LordM's conservation attempt turns into a train wreck, and then is turned around with good results.
lordmarcovan
Posts: 43,602 ✭✭✭✭✭
Here is my most recent pocket piece. It had a bad spot below Vickie's chin that needed some cleaning. After attempting to remove the spot and discovering it was apparently some planchet impurity rather than plain old verdigris as I'd thought (or that the metal was ever so slightly affected by whatever caused the spot), I was left with an unevenly toned cleaned piece, and the spot stood out even worse. I thought it was a real train wreck. I did some more work on it and followed up with some sulfur/Vaseline paste and brought it back to a nice brown in the affected area, but figured I would carry it as a pocket piece for a little while and let it "even out". I followed that up with two weeks in a Taco Bell napkin on the kitchen windowsill.
The end result was better than I had a right to expect. It almost looks like a totally original coin now (hey, I said almost.) Of course it is 80% originally toned- I just retoned the area around the spot, where I'd played coin doctor, and left the rest of the coin alone.
The spot is nowhere near as distracting, now. If I hadn't just brought attention to it, would it have even caught your notice? Maybe so. but the affected area looks much better now. Still a neat piece.
This seems to be the week for nifty 1888 coins with me. 1888 is an interesting year. I think Ye Dead King of ours used to collect 1888 British coins because that was the year of Jack The Ripper's rampage in Whitechapel, and also because the triple eights are cool. I also know of one other person who is into US coins from 1888.
Ray (MrPaseo) lost his pocket piece, so I am offering this to him as a replacement.
I just discovered the Krause price is absurdly low on this thing. I thought it was a ten-dollar coin, but Krause says $2 in VF and I would call this F15... and partially doctored. Oh well. I just spent a month working on a buck-fifty coin at best. LOL @ myself. At least it was a learning experience.
As a rather disturbing PS, speaking of lost pocket pieces-
I did not lose my pocket piece above, but did worse- I have misplaced the crown jewel of my Holey Gold Hat- a Fifth Century Roman gold solidus of the emperor Zeno, with an Eliasberg pedigree!
I had to stroll the bourse at the Charlotte show without the Zeno on my hat. It would've been my first chance to wear it, too.
Oh, well. It is around here somewhere. Yikes.
I plan to look hard for it, since I am starting a Roman emperor portrait set and it will be nice to close it off with a gold piece, even a holed one. I figure I can keep the Zeno in my Roman collection album and take it out and wear it to shows on my hat.
If and when I find it.
The end result was better than I had a right to expect. It almost looks like a totally original coin now (hey, I said almost.) Of course it is 80% originally toned- I just retoned the area around the spot, where I'd played coin doctor, and left the rest of the coin alone.
The spot is nowhere near as distracting, now. If I hadn't just brought attention to it, would it have even caught your notice? Maybe so. but the affected area looks much better now. Still a neat piece.
This seems to be the week for nifty 1888 coins with me. 1888 is an interesting year. I think Ye Dead King of ours used to collect 1888 British coins because that was the year of Jack The Ripper's rampage in Whitechapel, and also because the triple eights are cool. I also know of one other person who is into US coins from 1888.
Ray (MrPaseo) lost his pocket piece, so I am offering this to him as a replacement.
I just discovered the Krause price is absurdly low on this thing. I thought it was a ten-dollar coin, but Krause says $2 in VF and I would call this F15... and partially doctored. Oh well. I just spent a month working on a buck-fifty coin at best. LOL @ myself. At least it was a learning experience.
As a rather disturbing PS, speaking of lost pocket pieces-
I did not lose my pocket piece above, but did worse- I have misplaced the crown jewel of my Holey Gold Hat- a Fifth Century Roman gold solidus of the emperor Zeno, with an Eliasberg pedigree!
I had to stroll the bourse at the Charlotte show without the Zeno on my hat. It would've been my first chance to wear it, too.
Oh, well. It is around here somewhere. Yikes.
I plan to look hard for it, since I am starting a Roman emperor portrait set and it will be nice to close it off with a gold piece, even a holed one. I figure I can keep the Zeno in my Roman collection album and take it out and wear it to shows on my hat.
If and when I find it.
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*Whew*!
HUGE sigh of relief!
You can bet I'll wear it with pride to my next coin show.
8 Reales Madness Collection