Could this half cent be restored/improved or should I just leave it alone?
coin22lover
Posts: 3,542 ✭✭✭
Since the greysheet is $2000 in good and $20,000 in VF20 I figured it may be worth a shot?
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I would say mostly left alone, except if the corrosion is still active. That would take a copper specialist to determine that. If it is, they have ways of arresting it. Removing it would only make this worse in my opinion.
Looks overgraded to me. You would get a details grade for the scratches and corrosion. It would probably look better if conserved thou.
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Also looks to have pvc on it.
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I agree. I think it can be improved.
peacockcoins
The obv. would have many more craters vrs. that horrid crusty corrosion. Pick your poison!
Right I think it's a VG+ details conservatively graded
I think it could be......................hit with a hammer, that is an ugly coin.
No matter what it is not going to be a pretty coin. I think something should be done about the corrosion.
Would Pcgs give its opinion on what they can do if they were shown the picture ?
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
Shouldn't the holder say tooled, rather than scratched? Looks like someone tried to smooth out the corrosion on the obverse.
Verdigris. I see no evidence of PVC. Green does not equal PVC on copper or nickel
That coin can't be improved. Leave it alone. If you can't enjoy it as is then sell it and buy something else.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
It can be improved. But at what cost? At VG details, it's $1000 tops, I would think.
What a mess of a coin. Even the "17" in the date can't save it. Pass!
I'd crack it and soak it in mineral oil for a year to see if the verdigris lifts.
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wow. that was my first thought verbatim!
If you lift the verdigris you'll be left with pitting in the surface of the coin. How is this an improvement?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
The potholes are there verdigris or not so it's still worth trying to remove the growth.
This.
If you leave the verdigris, it will continue to worsen over time. The only way to stabilize the surface is to remove the verdigris or wait for it to cover the whole surface and be thick enough to prevent further oxidation.
That is hard stuff and doesn't look active to me.
I would have it conserved.
I can't say who I would recommend !
If you have copper oxide and fresh copper nearby, it is still active. How do you think ancient coins develop patina? Instant oxidation of the entire surface?
Obviously, encasing it decreases the rate by decreasing access to moisture and oxygen.
Well, you can put lipstick on a pig, but at the end of the day, it's still a pig.
Maybe (probably) that's too harsh, but if you go down the conservation route, I predict you'll end up with a coin you still don't like that much and be a whole lot poorer. The holder doesn't add all that much so realistically there's no harm in cracking it out and going the mineral oil route.
If you're asking the question, it's obviously bugging you...... so sell it to someone who loves it more than you do, and put the money toward one you really like.
have you seen his other threads/coins?
this is on the high-end of quality.
Some Verdi-Care should remove or improve the verdigris, if you can find some. Not sure if PCGS conservation service removes verdigris. The coin would looks better but still have significant environmental damage.
Sell it and let someone else gamble with restoration.... Cheers, RickO
Will Verdi-Care strip away the originality of the surfaces resulting in a pink dipped copper look?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that much of the obverse design appears to have been scraped away. This is a major flaw that can't be fixed. As I said earlier in this thread, this coin is a dog and should be avoided. It will be nothing but trouble for the buyer.
I noticed that as well. I'd be worried about "authenticity unverifiable" but I'm also no expert in these.
Collector, occasional seller
i'm glad you asked i was about to comment and just remember it was blue ribbon i was thinking of. if verdi-care is the stuff copper guys use to put on the surfaces so they don't dry out, it won't turn em pink. i know some experts that like the SLATHER their copper with it. i think BR is a conservation chemical. about a mild travesty i still don't have them straight considering the dozens of extensive threads on the subject. some things just don't stick.
I had Verdi-Care change the color of a low grade verdigris encrusted copper hard times token about a decade ago.
I would never use it again, nor recommended it to anyone.
I've used longterm olive oil soaks in the past with mixed results on removing the verdigris. I don't think its PVC, but a quick soak in acetone will let you know... The resulting coin from "successful" oil baths still left a cratered landscape on the surface of the coin. Someone tried "smoothing" out the corrosion rather aggressively on this piece and did further damage... IMHO...
In my opinion, there is no redemption for this coin. Treating with Blue Ribbon or Verdigone typically alters the color too, but then I've also seen a number of "Dellered" copper pieces in an effort to restore some resemblance to original color...
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I wouldn't mess with it. If all else fails, let me know and I'll take it off your hands for 1,000x face value.
Early American Copper, Bust and Seated.
Leave it alone.
Dave
Since Larry Briggs owns SEGS, and has been involved in the EAC for many years, it may be that the coin has already been evaluated, and possibly some attempt at restoration has already been done.
Purely speculation on my part though.
Make Larry a former owner!
No it will not. I have had great success getting rid of light verdigris on copper coins. It could potentially get rid of most of the green on the OP coin and improve its appearance, but as others mentioned there is a lot of environmental damage that is permanent.
First you have to find some Verdi-Care - Good luck with that. The mean green has eaten into the coins surface so hopefully it is inert and won't do any more damage. I'd just leave it alone and keep an eye on it to see if it seems to get any worse.
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"