions MetalMan. No harshness taken Jaobler...I did buy these as a "novelty" just 'cause my wife liked the State Quarters. I don't think moisture is an issue in this instance though...more chemically induced maybe |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3278 Posts |
Same thing happened to all my post 1982 lincolns in my whitman folder
Bummer.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
958 Posts |
It could be cleaned off ,ecthed and " repaired " retoned gold.
Giant waste of time IMO.
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New Member
United States
6 Posts |
I would agree that would be a waste of time, coppertop5150
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Valued Member
United States
255 Posts |
Agreed with the above posters, best bet is to start over. too much work for little payoff.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4989 Posts |
Agree I would recommend discarding those pieces, take it as a sunk cost, and buy her a new set of genuine U.S. mint packaged or third party slabbed coins. Those will hold up much better and, unlike third party plated coins, will have some numismatic value.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
And I'm afraid  with all the replies so far. Hate to say this but looks like one of the many scams running around about those State Quarters. The so called Folders are really cheaply made with all sorts of unknown glues to put them together. Even the Folders them selves may well be made form papers that contain almost anything. Ever since thoes Quarters started there have been many unknown new manufacturers jumping on the so called band wagon making folders or holders for them. Since such companies normally don't make coin collecting items, they seldom know what is and what isn't good for coins and really don't care. The chances of those being made with any amount of Gold is really doubt full since Gold normally will not turn Green from normal moisture, air, etc. regardless of how much is present. IF you are relly interested in those State Quarters I suggest you check out coin shows or coin stores for actual, real, coins and holders. Quote:
Same thing happened to all my post 1982 lincolns in my whitman folder
Bummer.
Again as I've mentioned on this forum many times Folders are not intended for long term storage of anything. The process to make them contains to many possible, potential problems for coins. They are OK for kids or people that have no idea about coins but want to be like many others with a so called collection or hobby. If you don't want any further problems with your coins, switch to Albums. |
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New Member
United States
6 Posts |
Oooohh....that one stung a bit but I agree fully...it's obvious to me now that I could have prevented this by properly storing the coins even if they were of questionable quality...thanks for all the replies
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Pillar of the Community
United States
764 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
The thing is it isn't the gold that is corroding. The plating is very thin and if there are breaks in the plating that allow moisture (humidity) to get in you have the chance for electrolytic corrosion to take place and it is the copper inside the plating that is corroding. (which opens new splits in the plating and allows the corrosion to get worse etc.)
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Replies: 14 / Views: 1,528 |
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Posted 12/26/2010 12:58 am
