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1943 steel cents problem. HELLLLP!

JTMCJTMC Posts: 253
in U.S. Coin Forum
i just recieved a roll of 1943 steel cents from an ebay auction and i am totally disgusted. the jerk described them as uncirculated and the pic in the add showed an empty tube with all the 43 steels piled up near it with most of them looking silver. when i opened up the tube and took them out the top one was ms and the other 49 looked like they were stored in iraqi camel poop for the last 60 years. hey for 31.00 im not loosin sleep but does anyone know if acetone is good to use on steel pennies or is there something else i can use thats safe on my lungs and the pennies. thanks
john

Comments

  • jonesyjonesy Posts: 5,031
    Email this jerk and demand he take them back. Uncirculated steel cents should not look like crap. If you can, post a picture. There will be more help to follow!! image
    Glenn
  • MadMartyMadMarty Posts: 16,697 ✭✭✭
    If he doesn't offer a refund, give him a neg!
    It is not exactly cheating, I prefer to consider it creative problem solving!!!

  • jonesyjonesy Posts: 5,031
    What I am saying is if he claimed the picture is what you were going to recieve, except nothing less. image
    Glenn
  • KeyrockKeyrock Posts: 961 ✭
    Acetone is a organic solvent and will only remove/dissolve some compounds. If theye are rusted (iron oxide) there is not too much you can do.
  • jonesyjonesy Posts: 5,031
    Do not work on these cents. Send them back!! image
    Glenn
  • JTMCJTMC Posts: 253
    i really did know better but i bid anyway knowing he had a few negatives. it didnt say in his add that these were the coins winner would receive but i took a chance because the bidding was so low. you know the old saying. THERE IS AN A$$ FOR EVERY SEAT. tag im it on this one. he will definitely get a negative. i was thinking maybe of letting them sit in olive oil for about a month. i heard this works on ancient coins and these pennies definitly look ancient. i cant tell if there is rust on them because there is a layer of crud on them. i dont really even want to touch them. GOD KNOWS WHERE THEY'VE BEEN. from now on im only bidding on slabed coins on ebay. atleast that way i have a prayer.
  • jonesyjonesy Posts: 5,031
    JTMC, can you post the site at ebay so others can see? image
    Glenn
  • PoseidonPoseidon Posts: 47
    It's most likely this

    Steel Cents
  • jonesyjonesy Posts: 5,031
    Well, From that I can say he did'nt try to hide the coins condition. The coins shown are circulated. The marquee says uncirculated. The guy went by what was on the tube. When you see this, you have to make your own judgement. image
    Glenn
  • prooflikeprooflike Posts: 3,879 ✭✭
    To me, they look like cr8p in the scan...
    image
  • dorkkarldorkkarl Posts: 12,691 ✭✭✭
    here again, if not corroded down to the steel core (ie just the zinc is just "spotted" w/ corrosion), a good coin-dr can make them look good as new. so the answer is YES.

    but your better off sending them back

    K S
  • Wolfy00002Wolfy00002 Posts: 471
    I'm not trying to offend anyone, but why on earth would you buy coins from someone who can't even sell a copy of a video tape without getting a negative (much less 25, and a couple of neutrals).
  • ksteelheaderksteelheader Posts: 11,777 ✭
    Another case of "live and learn". The pics on the auction show junk coins and that is what you bid on and recieved. I'm not trying to put you down. Just learn from what just happened to you. Everyone makes mistakes, even me....Ken
  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 34,344 ✭✭✭✭✭
    This is nothing that can "restore" steel cents once they have gone bad short of stripping them and resurfacing them. This resurfacing procedure has been going on for years. Since these coins are coated with zinc, oxidation of the metal is a major problem. Someday virtually all of them will tarnish.

    But hey if the one BU is a real gem I've seen slabbed ones priced at what you paid for the roll and more!
    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • Cam40Cam40 Posts: 8,146 ✭
    You could left a neg but they might neg you back.
    It wouldnt be worth it for a $31 roll of cruddy steelies would it?

  • airplanenutairplanenut Posts: 22,248 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I must say that he says they aren't all shiney, and the picture clearly shows that they aren't uncirculated... maybe you can get a return, but I don't think he is fully at fault.

    Jeremy
    JK Coin Photography - eBay Consignments | High Quality Photos | LOW Prices | 20% of Consignment Proceeds Go to Pancreatic Cancer Research
  • JTMCJTMC Posts: 253
    here are the jewels in the crown of my collection that i got from that ebay auction. by the way nice work on finding it. i dont know how to link yet. the reason i bit on these was because i saw previous auctions for uncirculated ones going for about 200.00 a roll. i saw these and took a chance that maybe the scan was just bad. i really didnt expect to see what i got. a feww look like something chewed on them. my pic might be small because i had to resize it down to a smaller size to post it here.
    john
  • JTMCJTMC Posts: 253
    like i said in my first post. there is an a$$ for every seat and my a$$ fit this seat. i do bonehead things sometimes and yet other times its pure genius.
    john
  • Wolfy00002Wolfy00002 Posts: 471
    If you're ever in the market for more rolls like that, I'll sell them to ya for half of what you payed. J/K. We all need something to learn from, atleast your wasn't that expensive.
  • itsnotjustmeitsnotjustme Posts: 8,779 ✭✭✭
    While the auction title may have been misleading, it looks like you got the coins in the scan. I know a dealer that will pay you 4 cents each for them. Let's see $2 per roll--you couldn't ship them for that!
    Give Blood (Red Bags) & Platelets (Yellow Bags)!
  • Conder101Conder101 Posts: 10,536 ✭
    From what I see in your scan, the "crud" is zinc oxide, the natural end result of the corrosion of the zinc plating layer.

    I would see if you could do a return and if not then just take your lumps. Yes his title called them Unc, but his scan showed clearly that they were not. You decided to gamble when the odds were against you hoping to make a rip. Well you lost. Yes his auction is slightly misleading, but you should have known better after looking at the scans. I don't think he deserves a negative because your attempted rip didn't work out, but possibly a neutral pointing out the misleading title.
  • JTMCJTMC Posts: 253
    i think i will just make a " STEEL TOILET SEAT " out of this roll.
  • dorkkarldorkkarl Posts: 12,691 ✭✭✭


    << <i>This is nothing that can "restore" steel cents once they have gone bad short of stripping them and resurfacing them >>

    billjones, 1 of the coin dr.'s in know can definitely restore the coin w/out resorting to "reprocessed zinc", but that is only if the corrosion has not etched through the original zinc layer down to the core. i don't know how it's done, but is 100% convincing.

    basically, once your down to the steel, ie "rust", it's hosed

    K S

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