Straightening "bent" coins
logger7
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Some years ago I had a $10 early Bust eagle that was a PCGS MS61 that the dealer said should upgrade at NGC come back as "bent". I asked him if there was a way to fix it. He said he could try, sandwiching it between plexiglass in a vice, but no guarantees, he would charge $100 for the service. I said not worth the chance. He sent it back to PCGS with the grade insert and it came back as a straight MS61.
I have a Bust dime that came back as bent, it is hardly noticeable. Is attempting to straighten silver, gold or copper nickel coins always going to be very hard to do without damaging them permanently as metal has a memory?
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There are several threads here mentioning bent coins, However I do not know how to post one of those existing threads. The knowledge is here, seek and you will find.
. Search function at the top of the coin forum page, Type in straightening bent coins.
some 'bent' coins have abnormal wear, and even if straightened will always get the bent status.
Two small wood blocks and a Mallet is as much as I'd risk on a nice coin. That plexiglass in a vise thing is a prescription for disaster if/when the plexi shatters and gouges the coin.
RIP Mom- 1932-2012
Two thick leather pieces placed between a vice with the coin centered.
Easy does it.
Works well on silver and copper. I don't know about gold, although it should as gold is softer.
I like your leather idea, emphasis on the "thick" part though.
RIP Mom- 1932-2012
I was thinking about trying this with a leather mallet and and a soft cloth layer above and below the coin. Mine is a copper CWT that won’t be sold. I want to get rid of the bend without messing up the brown patina.
My personal method of choice?.....
Always remember to wear eye protection.....
Works For Me....
Time Tested!....
The problem with using wood or leather face plates in a vice or mallet is that these
will put more force on the high points of the coin.
If there is a low field opposite a high point, that field will get raised as the high point is pushed in on the opposite side.
So you will get wavy fields instead of flat fields.
Yes, I discovered this by trying it once.
One way to solve this would be to make copy die shaped face plates from a straight coin
(with the same date and mint mark position!).
Could be done with heated plastic.
The copy die face plates would put pressure on the fields, so that they end up flat and not wavy.
I've been tempted to try restoring a couple of half dimes that had holes punched into them,
resulting in a raised ring around the punched area. But such a coin is not going to look normal even if flattened.
It just would fit into a holder a little more easily.
I'm not sure it deserves being a holder!
Probably better just in a little junk jar/tray.
My particular problem coin that came back as "bent" a Bust dime, was hopefully fixed partly with the recommendations here. I sent it in today with a few others for grading, so should know this season whether I was successful.
I have used the leather method as suggested above by @braddick and it worked... Though the coin (a silver quarter) was not severely deformed. Cheers, RickO
I think this is the way to go.
How about plexiglass sandwiched in a vice? I tried that on the bust dime and it seemed to be better and undamaged.
Some past discussions
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https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/631518/bent-coins
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https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/945035/experienced-help-needed-to-fix-a-bent-coin
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many more here: https://forums.collectors.com/search?Page=p3&Search=bent
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I used the plexiglass method, sandwich bust dime in a vice and the graders did not flag it as such, but still is "cleaned".
Saw this post ( the leather option) and tried it on a small silver coin recently and it worked nicely!