how can I retone a copper cent??

ar18

Along, along, along time ago when I was a kid I bought to XF 31 S lincolons, being a kid and wanting them bright and shinny I cleaned them with jewel luster, they look like , well you know, is there anyway to turn them back to a nice brown color again. I don't want to sell them and I know it has lowered their value, but these are parts on my 2 sets and they stand out big time. Thank god I didn't have the 14-D's and S VDB's then. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Jeff

Gonfunko

I bought an 1834 Large Cent off of eBay and it arrived somewhat cleaned. Since it stuck out like a sore thumb in my album, I used it as a pocket piece for a while but without much success. I finally did get it to tone up fairly well. If you have a Mead Five Star Binder, put it on the fabric for about 2 weeks. When you take it off, it should have toned up nicely. Then you can tone the other side. Beware - the toning will rub off at first, but with time it becomes more permanent. I don't have a before and after of the large cent, but here's the "after":

kranky

Someone once told me about a product called Deller's Darkener. Has anyone tried that?

Gonfunko

Deller's Darkener = . Unless you like really dark brown turds in your collection. If I could only use Deller's, I'd leave 'em cleaned.

TomB

I wouldn't dismiss Dealer's Darkener so quickly. Of course the coin will turn quite dark, but it's an EF coin that is over 70 years old. These should be dark to a degree or even very dark. I have never used Dealer's Darkener but I did buy a complete IHC and Lincoln cent set from a person who had cleaned all of the better dates in each series. They had all been VG8-EF40 coins and were all horribly skinned. I sold the collection, for him, to a dealer who told me he was going to use Dealer's Darkener on the coins. Two weeks later, when I saw the dealer again, he showed me the complete cent sets with the newly darkened cents. While they did not look compeltely original, they looked much, much better than they had. You can still find Dealer's Darkener at many shops and at shows, it isn't expensive.

ar18

I really appreciate the responses so far, not sure about dealer darkener due to the mixed opinions, anyone else have an idea, I went back and did a search and saw an egg envelope idea with no real info, anyone know if this works and how to do it? Thanks

Jeff

P.S. is there a way to spell check you post before sending them?

jacktheknife

I wouldn't use any of the potions prescribed. I would put it in your pocket for the rest of the summer and fall. Each time you are making change be sure to handle the coin, but put it back in your pocket. Yes, it may take a few points off the grade in the end, but look at it this way, it's near worthless the way it is.

Jack

LincolnCentMan

Bury it in the flower pot. Water twice a day. Be sure there's a plant in the pot. Ok, it probably wont help the coin, but at least you'll have a nice plant.

I have a polished 1921 morgan dollar that I'm carring around in my pocket. In a year or two it'll probably move from a AU details Net VF to XF. I know it's not worth much of anything either way, but if I can wear it down to a PO1, maybe one of the guys on the board will give me a K for it. Well, ok, maybe not...

David

ar18

bury it, I have heard of this before, but won't it turn brown with green spots??? Copper and water turns greenish right??

Jeff

dorkkarl

if used properly, deller's can be pretty convincing. most people who don't know any better think you can just slather it on & perform miracles, but such is not the case. you gotta know what your doing.

you might try an age old trick. get some old-style matches, the wooden stick kind, burn 5 of 'em, but them at the bottom of a coke bottle. lay the coin on top. after a few days, it should tone back. do the same on the flip side. it's an old coin doctoring trick that again, if you know what your doing, works.

K S

BillJones

So long as a copper coin has not been polished, you can try this.

Place the coin in an envelope that is NOT made with sulfur-free paper. Let the coin stay there for at least three or four years. After that time you might get a pretty natural looking coin. You can try to speed the process up by using surfur on the coin, but the resutls will almost always look "doctored."

This worked for me when I was collecting half cents by die variety. I bought a couple of pieces that were better varieties that had been cleaned and stored them this way. When I got around to upgrading them they looked decent enough to sell as no problem pieces.

If the coin has been polished you are pretty close to dead. All you can do is carry it as a pocket piece for a while and wear it down to the next grade if you want it to look natural. Otherwise you will have to deal with it as is.