Need help with problem medal
Rob85635
Posts: 1,230 ✭✭✭
I recently got a mini horde of medals and tokens. I would like to know if anyone has any idea what happened to this and if I can try an acetone or e zest dip. The damage does not appear to be grime or actually on the surface but I am not sure. I am looking to sell this lot of stuff but this one looks horrible and would hate to list it like this but I also don't want to make it worse. Thanks for any help.
Rob the Newbie
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Comments
It looks like it was sitting in contact with something that reacted with the surface.
The medal is common. I count 19 on eBay at the moment, with multiple examples under $25 shipped. Throw it out and get a new one, if you want one in better condition: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380680.m570.l1313&_nkw=donna+pope+medal&_sacat=0
Have you tried washing it with warm water and a clear dishwashing detergent such as Dawn? It might just be surface dirt and grime. If that doesn't work, I suggest that you try acetone next and if that doesn't work, then try e-Z-est or similar coin dip. If that doesn't work, use it as a pocket piece for a while. Let us know what you decide and how it turns out.
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
It seems to be combination of wear (on the obverse), reaction with some object it came in contact with for a long period (also the obverse) and deterioration from storage in a hostile environment (both obverse and reverse). It has little value in its current condition and not much if it were perfect. I would just put in my junk box and move on.
It could be a fun and educational project to try cleaning it up. It doesn't cost much in the way of time and cleaning materials to experiment on it especially considering that it's a low value medal.
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
Try the time honored Brillo pad.
Just be happy it’s not a 1949 Harry Truman inaugural medal. The tissue paper that was used to pack the pieces caused this to happen if the piece was stored in it for too long. That resulted in making a medal that might have worth a few hundred, worth very little.
I dont think conservation is going to help very much. You could try acetone soaking as it wont hurt and possibly MS70 gently rolled on but dont think the black surfaces will budge much.
I have a nice one of these, in the original box. Shoot me your address and I will send it to you free of charge.
Your medal reminds me of the deterioration caused by a certain type of foam. Over a long period of time in contact with a medal, it will stick to a medal and then eat into its surface and cause discoloration and corrosion. That’s what happened to a bunch of the Churchill medals like below. Their original packaging had the foam and many of those medals have the one-sided discoloration. I am not sure if that’s what happened with the OP medal.
Also, a lot of these large US Mint medals from the 1970’s on, show up often with wispy black streaks, even when sealed in the original US Mint plastic. I am not sure what caused it, but it ruins otherwise decent medals.