Joe Dert - My silver needs you...

marcomo

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Sep 18, 2018
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Finally had a brief thaw so I wrapped up work an hour and a half early for a fix.

When I got home and cleaned the dirt off this Barber I saw how much of the coin had the dreaded gray and said I gotta ask the best restoration guy I've seen on the forums, Joe Dert, about this one.

Joe, I've gotten quite a few silver coins with varying degrees of grayish corrosion on them. Is there any way to safely get this off without getting an awful washed out look on the coin? Or to remove the gray and then restore the coin from looking washed out?

Not just a question for Joe, has anybody found a more eye pleasing way to restore this type of silver coin?
 

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I don’t see anything wrong with it. You’re probably right, anything done will give the washed out look and diminish any detail.
 
I don’t see anything wrong with it. You’re probably right, anything done will give the washed out look and diminish any detail.

Before I try anything on the barber, I'll try it on one of my gray rosies
 
Thank you for the compliment... restoring old cupreous coins is to improve eye appeal and to prevent further deterioration..silver coins are different..the gray on that coin is not damaging the coin and not causing deterioration..if it is something you want to clean for your own satisfaction then there are many ways to make it more appealing..so many that I can't recommend any one in particular because they all involve some abrasion..for example rubbing with toothpaste or sodium bicarbonate...now if it's a coin whose value or eye appeal will be raised by cleaning (like to remove milk spots) then dipping is the only numismatically accepted method.. there is one commercial product that can remove verdigris without ruining the toning..Verdi-care.. everything else will strip an old worn down to an unnaturally bright finish...some silver coins have multiple problems...like rust staining and heavy gray combined..those are tougher to work with..and unfortunately require chemicals and abrasion..
 
Thanks, Joe. I hate the unnatural look of a cleaned and shiny worn coin. Verdi-Care sounds quite worthwhile, but apparently it is in short supply. I put myself on a notification waiting list.

Pardon my ignorance, but another question. What are milk spots?
 
Thanks, Joe. I hate the unnatural look of a cleaned and shiny worn coin. Verdi-Care sounds quite worthwhile, but apparently it is in short supply. I put myself on a notification waiting list.

Pardon my ignorance, but another question. What are milk spots?

Sometimes you see milk spots on coins in a mint or proof set..it is supposedly from leftover cleaning agents from cleaning planchets before striking..or maybe from cleaning dies..you often see it on a set of mint sealed coins where the seal was compromised..problem is you have to break the seal to dip it away..so in my experience I have been told to leave it in the packaging that way.. but if it's already out then no harm done by dipping
 
Here is an example of milk spots..looks like dried milk..you can see it on the neck of Washington..and behind the head of Franklin.. I am a bit concerned that Verdi care is unavailable..it's pretty good on old copper ..if it's gone from the market then xylene I believe is the main ingredient...
 

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