How to safely dip Civil War Tokens? [If at all]
AlbumNerd
Posts: 193 ✭✭✭
I recently acquired some gorgeous-looking Civil War Tokens. I don't know much about them but this is an excuse to learn more about this series.
Some of the coins however are showing signs of PVC damage. I was thinking about dipping them in acetone, but I'm unsure if this series's materials will react negatively.
Any advice is appreciated. As well as insights on what I have is extra rare or special! I'm curious if some are worth getting graded.
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Comments
All four are common (Rarity 1 to Rarity 3) die combinations. The top piece is always interesting as it is the only CWT that mentions slavery. I'll let the rippers and dippers handle your conservation questions -- I'm mostly just a shipper.
Acetone shouldn't harm your tokens. It may not help them either, they don't look so bad.
your best option is to leave these as they are-
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
I've handled a lot of CWTs over time. Acetone will not hurt any of them (I wouldn't do anything else to them however), though from what I can see, I question whether they all need it. The top and bottom ones, yes. Oh, and FYI the bottom one also looks possibly cleaned-again based on the image. Perhaps better pics/lighting might change that opinion. FWIW
RIP Mom- 1932-2012
Those Civil War Tokens look fine the way they are. Don't dip them. If you strip away the original surfaces, I don't think you'll be happy with how they look. As the moderators say to me, "You've been warned."
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
Dipping copper and bronze is always a crap shoot with the results often coming up snake eyes. I don't think that messing with these tokens would do anything to improve them. That is especially true for tokens two and three which are okay the way they are.
The first one, the anti-slavery token, could darken over time. A coin doctor might play with it with sulfur, but I can't see an upside. I think the #4 has environmental damage.