Early Copper Question no. 1

asheland

Does anybody know what this gunk is?
mostly on the reverse

Manifest_Destiny

General crud that will eventually develop into verdigris if not cleaned off with olive oil and a camel hair brush.

johnny9434

That may clean up nice for ya. On the hand one does not wanna pay grading fees again. Fwiw 🖖

savoyspecial

to me, this one looks improvable...given the provenance chain, I'm a bit surprised Butternut didn't already do that

Walkerguy21D

@savoyspecial said:
to me, this one looks improvable...given the provenance chain, I'm a bit surprised Butternut didn't already do that

Exactly what I was thinking.
As he’s a hardcore EAC guy, I’m surprised it wasn’t judiciously brushed.

I agree some of the old Blue Ribbon would likely remove that crud. Or perhaps even acetone.
Would not likely take care of the “cleaned” issue that PCGS saw though.

jesbroken

If you are going to remove it from the holder to soak it(realizing that is not a very quick job), I would send it to PCGS for restoring. Far quicker than a long term soak and then using a thorn or something similar. Only additional expense would be the restoration fee. JMO
Jim

lkenefic

If you crack it, acetone may or may not work. I haven't had great experience with just acetone. It will certainly remove any residual oils or surface crud but the dark gunk in the devices is a bit more stubborn. The old Blue Ribbon would likely work best but I haven't been fortunate enough to have won any of those auctions, and I sort of balked at paying nearly $200 for a bottle. I have used Classic Coin Conditioner with mixed success... about as successful as Olive Oil soaks (weeks to months) and a rose thorn. It's also dependent on the nature of the grime. Sending it to PCGS for conservation would definitely be the least hassle on your part.

asheland

Interesting discussion…. Did they used to wax coins back in the day?

It seems like wax to me…

Anyway, as far as cracking the coin and so forth, it’s not my coin, it’s just one from stock at the shop I work at, but I’ve always wondered what that stuff was, and I thought it would make a good discussion here. 👍

Manifest_Destiny

@asheland said:
Interesting discussion…. Did they used to wax coins back in the day?

Shellac.

jerseyben

Im not so sure I agree that this coin has been cleaned (at least not from the pictures). IMO, this is a great candidate for a "coin care" type solution.

asheland

@jerseyben said:
Im not so sure I agree that this coin has been cleaned (at least not from the pictures). IMO, this is a great candidate for a "coin care" type solution.

I had to look at the picture to remember which coin this was. Indeed, the picture shows a coin that looks very original, but at a different angle when the light hits it, you can clearly see where it’s been lightly polished.

originalisbest

@asheland said:

@jerseyben said:
Im not so sure I agree that this coin has been cleaned (at least not from the pictures). IMO, this is a great candidate for a "coin care" type solution.

I had to look at the picture to remember which coin this was. Indeed, the picture shows a coin that looks very original, but at a different angle when the light hits it, you can clearly see where it’s been lightly polished.

Good point as to how one image only can paint a picture to your advantage/disadvantage, whether buying or selling.

asheland

@originalisbest said:

@asheland said:

@jerseyben said:
Im not so sure I agree that this coin has been cleaned (at least not from the pictures). IMO, this is a great candidate for a "coin care" type solution.

I had to look at the picture to remember which coin this was. Indeed, the picture shows a coin that looks very original, but at a different angle when the light hits it, you can clearly see where it’s been lightly polished.

Good point as to how one image only can paint a picture to your advantage/disadvantage, whether buying or selling.

Very very true!
If I remember, when I get back to the shop on Monday, I’ll get that coin out and take a picture of it at the angle, showing the cleaning, if I remember.

originalisbest

@asheland said:

@originalisbest said:

@asheland said:

@jerseyben said:
Im not so sure I agree that this coin has been cleaned (at least not from the pictures). IMO, this is a great candidate for a "coin care" type solution.

I had to look at the picture to remember which coin this was. Indeed, the picture shows a coin that looks very original, but at a different angle when the light hits it, you can clearly see where it’s been lightly polished.

Good point as to how one image only can paint a picture to your advantage/disadvantage, whether buying or selling.

Very very true!
If I remember, when I get back to the shop on Monday, I’ll get that coin out and take a picture of it at the angle, showing the cleaning, if I remember.

It's one of the reasons (short of being able to examine in person at a show or shop) that I really value the trend of simply rotating the coin under good light, quick front and back views, and posting a short video. Of course not every coin is worth the effort to do that, but those that are worth it, I'd think it can only help sell the merits of the coin.

originalisbest

Barber Halves (first example that comes to mind) can be notorious at hiding mid-grade hairlines and slidemarks in images of them. A few times I've sent such back for a refund, it happens. On the other hand, sometimes a poor photo does an injustice to a great coin -- poorly lit, too dark, light making it appear to have a problem, etc. TomB (a Barber enthusiast-expert) once posted about a really poorly shot half that he BIN'd right away -- taking the educated guess/gamble that from what he could interpret from the lousy image, it was a really great coin (and it really was! Especially after viewing his ideal photo of it.)

gumby1234

First thing i thought when looking at the coin was cleaned. I hadn't even looked at the slab label. I was more interested in seeing the gunk on the coin.

asheland

@asheland said:

@originalisbest said:

@asheland said:

@jerseyben said:
Im not so sure I agree that this coin has been cleaned (at least not from the pictures). IMO, this is a great candidate for a "coin care" type solution.

I had to look at the picture to remember which coin this was. Indeed, the picture shows a coin that looks very original, but at a different angle when the light hits it, you can clearly see where it’s been lightly polished.

Good point as to how one image only can paint a picture to your advantage/disadvantage, whether buying or selling.

Very very true!
If I remember, when I get back to the shop on Monday, I’ll get that coin out and take a picture of it at the angle, showing the cleaning, if I remember.

I just remembered…

Cleaned:

originalisbest

Still doesn't look "wow what a horrible coin" cleaned, if anything I'd blame the light for being too bright before faulting the coin -- probably it's much easier to judge in hand. Thanks for sharing the pics!

asheland

@originalisbest said:
Still doesn't look "wow what a horrible coin" cleaned, if anything I'd blame the light for being too bright before faulting the coin -- probably it's much easier to judge in hand. Thanks for sharing the pics!

Happy to share the pictures! 👍

But yeah, I would consider it to be a light cleaning myself, but clean nonetheless, there is definitely much much worse out there.