I picked up an old Whitman album at a garage sale of mercury dimes. The sides of every coin has black. Some of the empty coin holes have a slight white puffy powder. This leads me to think that there was some slight water damage, even though it is not apparent from looking at the book or that it was stored in some humid conditions. I bought the book for less than its metal content. No coin would rate better than F-12 and most probably rate G-4.
The reverse side of the coins have some wierd waffled toning (apparently from humidity and it received the effect from the way the paper is in slot for the coins). The front of a few coins (the best grading coins too) have the reverse image of the wording of the paper page of the whitman book.
How bad do these coins sound from this description?
Would careful cleaning of just the sides of the coins (if that is possible), diminish value?
I was going to use them to start my Mercury collection, but since I would be adding better graded coins should I even bother? Should I just wrap these mercuries?
Lastly, one coin looks slightly clipped. How can you tell if the clipping is from the hands of an evil-doer versus a mistake at the mint?
The coins now sound like just 90% "junk". Not a problem. In that case cleaning them wouldn't hurt them any more than they already are. Tell you what, if you don't want them, I'll take them off your hands for melt.... Odds are the clipped coin likely suffered some damage in circulation. If not, I hope that particular coin isn't too badly damaged.
Deal
Live free or die. Plain and simple.
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your council or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams
I would give them a rinse with acetone or distilled water to remove any organic gunk. Then just use them as hole fillers until you can get better specimans.
black around rim of coins
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Posted - 11/19/2008 : 11:47:53
