To NCS or not to NCS?

[BODIN]

 

Just curious as to what you think as the black spots bother me and I'm curious as to if the rinse will improve the grade. Thoughts?

 

 

[coinman_23885]

By rinse, are you asking whether you should crack the coin and dip it? If you don't have a lot in the coin, I would consider flipping it if you can avoid a huge loss. The spots are distracting in my opinion.

 

P.S. The coin appears to be in a slab; who slabbed it, is it in a details slab? Please share the label information with us.

[coinman_23885]

On second glance, I noticed that this coin is a common date. I'm not sure it would be worth the NCS fees. I would seriously consider selling it.

[BillJones]

The 1883 No Cents nickel is a very common coin in grades ranging from Choice AU to MS-64. Therefore it would not be worth the investment to send this coin to NCS because, even if they could improve it, the marginal increase in value would not cover the cost of the service.

 

Having said that, what if this were an 1885 Liberty nickel which is a key date and a much more valuable coin? My answer would still be that the benefits would be marginal. The black spot on the first star to the left of the bust on the obverse looks like it goes fairly deep into the coin. If that spot were to be removed, it might leave a mark that would be almost as distracting as the spot that is there now.

 

These spots are not surface dirt that is on the coin. They are oxidized metal that is into the surface of the coin. Therefore when they are removed some of the metal will go along with them leaving marks that vary in size depending upon the depth of the spot into the coin.

 

[coinsbygary]

I agree with the consensus of not conserving this coin. However conservation can do a ton of good. Check out NCS's website for before and after photographs of some of their work.

Gary

[physics-fan3.14]

If you want to spend the fees, NCS can probably help this coin. They look like carbon spots, similar to ones I see after a coin has been sneezed on. This coin is very common however, and not worth the expense. Sell this one, lesson learned, and buy a nicer one.

[TomB]

I would advise you to leave the coin alone. If the spots are that distracting to you then you may be better off selling this coin to someone who will appreciate it more and then using those funds to buy another coin.

[KeyMan64]

Based on experience, it looks like most of that stuff would easily come off with MS70 I believe. MS70 on Q-Tip, very very very very very lightly move the q-tip around on the obverse, use the other end of the q-tip for the reverse...then give the 3rd side a quick wipe....

 

THEN rinse the coin under warm water for a LOOOOOOOOONG TIME.

 

THEN AIR DRY...you can pat it once on each side with a clean soft towel then let air dry.

 

THEN you can send it back for a holder.

 

If you do this, wear Chemical Gloves! Not doing so will cause you to lose a bit of skin from your fingers.

 

All of this at your own risk...lots of risk. Probably not worth the time, effort or grading fees but you can end up with a GREAT RESULT if you do it right and don't mess up. You might be equally able to just flip the coin...sell it and buy a nicer one.