Options
Argh… I messed up my 1801 S-223 DBLC
Aotearoa
Posts: 1,626 ✭✭✭✭✭
These first photos are as purchased a few months ago:
Then, after three months or so in olive oil followed by an acetone rinse. Seems a historical cleaning has been exposed. I’ve had good experiences with olive oil in the past but certainly not this time.
Smitten with DBLCs.
2
Comments
Looks like you are the victim of removing "Deller's Darkener" a previous owner had used.
I’m not familiar with Deller’s Darkener but that sounds about right. Perhaps I need some…
BTW, the olive oil was an attempt to clean up the gunk around RTY. You can see how well that worked.
Smitten with DBLCs.
Gently rub the area with nose oil once a week for six months or so. Every now and then do the whole coin.
Ouch, that stinks!
I seldom worry about recoloring on lower grade cents, but worry about it a lot on XF-AU coins.
May have been Dellers, but I thought that left a faint bluish tint? But whoever recolored it was an expert.
Yeah, ouch is right! I'm not sure about the Deller's either, I thought it left a darker coin after application due to sulfur content and wasn't very stable... is this stuff still around or did it go by way of Blue Ribbon?
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
unexpected. i've been on here for how long and for all the olivee oil suggestions no one suggested it'd remove skin.
is it safe enough to do sunny windowsill? i've done hot water heater. it did me a favor on a sac buck, perhaps copper?
My experiences with olive oil have been outstanding, but i don’t understand the Acetone rinse afterward….if done properly olive oil leaves a subtle “skin” that looks natural…
Having said that i believe i would have left this coin as is..the area around RTY looks like a stain and likely is a permanent part of the coin
Confine the coin to a Kraft envelope, "problem" side up, and then place it on a sunny window sill. Check every week and remove it once the color has suitably recovered.
Official PCGS account of:
www.TallahasseeCoinClub.com
Agree with this approach. Also, periodically rub your thumb along the side of your nose to pick up some "nose grease" and rub it on the coin. It looks like a nice coin that's worth the effort to restore it to a more natural brown color. Please let us know how it turns out.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
TBH the best approach might be to strip it and start over. As you said, someone really good did the job the first time but any attempt you make now will likely result in an uneven appearance. Unfortunately a very high percentage of early copper has been doctored in one way or another by now, certified or not.
1/000 is one of my favorite DBLC varieties. I have one in PCGS 25 that I'll never sell.
Give it a couple hundred years, will be back to where you want it.
I would try this first, though I’ve had mixed results with it. Some didn’t do anything. But this coin was “brick red” when acquired in a group of large cents I acquired about 12 years ago. Most of the retoning occurred in the first few years, with little more change afterwards, kept in the envelope shown. It was not on a sunny windowsill, but I live in FL, and my avg house temp is probably warmer than most.
I will also add that I would definitely NOT try stripping it and starting over.
I have to agree that "stripping it" ... seems to me... would be digging a deeper hole. I've never had issues with olive oil either. It either worked, or the coin ended up exactly as it started. I think the acetone removed the very skillful color job applied to this piece. Acetone has "revealed" an old cleaning on a few copper coins I've had over the years... whatever was applied to dull the surfaces was effectively removed with acetone.
Of the suggestions so far, I think the Kraft envelope in a window for a few years is probably the best suggestion and the one least likely to damage the coin.
Best of luck...
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
For the record, the coin looks no different after the acetone rinse than it did before - in other words, the damage was done by the olive oil. The acetone was just to clean off the greasy oil (unnecessary I guess).
Will try nose grease and the window sill.
Smitten with DBLCs.
Here’s an example of a large cent that I believe was stripped, and then Dellers applied, and possibly also MS70, to add the faux frost:
Thanks for sharing... that really puts olive oil into perspective for me! ...maybe I was using it on coins that hadn't been recolored (Deller's or otherwise)...
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.