Can this coin be conserved?

spyglassdesign

I did a quick dip on this coin as it's toning was ugly (IMO). Unfortunately one small area is left that I can't seem to get off. I tried a q-tip with some solution to see if I could gently wipe it out but that didn't work.

Opinions on if PCGS can get rid of this? Otherwise its a nice sample... no toning present on reverse.

Thanks!

Before:

After:

privatecoin

I would guess it would likely leave an obvious mark if it was able to be removed.

spyglassdesign

@privatecoin said:
I would guess it would likely leave an obvious mark if it was able to be removed.

That's what I'm afraid of... Otoh it's in a somewhat busy area so maybe it won't be distracting.

A little more info: under a loupe it seems to be mostly in cracks and crevices, not so much on the surfaces.

coastaljerseyguy

Maybe a Redfield dollar with peach juice caked in. If the dip and Q-tip didn't work, doubt it can be removed.

nwcoast

Might try a long soak in acetone in case it’s some organic matter.

spyglassdesign

@nwcoast said:
Might try a long soak in acetone in case it’s some organic matter.

As I understand it acetone won't affect the surfaces, correct?

PerryHall

Have you tried a long soak in acetone? If that crud is organic, the acetone may dissolve it. If the acetone only softens it, you may also want to gently work on that crud with a sharp toothpick or a rose thorn.

spyglassdesign

@PerryHall said:
Have you tried a long soak in acetone? If that crud is organic, the acetone may dissolve it. If the acetone only softens it, you may also want to gently work on that crud with a sharp toothpick or a rose thorn.

I would need something smaller than a toothpick. Perhaps a thorn might work. I'll try an acetone bath today.

nwcoast

@spyglassdesign said:

@nwcoast said:
Might try a long soak in acetone in case it’s some organic matter.

As I understand it acetone won't affect the surfaces, correct?

Acetone will not affect the silver adversely and is much less invasive than the dip.

PerryHall

Acetone won't hurt your coin. Good luck and let us see how it turns out.

spyglassdesign

@PerryHall said:
Acetone won't hurt your coin. Good luck and let us see how it turns out.

Thanks. I always try to show the results good bad or ugly. I've learned a lot from this forum and it's members and if my successes or failures help someone else in the future, all the better 😁

1madman

I would send it to NGC and have them do the conservation. They have done an excellent job conserving gold for me lately, removing all the problem spots.

spyglassdesign

It's been in acetone for only a few minutes and it's already a huge improvement. 🤞

PerryHall

Are you sure that's the same coin?
Before you go to bed tonight, change out the acetone with fresh acetone. It should look great by tomorrow morning. When you're done soaking it, you can do a final rinse with acetone which will quickly evaporate from the surface.

spyglassdesign

@PerryHall said:
Are you sure that's the same coin?
Before you go to bed tonight, change out the acetone with fresh acetone. It should look great by tomorrow morning. When you're done soaking it, you can do a final rinse with acetone which will quickly evaporate from the surface.

I know... It was shocking how fast it started working.

Will do thanks!

Sapyx

@spyglassdesign said:
I know... It was shocking how fast it started working.

If acetone is going to work at all, it usually starts working straight away. An hours-long soak rarely works better than a couple of minutes.

LanceNewmanOCC

i didn't read the whole thread so maybe it is already said and/or you already know, if you have acetone uncovered in a large amount, MAKE sure you get some ventilation.

glad the acetone munched that crud right off of the coin so easily.

spyglassdesign

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
i didn't read the whole thread so maybe it is already said and/or you already know, if you have acetone uncovered in a large amount, MAKE sure you get some ventilation.

glad the acetone munched that crud right off of the coin so easily.

Seems a good portion of it so far. It's in a sealed jar, but yes good to mention ventilation for others that might read this.

spyglassdesign

I went ahead and took it out and rinsed it with distilled water and dried it. It looks 100x better. And saved some money sending to PCGS or NGC for conservation

jayPem

I'm going with yes.

vplite99

Great job!

PerryHall

It looks great! The obverse looks like a MS64. Not sure what the reverse looks like.

ricko

That coin now looks really good. Acetone is always my first 'go to' dip for contaminated surfaces. Will not affect the metal, or normal tarnish. But is a demon on organic contaminants. Thanks for the before, mid and after pictures. Cheers, RickO

spyglassdesign

@PerryHall said:
It looks great! The obverse looks like a MS64. Not sure what the reverse looks like.

Thanks! It was actually in a pcgs ms64 holder before but the toning was so bad (imo). Now it's more presentable.

[Deleted User]

@ricko said:
That coin now looks really good. Acetone is always my first 'go to' dip for contaminated surfaces. Will not affect the metal, or normal tarnish. But is a demon on organic contaminants. Thanks for the before, mid and after pictures. Cheers, RickO

Also, if a toned coin is sitting in acetone and you shine a light on it, the light will penetrate the toning better while it's wet, allowing a better look at the surfaces underneath. It's not perfect, but it works well enough for me to determine if a coin is a candidate for a dip, or best left alone.

ricko

@Atcarroll ... That is an excellent tip... I have noticed that phenomena before, but neglected to mention it. I do not think it will reveal everything, but certainly allows better evaluation. Cheers, RickO

spyglassdesign

@Atcarroll said:

@ricko said:
That coin now looks really good. Acetone is always my first 'go to' dip for contaminated surfaces. Will not affect the metal, or normal tarnish. But is a demon on organic contaminants. Thanks for the before, mid and after pictures. Cheers, RickO

Also, if a toned coin is sitting in acetone and you shine a light on it, the light will penetrate the toning better while it's wet, allowing a better look at the surfaces underneath. It's not perfect, but it works well enough for me to determine if a coin is a candidate for a dip, or best left alone.

Interesting. I'll definitely keep that in mind next time! Although in this case once I cracked it out I was going to dip it regardless, but good to know for future!