A couple of days and I kinda did it....

crazyhounddog · August 7, 2021 10:30AM

As most of you know we lost our home in the "Campfire" in, Paradise, California in 2018. I lost a LOT of coins from a crappy safe. Name brand, "Cannon." Don't waste your money. My other safe took on a LOT of heat and melted my PCGS & NGC slabs to my coins, an AWESOME safe fire rated to 2000 degrees. It was a 1942 Jewelers safe and if I knew the brand name I'd share it with you. PCGS & NGC re-slabbed my collection and I'll be forever grateful. Unfortunately I did loose most of my Dan Carr coins that were in Mylar flips. Some members here on this forum was so generous as to send me some replacements and again I am VERY grateful.
After 2 1/2 years I pulled out what was left of some of my Dan Carr coins and thought to myself maybe I can try to get them out of the Mylar tomb they've been in for all of this time, so I took a stab. It took hours spread over two days working on them off and on. I discovered that if I let it soak for about 15 minutes in acetone the Mylar would get soft and gummy. I also discovered that it only lasted that way for about 10-15 seconds and then gets VERY hard again, like glass so I had to work very quickly . So over several hours off and on I worked on it with some self made wooded pickers. I would take wooden skewers and cut them in half and then made a chisel look to the ends of them . This was the best way to get under the Mylar and possibly grab it with my fingers and pull it off before it got hard again.
This is turning into a book. Long story short here it is.
Let me know what you think.
Happy hunting, Joe

jesbroken · August 7, 2021 10:33AM

Joe,
Try freezing them as low a temperature as you can get and immediately tapping the edge of whatever mylar piece you can access. Just a thought. Best of luck my friend.
Jim

ifthevamzarockin · August 7, 2021 10:34AM

Great job & thanks for sharing!

1946Hamm · August 7, 2021 10:42AM

Your results look good so far. Looks like a very good start. Best of luck with the rest of them.

clarkbar04 · August 7, 2021 10:50AM

Holy cow, nice work man!!

kaz · August 7, 2021 10:53AM

Good job, Joe. and your photography always impresses me. The top image, still encased in mylar, is a piece of art unto itself.

DelawareDoons · August 7, 2021 11:00AM

Rainbow toned, BRB putting some gold in mylar into the oven, how hot can it get?

On a more serious note, congrats on the salvage job, excellent work, and excellent photography.

MFeld · August 7, 2021 11:01AM

Joe, you should do whatever you want with your coins.

That said, I think the current appearance of the coin is unusual, interesting and cool looking. And that left as is, it would serve as a valuable reminder of what happened AND how far you’ve come. You could always perform additional conservation on it at a future date, if that’s what you decide to do.

DelawareDoons · August 7, 2021 11:07AM

Also, just want to add, if you want to work with the coins IN acetone and not worry about destroying your hands/skin get some butyl rubber gloves. They aren't cheap but will stand up to acetone for way way longer than even rubber gloves will.

Could chuck all the coins into a huge canister of acetone, toss on a respirator, and go to town after 15-20 minutes.

https://www.uline.com/BL_358/Chemical-Resistant-Butyl-Rubber-Gloves

thebeav · August 7, 2021 11:10AM

WOW....Looks great !
Really nice !

Desert Moon · August 7, 2021 12:00PM

Hate that it happened but I have to say the 'fire' toning came out gorgeous on this one. I realize the preference would be that it never happened, but perhaps it is one small positive to bring out from the complete disruption of your lives.

Also, don't spend too much time breathing in the acetone, not good for the lungs or the brain cells......

Best, SH

ShaunBC5 · August 7, 2021 12:20PM

Really great job! I’m glad you’re at a point where you can go through and do what you want with these coins.

joeykoins · August 7, 2021 12:27PM

Once again Joe, as the many sentiments stressed here. So sorry. Looks fantastic, despite the overall situation. You are such a great example of tolerance and persistence. You will always be king of the toned coin, man. Thank you for showing your artwork. Then and now.

crazyhounddog · August 7, 2021 12:39PM

Thank you to all, especially my photography.
This will be a coin I’ll forever remember for a few reasons.
Thanks again, Joe

291fifth · August 7, 2021 12:41PM

As other have said, beware of working with such chemicals. Is it really worth the risk to your health to save those coins/medals?

crazyhounddog · August 7, 2021 12:48PM

@291fifth said:
As other have said, beware of working with such chemicals. Is it really worth the risk to your health to save those coins/medals?

Thank you for that great advice. I am a retired toolmaker and no stranger to Acetone. I’ve used it almost all of my working life on various jobs for various reasons.
Again, thank you 👌

koynekwest · August 7, 2021 2:07PM

Well, it looks like you may have gotten one of your famous toners out of the process! I like it!!

coinsarefun · August 7, 2021 5:22PM

Your photography is fantastic. I think what you’ve done so far worked as the look great.
What a couple of beautiful tokens that have a story of a lifetime to tell.

jwitten · August 7, 2021 5:25PM

Great looking coin and great pictures! You know, I’ve always been a sucker for gold toners..

baddogss · August 7, 2021 6:40PM

Looking good.

BuffaloIronTail · August 7, 2021 8:31PM

Joe.

Some things you can never forget.

Some things you will always remember............................

Pete

ricko · August 8, 2021 4:31AM

Really great pictures Joe... and good conservation work. I too have worked with acetone professionally for many years. With the proper precautions it is an excellent resource. Good luck with more of your coins. Cheers, RickO

silverpop · August 8, 2021 7:12AM

very nice work you did and best of luck with your other coins

metalmeister · August 8, 2021 10:23AM

Crazy, You are a real trooper going thru all that. I see the Dixie fire is raging nearby. Stay safe!

dcarr · August 8, 2021 10:55AM

@MFeld said:
Joe, you should do whatever you want with your coins.

That said, I think the current appearance of the coin is unusual, interesting and cool looking. And that left as is, it would serve as a valuable reminder of what happened AND how far you’ve come. You could always perform additional conservation on it at a future date, if that’s what you decide to do.

As the producer of that item, my sentiments closely follow those of @MFeld above.

I assume the paper inserts for the "Dan Carr" pieces were destroyed.
About how many are there ?

Zoins · August 8, 2021 11:14AM

Great work @crazyhounddog ! When I first opened the thread, I thought I was looking at the Zombie Apocalypse!

I think the after looks nice. As long as the plastic is off, I would leave it as is. The colors are a good reminder of the event.

You can always get an original condition piece but this piece has history now.

crazyhounddog · August 8, 2021 11:14AM

@dcarr said:

@MFeld said:
Joe, you should do whatever you want with your coins.

That said, I think the current appearance of the coin is unusual, interesting and cool looking. And that left as is, it would serve as a valuable reminder of what happened AND how far you’ve come. You could always perform additional conservation on it at a future date, if that’s what you decide to do.

As the producer of that item, my sentiments closely follow those of @MFeld above.

I assume the paper inserts for the "Dan Carr" pieces were destroyed.
About how many are there ?

Hi Dan, yes all inserts were lost. I think the number is 10 labels have been destroyed. Some of them actually made it.
Thank you to all for chiming in and all of the words of encouragement. It is very well received 😊

crazyhounddog · August 8, 2021 11:32AM

Here's my 1964 Morgan. I did this one the other day.

jesbroken · August 8, 2021 5:42PM

Love your Morgan Joe. Great job on the gold piece. Looks far better than before. Love your photography as you well know.
Jim

dcarr · August 9, 2021 5:20AM

@crazyhounddog said:

@dcarr said:

@MFeld said:
Joe, you should do whatever you want with your coins.

That said, I think the current appearance of the coin is unusual, interesting and cool looking. And that left as is, it would serve as a valuable reminder of what happened AND how far you’ve come. You could always perform additional conservation on it at a future date, if that’s what you decide to do.

As the producer of that item, my sentiments closely follow those of @MFeld above.

I assume the paper inserts for the "Dan Carr" pieces were destroyed.
About how many are there ?

Hi Dan, yes all inserts were lost. I think the number is 10 labels have been destroyed. Some of them actually made it.
Thank you to all for chiming in and all of the words of encouragement. It is very well received 😊

If it is only 10 or so I could probably make replacement labels for you.

NumisOxide · August 9, 2021 7:05AM

Nice job conserving those. The photos are excellent.

jwitten · August 9, 2021 7:42AM

@dcarr said:

@crazyhounddog said:

@dcarr said:

@MFeld said:
Joe, you should do whatever you want with your coins.

That said, I think the current appearance of the coin is unusual, interesting and cool looking. And that left as is, it would serve as a valuable reminder of what happened AND how far you’ve come. You could always perform additional conservation on it at a future date, if that’s what you decide to do.

As the producer of that item, my sentiments closely follow those of @MFeld above.

I assume the paper inserts for the "Dan Carr" pieces were destroyed.
About how many are there ?

Hi Dan, yes all inserts were lost. I think the number is 10 labels have been destroyed. Some of them actually made it.
Thank you to all for chiming in and all of the words of encouragement. It is very well received 😊

If it is only 10 or so I could probably make replacement labels for you.

It would be cool if you could create a custom label for these. "survived the paradise fire"

crazyhounddog · August 9, 2021 8:10AM

@dcarr said:

@crazyhounddog said:

@dcarr said:

@MFeld said:
Joe, you should do whatever you want with your coins.

That said, I think the current appearance of the coin is unusual, interesting and cool looking. And that left as is, it would serve as a valuable reminder of what happened AND how far you’ve come. You could always perform additional conservation on it at a future date, if that’s what you decide to do.

As the producer of that item, my sentiments closely follow those of @MFeld above.

I assume the paper inserts for the "Dan Carr" pieces were destroyed.
About how many are there ?

Hi Dan, yes all inserts were lost. I think the number is 10 labels have been destroyed. Some of them actually made it.
Thank you to all for chiming in and all of the words of encouragement. It is very well received 😊

If it is only 10 or so I could probably make replacement labels for you.

If you could do that for me I will be forever greatful. Yes I would VERY much appreciate that, Dan.
Thank you

1984worldcoins · August 9, 2021 8:50AM

The toning on the coins is special and adds an interesting story to the pedigree, I love the results!

ZoidMeister · August 9, 2021 9:06AM

@1984worldcoins said:
The toning on the coins is special and adds an interesting story to the pedigree, I love the results!

I'll add my vote in agreement. Neither of these two pieces have been hurt in the process.

Regrets to hear about your loss. Having lived through the loss of a home myself (hurricane) I cannot imagine a loss through fire. Hurricane damage to interior possessions is minimal, except for paperwork and photos. Fire loss has to be mostly total.

To recover anything has got to be a tiny bit of sweetness in a banquet of bitter.

Z

dcarr · August 9, 2021 1:27PM

@crazyhounddog said:

@dcarr said:

@crazyhounddog said:

@dcarr said:

@MFeld said:
Joe, you should do whatever you want with your coins.

That said, I think the current appearance of the coin is unusual, interesting and cool looking. And that left as is, it would serve as a valuable reminder of what happened AND how far you’ve come. You could always perform additional conservation on it at a future date, if that’s what you decide to do.

As the producer of that item, my sentiments closely follow those of @MFeld above.

I assume the paper inserts for the "Dan Carr" pieces were destroyed.
About how many are there ?

Hi Dan, yes all inserts were lost. I think the number is 10 labels have been destroyed. Some of them actually made it.
Thank you to all for chiming in and all of the words of encouragement. It is very well received 😊

If it is only 10 or so I could probably make replacement labels for you.

If you could do that for me I will be forever greatful. Yes I would VERY much appreciate that, Dan.
Thank you

Send me a list via PM.

dcarr · August 9, 2021 1:30PM

@jwitten said:

@dcarr said:

@crazyhounddog said:

@dcarr said:

@MFeld said:
Joe, you should do whatever you want with your coins.

That said, I think the current appearance of the coin is unusual, interesting and cool looking. And that left as is, it would serve as a valuable reminder of what happened AND how far you’ve come. You could always perform additional conservation on it at a future date, if that’s what you decide to do.

As the producer of that item, my sentiments closely follow those of @MFeld above.

I assume the paper inserts for the "Dan Carr" pieces were destroyed.
About how many are there ?

Hi Dan, yes all inserts were lost. I think the number is 10 labels have been destroyed. Some of them actually made it.
Thank you to all for chiming in and all of the words of encouragement. It is very well received 😊

If it is only 10 or so I could probably make replacement labels for you.

It would be cool if you could create a custom label for these. "survived the paradise fire"

I would want the printed inserts to be identical to the normal (original) issue.
But I could possibly see a rubber stamp or something on the back adding the fire info.

crazyhounddog · August 9, 2021 2:54PM

@dcarr said:

@jwitten said:

@dcarr said:

@crazyhounddog said:

@dcarr said:

@MFeld said:
Joe, you should do whatever you want with your coins.

That said, I think the current appearance of the coin is unusual, interesting and cool looking. And that left as is, it would serve as a valuable reminder of what happened AND how far you’ve come. You could always perform additional conservation on it at a future date, if that’s what you decide to do.

As the producer of that item, my sentiments closely follow those of @MFeld above.

I assume the paper inserts for the "Dan Carr" pieces were destroyed.
About how many are there ?

Hi Dan, yes all inserts were lost. I think the number is 10 labels have been destroyed. Some of them actually made it.
Thank you to all for chiming in and all of the words of encouragement. It is very well received 😊

If it is only 10 or so I could probably make replacement labels for you.

It would be cool if you could create a custom label for these. "survived the paradise fire"

I would want the printed inserts to be identical to the normal (original) issue.
But I could possibly see a rubber stamp or something on the back adding the fire info.

Thank you again, @dcarr.
I went over them again and it’s only 8 inserts that I’ll need, I made a mistake. I will post them all here today at some point, I hope. I’m still working on them.

Dan, I cannot thank you enough for any help on this endeavor.
Joe

A couple of days and I kinda did it....

Comments

Leave a Comment