oldcdn Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 I now have been handed my dads coin collection but unfortunately they were stored in a damp basement on the ground for 7-10 years and have quite a bit of unnatural discoloration. Can these be cleaned in a safe manner? There are included several Morgan Silver Dollars from the late 1800s. Any suggestions greatly appeciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiffibunny Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Most are going to tell you not to clean them. Cleaning them reduces their value. Lots of collectors like toning. Welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 We'd really need to see some pictures to get a feel for what type of discoloration you're talking about. Otherwise take them to a reputable dealer and ask him/her for advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Welcome to CP. Hope you enjoy it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyd Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Ditto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gxseries Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 There isn't much you can do about it. Depending on the damage you got there, actions will differ. But most probably, you might get a few packs of silica gel to get rid of the moisture around the coins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Sisu Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 I now have been handed my dads coin collection but unfortunately they were stored in a damp basement on the ground for 7-10 years and have quite a bit of unnatural discoloration. Can these be cleaned in a safe manner? There are included several Morgan Silver Dollars from the late 1800s. Any suggestions greatly appeciated! Basically if the discoloration is a greying of the silver coins and a darkening on copper, then a general suggestion would be to leave as be and place them into a dryer environment. If the discoloration is green or something similar, then it may be more corrosive and you will want to do some damage control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcdn Posted March 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Yup some are bad enough that they are blue around the edges and the coins have turned a nasty brownish. I will take them in for advice Thanks. Here is the pic of a couple of bad, and good ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcdn Posted March 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 The Pic..does not seem I am allowed to attach.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuldFartte Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Okay, blue around the edges is probably a good thing. The brownish - well, we'd need to see the photos when you can get them loaded up. As has been said before here, there are collectors (many!) who love "toned" coins. Don't attempt to clean them until you get opinions from other collectors here. Welcome to CoinPeople !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burks Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 The Pic..does not seem I am allowed to attach.... Try uploading them to a place like www.photobucket.com and then attaching them. Never fails for me, very hard to go over the limit (if there is one). I've never hit it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcdn Posted March 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 Some of the US/CDN coins scanned, you can zoom to see the dates.Any concept of value? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gxseries Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 Is it really zoomable? I so far can't seem to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcdn Posted March 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 Sorry, Looks like Photobucket reduces the resolution on the pics so you cant see them too clearly,,,here is a couple blown up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trantor_3 Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 I'm not going to grade these, but it seems to me there's no bad things happened to those, due to sitting on the damp floor for a couple of years. These have nice colours, in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 They appear to be pretty much normal for coins their age. Hard to tell from the pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28Plain Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 Nothing wrong with them that I can see. If you lived in Virginia, I'd invite you to bring them to me so I could give you my opinion on value. Welcome to CP. You'll like the folks here, I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burks Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 From the pics they look good. I forgot Photobucket reduces the size but man those are tiny. Hmmm odd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stujoe Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 From the pictures the coins don't look bad but it is a little tough to tell. The only thing that jumped out at me is the coin holders look to be a very soft plastic. That always brings up the possibility of PVC contamination in my mind, especially with the wet environment, heat, etc. Often that kind of contamination is greenish and a little slimy. Sometimes the holders will have a 'new shower curtain' type of smell. If you notice anything like that, there are often ways of taking care of that without damaging the coins. As was already posted, I believe, is don't clean the coins. If there is PVC contamination, there are people here who have experience with it and can guide you. And welcome to the forums! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcdn Posted March 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 Thanks All! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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