Ive sent many coins to NCS for conservation over the years with mixed results. Sometimes conservation brings out different surface conditions that were hidden before, both the good and the bad. However this time, I hit the conservation jackpot!

A few months ago a person on another forum posted an 1870 Spanish Provisional 2 Peseta coin that he had just acquired. Upon viewing the coin, it immediately became a must have coin for my seated collection. I looked on E-Bay for a suitable coin for my collection, but discovered that it is a conditional rarity. This coin is very common and easy to come by in VF or lower grades, but becomes very rare in MS grades. In fact there is only one NGC graded mint state coin at MS-61, and that coin sold at Heritage in 2011 for nearly $2000.

Shortly thereafter I found a suitable raw coin on E-bay that by the listing pictures I thought might be mint state. I won the auction with a very reasonable bid, given that the coin is scarce in higher grades. I was flabbergasted when the coin arrived housed in a PVC flip. I took the coin out of the flip and discovered to my horror the green PVC deposits on the surface of my coin and some type of tacky goop that covered the rest of the coin. The residue on the coin was so bad that it left an impression inside the flip. The E-Bay listing picture gave no indication that this was coming.

Since I got a good deal on the coin, rather than send it back, I thought to send it to NGCs conservation service for conservation and possible grading. Well I got the coin back a few days ago and let me tell you I was amazed with the results. Not only was most of the green gone, but the patina on the coin was preserved. The conservation also brought out many of the coins details that unfortunately makes it clear that this coin is not mint state. Irregardless, I am very happy with the coin graded AU-53 and its definitely a keeper.

Look for yourself, and see if you dont agree with my appraisal of this coin with a before and after comparison.

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