1854 altered Brothel cent
Dallife
Posts: 75 ✭✭✭
I know this coin is in pretty bad shape but it's a cool history piece. I wanted to know if dipping it in acetone will brighten it a bit?
I purchased this coin from a local coin dealer/shop.
I read up several old posts about acetone and purchased some but have not used it on any coins yet. I definitely don't want to damage this one any further.
4
Comments
"Brighten it a bit"?
If there are contaminants, especially ones that will continue to cause damage, then acetone is a good option.
But an old copper coin with an original patina should not be "brightened".
Looking less " dull" or something. I obviously have no idea what I'm talking about 🤦♀️
A general rule of thumb:
If it is "Not Safe For Work," it is probably not safe to post it here.
Generally.
Your coin is cool, and the artistry is decent compared to some.
peacockcoins
just about anything you do to "brighten" it will make it that way for decades to come and doing it a little is rather challenging. i'd leave it as-is. it looks pretty close to what it is supposed to look like. thanks for the warning about the NSFW, i haven't seen one of these in a while.
I'm not a copper guy but isn't there something that copper collectors use on their coins to improve them? I think it's Blue Ribbon or Copper Care or similar and it shines it with an oil which also protects and preserves it. I would never dip old copper or clean it with acetone.
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
Going...
Smitten with DBLCs.
Yeah, @Dallife , you should probably censor or remove the photo.
There are a few out there trying to put date sets of these together!
I'm really bad at figuring out sarcasm or for real sometimes... Like right now 🤯
Really?? What are the year spans for them? I've never seen another one
Also be warned that they recreated these years later. I think the originals were made close to the date on the coins, but they were also made decades later as souvenirs, and maybe some were made more recently.
But yours has good color, so probably very old.
The moderators might help you sort it out if they see this thread.
I've seen a few on Canadian large cents from the 1880s and 90s.
delete the pic,for real
yeah, they like to keep it pg-13 or so... that coin is RIGHT OUT
Edit: I see the offending image has been redacted... good idea.
What's that red crud on the reverse?
Too late. I can't unsee that coin.
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've got 2 of the obscene large cents, A no date head of 1844 and an 1855. If someone is collecting these things by date, let me know. Peace Roy
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Sorry guy's, I had no idea and thank you very much for helping out. Makes me NOT want a coin like that. The history behind it is interesting though.
I've got two or three of them, but I don't share them in public.
Lol the OP put a pastie on it 😆😆
This would go great with the potty dollar that’s on eBay right now. Let’s just say it’s an eagle. (Of the the spread variety) which will offend the majority.
Why is it a (Brothel) cent? I mean what makes it that way? Looks likes like maybe it’s just graffiti🤷♂️.
If you try to “brighten” the coin there’s a high probability it will end up looking pinkish which most collectors try to avoid.
Mr_Spud
Ironically mine's an 1858 flying cent.
So not sure if it is a recreation or an original.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/quarters/PCGS-2020-quarter-quest/album/247091
Not a brothel token. If it were, anybody could fake it at the cost of one cent plus a little crude tooling. Just a popular bit of rude graffiti.
Thank you @CaptHenway . I guess title of this thread is a bit confusing.
At least the OP fixed it where we can't see it all, jmo
Considering this common large cent alteration and all of the potty dollars, I always felt it was strange what passed for humor in that era.
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 have one of those.... Do not recall the date, will check later. A forum member sent it to me years ago. Cheers, RickO
I have one of these that someone here on the forums sent me 15+ years ago. It was gunked up around the edges of the lettering, so I soaked it in mineral oil and used a rose thorn on it. It looked better and the color stayed pretty much the same chocolate brown.
This is what I meant
First, I am not sure that language is going to work in any form.
Second, I've never heard that explanation for them. Seems like a bit of fanciful conjecture.
The Numista listing is pure fantasy (or wishful thinking). This type of light weight pseudo-information will always be the downside of crowd sourced material just as it is with tokencatalog, the initial renderings of Wikipedia and many other open source sites.
I have handled several hundred of these alterations on various cent types over the years -- no telling how many some of the large & small cent specialists have seen. I also have a small group of earlier cents with all types of colorful counterstamps from Bollocks on in several languages which also will not be posted to satisfy the prurient interests of the few (many?).
Never heard the Brothel tale as I thought it was to make a devaluing statement during the Panic of 1857.
These are more the tokens I associate with the term "Brothel Token"
https://historyofyesterday.com/the-currency-used-in-roman-brothels-22830e6a4745
I know of no historical text associating these damaged coins with use in a brothel. What would prevent an enterprising young man from altering dozens of them with the thought of getting a relative "freebie"... or, a "Lady of the Evening" making them just to take a night off! Seems like an easily circumvented business model to me... or, just complete BS.
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@Dallife In a gentle tone: agree or not but postings with that kind of language are not tolerated on this forum. Best to clean it up - as you did with your original posting - before you come to the attention of the mods. As mentioned above, PG-13 is a good reference.
Smitten with DBLCs.
We've had numerous large cents like this over the years in varying degrees of quality. Just products of random folks with dirty minds and time on their hands. Not a "brothel token" because if that were true all a patron would need to do is alter a large cent, go in and save himself $2.99 for his evening of sport. By the way, that Numista listing is wrong in calling it "demonetized" as well.
RIP Mom- 1932-2012
It wasn't free, it was proof of payment the guy would give the girl.
I'm definitely not saying that's what happened for sure, just what information I read up. But because people started altering them for the value they used to have they lost all value all together. And that is what I read on other websites because I normally look at several. I didn't think this one was worth anything and just wanted to preserve it.
Ooops, I did it again. I fixed it. Now I'll just put the coin back in my purse and forget about it
This is the problem with rumors or incorrect information on the Interwebs. Other sites pick it up and keeping repeating.
Guys like this who spend all this energy arguing whether or not it's a brothel sundry or not probably have no need for one.
I don't think anyone was arguing. More like informing lol 😊
Has anyone owned or seen a MS grade example of one of these altered pieces? Just wondering if it's only seen on worn examples.
Once they become altered, they become pocket pieces so it's not surprising most show wear.
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
As Abraham Lincoln once said, "Never believe everything you read on the Internet!"
I've seen examples that look like they were done more recently, ie the area of the modification was rubbed etc. I conjecture that a lot of the ones done in the 19th century may have been done around the time of the Civil War, when you had whole armies that when they were not trying to kill each other were loitering around bored chitless in camps with nothing better to do but carve up coins to amuse their fellow soldiers.
So is this good or a shame???:
No comment from me on this one so I guess I'll 'See you next Tuesday".
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