Before & After Removal of Dip Residue: What do You Think?

[IGWT]

Before:

 

 

After:

 

 

Flame away!

[James_OldeTowne]

Much nicer! No flames here .

[gmarguli]

Are you sure the golden areas are toning and not dip residue that is still on the coin?

[jesbroken]

Nice results, better look to the shield nickel than before.

[MAULEMALL]

Nice results, better look to the shield nickel than before.

But what about in 175 years when it turns,,,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bsshog40]

Nice results, better look to the shield nickel than before.

But what about in 175 years when it turns,,,

 

 

Don't guess I'll be able to see that update!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[WinstonWare]

Lou, I think this time you might not have dipped it long enough *

 

 

 

 

* Advice from a dipping virgin

[rrantique]

Lou, I think this time you might not have dipped it long enough *

 

 

 

 

 

That what my wife says all the time.

[WinstonWare]

Lou, I think this time you might not have dipped it long enough *

 

 

 

 

 

That what my wife says all the time.

 

Allow me to rephrase…Lou, I think you pulled it out to quick

[jgrinz]

[WinstonWare]

 

Sorry jgrinz. I should be more sensitive. You shouldn’t worry about it. From what I hear, that’s a common issue

[IGWT]

Allow me to rephrase…Lou, I think you pulled it out to quick

 

Dipus interruptus.

[jesbroken]

Nice results, better look to the shield nickel than before.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

But what about in 175 years when it turns,,,

 

 

Leave a note with it apologizing to your offspring.

[jgrinz]

 

Sorry jgrinz. I should be more sensitive. You shouldn’t worry about it. From what I hear, that’s a common issue

 

What what was that ... all I here is bla bla bla ...

 

[BOILER78]

Dipus Interruptis!

[BillJones]

The coin is a little nicer ... perhaps

 

But thing I found about nickels when a friend of mine from many, many years ago, who fooled with coins CONSTANTLY, dipped them was that the unwanted color always seemed to come back.

 

I probably would not have fooled with that coin. But I don't fool with much of anything so I'm a bad source of info in this issue.

[quickwing]

Nice coin. Good job. What going on at the die crack near the dentails? Different color there?

[realone]

No flame, but why mess with something that could be original and unmessed with. What is wrong with a little crud, and/or a little dirt etc. I liket he way it looked before, imperfect, crusty and simply more original. How are you making something that is supposed to be a tarnished old metal coin better by washing it to make it look brighter and shinier and newer looking, why remove the original patina/surface? Why refinish an antique?

[carson city]

Both the before and after would be acceptable to me, after, is sort of gilding the lily !

[IGWT]

No flame, but why mess with something that could be original and unmessed with. What is wrong with a little crud, and/or a little dirt etc. I liket he way it looked before, imperfect, crusty and simply more original. How are you making something that is supposed to be a tarnished old metal coin better by washing it to make it look brighter and shinier and newer looking, why remove the original patina/surface? Why refinish an antique?

 

I cherish originality as much as the next person, maybe even more. I have "crusty" mint state Shields that would likely be bumped one or two grades if dipped. Those coins will not be touched while they are part of my collection; and two of them, for example, are 83/2s that would increase in value substantially if brightened. So, trust me when I say that I carefully considered the pros and cons of having work done on this coin, and that enhancing its monetary value really didn't play a part in my decision.

 

This coin falls into a different category for a couple of reasons. First, I'm quite confident that the coin was not original and unmessed with. The color clinging to the surface of the coin, in my judgment (and in the judgment of folks whose opinions I trust), is the result of a past botched dip job. Second, even though it's generally wise to pass on "problem" coins, this coin is a rare die variety, and I doubt that any others will ever come my way. What's more, it's in better condition than any known to me.

 

My goal was not so much to alter the coin as to "undo" the harm that was done to it in the past. In my mind, this effort qualifies as true conservation. I see the process here as unmessing a coin instead of messing with it. I'm sure that others have a different view, and I certainly don't expect everyone to agree with my decision. In the end, I decided to share my experience with this coin because I thought we'd all benefit by discussing a fairly controversial topic. I'm happy to say that everyone has contributed to the discussion in a positive way even if they disagree with me.

[WinstonWare]

On a good night, I like to dip it twice. You may need to dip this one again

[supertooth]

Lou---- I know 'exactly' where you were on this one, my friend. One of this coin's previous owners was the person of fault on this one. This was a judgement call on your part. Where, in your mind, you are trying to "HELP" the coin but not necessarily to get any kind of upgrade on the piece.

 

If you thought that another would come along, you might have just passed the coin along or left it alone. But, since it would be 'your' coin, it was a Numismatic decision to try to rectify an already botched and previous bad job. In the shield nickel situation, my guess is that you did indeed have the qualifications to make that decision in behalf of the coin's best interests.

 

My question is this. Now that it is done---do you like the coin better?? Do you feel that you have accomplished your goal?? Do you think that the coin is better now?? And, if the residue does reappear in the future, what will you do then??

 

I, for one, wish to thank Lou for a most interesting post. Bob [supertooth]

[IGWT]

I walked the coin through at PCGS in Milwaukee, and it graded 64. It's an FS-02.7.

[rrantique]

Congrats on the grade Lou.

[ibyandsellsmith]

I liked the coin before and after.

[DJCoinz]

Much nicer. WTG!

[Keleum]

I know you guys have gone over this a 100 times, but once more just so I get it right. Though I can't say I'm in any rush to try it.

 

What did you use to "dip" it with, for how long, and what did you do to neutralize it.

[MikeKing]

I'm all for appropriate restoration, Lou. I like the coin in the 'after' picture.

I think Sunnywood made some profit by dipping shields and having them PCGS graded, though, I'm not sure his intent was to undo damage, as your's was.

 

 

can you help me out though and explain what you saw in the coin that led you to believe it was dip residue, and how you treated it to both remove the residue and not leave any more residue? How was the luster before and after?

 

I have a couple of Busties that I question whether they have dip residue or not, and would have no qualms cleaning it up myself.

 

Regards,

 

Mike

[IGWT]

My assessment is based on talking with folks whom I trust and who have much more experience than I do with issues of this kind. Their assessment seems consistent with my own observations in looking at hundreds (maybe thousands) of nickels. I can't claim with certainty that the surface contaminent was dip residue, but it seems very likely to me. This coin is the first one that I've had conserved, and I'm not dumb enough to do it myself. So, I can't answer specific questions about the process.

 

Edited to add: BTW, Mike, in case you missed the other thread, I want to say again what a pleasure it was to meet you. Also, I think that Sunnywood had his nickels graded mostly by NGC, because PCGS wasn't designating varieties at that time.

[MikeKing]

Thanks Lou, it was also my pleasure meeting you and also a very nice surprise. I enjoyed the conversations we had and also with Mike Prinz. You're both very good people and I enjoyed that very much. I hope you post the two coins you talked to me about, because they were really interesting, and seemed very special.

 

The reason I asked about the dip residue is that I have some Bust material that I know was dipped, but just wondering if the thin yellowish/brown 're-toning' is really dip residue and question whether it should be removed.