1902-S Morgan Dollar Found in Bank Roll Need Help Please as to condition

Christos

This is a friends coin and his images from his Iphone. They are not that good for luster etc because of lighting but he said he can see cartwheels. The issue is the black tarnish, The coin spent a full 24+ hrs in acetone with no affect. This being a key date what are some of the options for restoration. He is not that familiar with the safe process for dipping and I do not have the coin in hand. Any help will be greatly appreciated. I also know this has the double olives on the reverse but with the dark tarnish I have not been able to say for certain what the VAM is , there are not many listed for this date and you never know we might find a new one.

coindeuce

Whatever that is on the surface of the obverse, it isn't going away with acetone. You may want to try a small amount of diluted MS70 on a small area, to see if it will loosen that crud. It certainly does not look like patina, but rather some foreign substance Do not use Jewel Luster or or EZ-est on that coin. It will strip away whatever luster is there long before that dark foreign matter goes away. It looks to me like either buildup of tanning residue from long storage in a leather accessory, or possibly nicotine from either pipe or cigar tobacco. The diluted MS70 would be more effective if it is nicotine, rather than tanning residue. and one would have to seriously consider what the underlying surfaces will look like even if the crud comes off easily.

AUandAG

xf40 details?

bob

kaz

Pouring scalding hot water on it might loosen some of the gunk, and certainly would not harm the coin. Good luck with that one!

robertpr

IMO that might be a good candidate for professional restoration.

lasvegasteddy

this might be best condition for eye appeal right now

without all that black swamp crud things could get worse

Christos

My concern is that it may have been in a hot location and converted oils on the surface to a carbon substance. Not hot enough to color the coin but just enough to " caramelize " the surface, like sitting on top of a heater duct in a basement.

My other thought was to do a soak in olive oil because it is just slightly acidic and see if that stuff comes loose. I do have a silver dip that has only had silver in it, in fact if I put copper in it the surface of the copper will attract a very light layer of the silver. I have use this to in essence replate some non numismatic items.

Kaline6

What's up with the edge? It looks cast. Is it ex-jewelry? Is it a counterfeit?

Wabbit2313

Environmental damage and no fixing it. Also, unless your images are whacked, something is wrong with the shape of that sucker!

Christos

<< <i>Environmental damage and no fixing it. Also, unless your images are whacked, something is wrong with the shape of that sucker! >>



As I stated the images are not mine and are taken with an Iphone. I know lighting is off and the image is at an angle. I do not have the coin in hand so am unable to say anything about weight look etc.

Christos

<< <i>MS details, env damage. Nothing will salvage that. Too bad. >>



Should this turn out to be a real Morgan it is still a cool find. It was in a roll of Morgans at a pawn shop.

jmcu12

I would start with blue ribbon. While it is not as effective on silver I have found that it is not just for copper anymore.

ricko

That coin is a disaster..and even appears to have PVC damage (ear and other spots)....You could try professional restoration, but likely it will look even worse.... Cheers, RickO

BillJones

EF-AU sharpness, but environmental damage. I don't think the coin can be fixed because the problems are more than skin deep. It might be one of those "Oh wows!!!" for a beginning collector who are going through a silver dollar junk box, but it's really just a filler for the date.

asheland

SeatedHalf1839

Just dip it...lol

BAJJERFAN

That coin has "smelter here I come" written all over it.

messydesk

C4/C3 reverse, nearish date, perhaps VAM 5. There are no premium varieties for 1902-S.

AU+ details, but as others have said, the black stuff ain't coming off. It's a great coin for a hole filler until a nicer specimen comes along, and a great find for a bank roll (assuming it wasn't one of those eBay scam rolls). When sold, you won't get full AU money for it, but it's still a semi-key date.

pmac

<< <i>IMO that might be a good candidate for professional restoration. >>

johnny9434

thats different for sure.

golden

<< <i>EF-AU sharpness, but environmental damage. I don't think the coin can be fixed because the problems are more than skin deep. It might be one of those "Oh wows!!!" for a beginning collector who are going through a silver dollar junk box, but it's really just a filler for the date. >>