More conservation pics before / after
jonathanb
Posts: 4,167 ✭✭✭✭✭
The conservation example I posted last week was impressive but also unhelpful. Despite some people making reasonable guesses about the 'after', I still don't think that anyone should have expected the results that I got.
Here are a couple more examples that should be much more useful. I didn't "expect" good results, but I was at least hopeful with these.
Both of these are gilt medals. As you can see in the 'before' pictures, they were coated in crud. There might be a technical term. I think that both of these show a form of PVC damage. I've had good success with removing PVC on my own using acetone, but sometimes there's a cloudy film that remains that acetone doesn't help with.
Gold is supposed to be non-reactive. I hoped that someone who knew what they were doing could get the surface film to come off and show the gilt underneath.
In both cases, they succeeded. Unfortunately, the HK-22 turned out to be heavily hairlined underneath the crud. Too bad. The Washington piece is still non-reflective on the right half of the obverse, so the PL designation was a bit generous in my mind. The numeric grades seem reasonable to me overall.
Comments
Those before and after pics are amazing...thanks for sharing.
BTW, awesome looking medals!
Later, Paul.
Did NGC do the conservation? Looks really good!
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Very nice conservation efforts.. the coins have a significantly improved appearance... Cheers, RickO
I didn't think "heavily hairlined" is supposed to straight grade?
Unfortunately, the HK-22 turned out to be heavily hairlined underneath the crud.
I'm not sure if those are "hairlines" or not, every HK-22 I have seen has that look to it, as though the dies were wiped in some fashion prior to striking the Gilt medals. I have never seen a Silver or Bronze with the same look. if I was at home I could post a picture of my example, I'll see if I can find the TrueView online.
I thought it was a planchet issue rather than marks on the die. Not sure where the Mint got their gilt planchets......
My pictures aren't great. This HK-22 is definitely hairlined. The marks stop before the devices and then continue on the other side. No question about it. (There may also be marks that aren't hairlines. I wasn't looking for those.)
I didn't think "heavily hairlined" is supposed to straight grade?
as I explained, they aren't really hairlines. though I wouldn't call it "die polish" it is more akin to that and probably something to do with how this particular medal was made or the ides prepared.
Jonathan, I'm not trying to be argumentative but you can see the same thing on my pictured medal. as you said, they stop at the devices and are only present in the fields. I found this artifact to be present on some of the Bashlow/Bowers restrikes and posted a thread about it with my "Mini-Hoard" about 15 years ago. my suspected cause is that the dies were wiped very lightly to show these marks but not with anything that would show them as die polished, raised lines.
I can look for that thread, but the appearance was the same as these HK-22's.
GoldenEgg --- if the lines were on the planchet, wouldn't they have been removed by the strike?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/563352/hairlines-from-die-wiping-and-not-polishing
above is a link to the thread I mentioned about Die Wiping.
I can't say that I have a lot of experience taking photos that show hairlining. Or, well, I do have experience, I just don't usually do it on purpose. :-) Give these a shot and see what you think.
I still feel that this example is hairlined, regardless of whether others show die wiping. I'm also still comfortable with the grade.
(and I'm still happy with the "after" state, even with the hairlines, compared to the "before" state above.)
I guess the important thing isn't what we call them but when they happened.
just looking at these pictures and judging the other medals I have seen it is clear that it isn't from a post-strike cleaning or anything else done after the medal was struck.