Aluminum bronze question - darkside
mumu
Posts: 1,840
First, Id like to say I think more US coins should be struck in alum-bronze. It has a great look to it. Almost like a thin paper gold wrapping. But my main question is, does mineral oil work the same way on alum-bronze as it does on copper or is there a different risk/reaction to this alloy? The coin sparking this question is a darkside coin pictured below. I am wondering oif the "stuff" in the 1-3am region is something i should worry about and take care of somehow?(Theres a lot of slab scratching as well but I think the spotting im referring to is clear)
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it for granted that coins minted in the millions must survive in huge numbers because
they are so new and attrition hasn't had a chance to whittle them down. What they
don't realize is that almost no coins were set aside and attrition rates are staggering.
Virtually 100% of an issue can be degraded in less than a decade and many of these
modern issues have then been melted down to make refrigerators and consumer pro-
ducts.
A coin like this one would have cost only a few dollars or less in the recent past so
more were lost. Attrition on low value collectiobles is far higher than on valuable ones.
This 10 centimos with a mintage of 2,000,000 still lists for only $45 in typical (choice) Un-
circulated condition. Aluminum bronze often strikes up very beautifully like this one did
so it might not even be considered a gem. Of course you need something to compare
it to and this will prove a big undertaking.
Many moderns from before WW II (most world moderns start right after WW II) were
brought home by American service personal who collected coins. Typical coins used to
be more common but the gemmy stuff in base metal never was often seen.
I've had some success with acetone or isopropyl to clean this type of metal but for a
coin like this one it might be good to wait for someone with more experience. My pro-
blem with mineral oil is the great difficulty in removing it. I'm not sure a very sensitive
alloy like aluminum bronze will be stable after using oil.
The reverse of this coin is almost more beautiful than the obverse. They go together well.
Mumu, I would not touch the spots with any chemical unless you find it is active PVC contamination.
<< <i>Cladking, the coin is a proof and worth "a bit" more than $45.
Mumu, I would not touch the spots with any chemical unless you find it is active PVC contamination. >>
I should have guessed but I've seen so many PL aluminum bronze coins that
it didn't even occur to me. I've never seen this one in unc and they are none
too common even in Fine. I've got a nice AU somewhere though.
It's a remarkable coin and being proof takes nothing from it.
<< <i>
<< <i>Cladking, the coin is a proof and worth "a bit" more than $45.
Mumu, I would not touch the spots with any chemical unless you find it is active PVC contamination. >>
I should have guessed but I've seen so many PL aluminum bronze coins that
it didn't even occur to me. I've never seen this one in unc and they are none
too common even in Fine. I've got a nice AU somewhere though.
It's a remarkable coin and being proof takes nothing from it. >>
I think a PL gem if graded might see more than the proofs at auction.
<< <i>
I think a PL gem if graded might see more than the proofs at auction. >>
I don't know how tough this one is. There are a lot of these "extremely common" coins
that I've put a lot of effort into finding and was never able to find. A few aren't even avail-
able in poor condition. But I've never put a lot of effort into this one and just keep my eyes
open for it. I've never seen one.
It's true that it's entirely possible that someone is sitting on a bag of them but people who
suggest this should consider that there aren't any bags or rolls of most moderns so why
should there be one of any specific one. When you see a roll or a bag it's invariably an al-
ready common coin.
I searched for years for a common 1957 Greek 50L and never could locate an Unc. Now days
Greek coins of this era go for upward of $1000. This might still sound like a common coin to
many people here but when you factor in the very low demand it's a truly remarkable price
indicating very scarce coins.
<< <i>Wow! What a beautiful obverse design. >>
Agreed. Reverse is nothing to sneeze at either. Beautiful coin.
And they just strike up incredibly, too.
I love finding an aluminum coin in my local dealer's discount bin or when I get a pound of mixed coins.
<< <i>
<< <i>
I think a PL gem if graded might see more than the proofs at auction. >>
I don't know how tough this one is. There are a lot of these "extremely common" coins
that I've put a lot of effort into finding and was never able to find. A few aren't even avail-
able in poor condition. But I've never put a lot of effort into this one and just keep my eyes
open for it. I've never seen one.
It's true that it's entirely possible that someone is sitting on a bag of them but people who
suggest this should consider that there aren't any bags or rolls of most moderns so why
should there be one of any specific one. When you see a roll or a bag it's invariably an al-
ready common coin.
I searched for years for a common 1957 Greek 50L and never could locate an Unc. Now days
Greek coins of this era go for upward of $1000. This might still sound like a common coin to
many people here but when you factor in the very low demand it's a truly remarkable price
indicating very scarce coins. >>
I think there is just a big difference in the paradigms of the originating countries of these coins in the way collecting is done compared to the US. I think the less developed market and the less overall importance on collecting is what keeps a lot of these coins underground. Another Uruguay issue for example that I collect I spent 4 years looking for the proof version and I couldnt even as much find evidence of its existence outside of 1 single auction nearly 10 years ago. Then by a matter of sheer luck i came across 3 in the same week! 2 froma dealer in Argentina and one here in the US on ebay. I bought 2 of them at the time and could have had the 3rd for less than what I paid for the other 2 but bad pictures on ebay and possible damage kept me away. Mintage on that particular piece may be as low as 200 so it is somewhat understanable, but I was surprised how they tend to come out of nowhere and in multiples.
edit: Just to add the interesting story of sheer luck mentioned above. i messaged the seller on ebay who was asking 3x what the going rate for a certain coin was. I wanted to buy it but thought his gouging attempt was snarky and I wanted to let him know that it was a 20$ coin not 60$. He responded kindly despite my snarkiness and mentioned how rare the coin was and somehow mentioned its proof counterpart. This caughtmy attention and I started asking questions about what he knew about the proof. He answered some questions and haphazardly then emails me again and says, by the way I have 2 of them. He sent over some scans which had the coins looking really beat up but I took a gamble and they turned out to be monsters.
his scan:
my pic: