Holly Cover-up Batman!

[DustDevilMarc]

While looking through a box of nickels I found this Indian head nickel covered with who-knows-what:



This is the reverse side - in somewhat better condition.



This is the Indian head coin after I soaked it in water and scraped off the remaining stuff(?). I know, I should not treat a coin this way, but I was hoping to see a date. Even after using Nic-A-Date, no date was apparent:



A totally botched job. What would you have done?

 

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[barneyb71]

If it's a worthless nickel and you just want to know the date, try vinegar and a small amount of hydrogen peroxide. Trust me when I say it will ruin it, it will ruin it. I had two shield nickels that I could just make out the 5 on the back or the part of the shield on front. I let then soak for a couple of days and I don't know what the chemical reaction is but it made it so I can read the date and could make out most of the detail. But it made them worthless, but they were more worthless before because you couldn't see anything on them. I also got them free so I didn't lose anything by doing that to them.

 

[Tnmountains]

Warm hydrogen peroxide may have lifted the debris from the coin. I have restored Indian Heads (copper) unsure of nickels. You may always try our cleaning and preservation section before tackling an item. Lots of experienced information.

 

[BigWaveDave]

Me, I prolly would have tried acetone... never tried nic-a-date, so ultimately it would have gone into my tube of dateless buffs. Once I get a roll, I sit on it until I figure out what to do with them...

 

[BuffaloBoy]

A dateless buffalo nickel is basically worth face value (plus a few cents to the right collector)... What you did is OK, you had nothing to lose by damaging the coin further.

 

[mountainman 2]

A dateless buffalo nickel is basically worth face value (plus a few cents to the right collector)... What you did is OK, you had nothing to lose by damaging the coin further.

I agree and I see a mintmark on the reverse. A semi or key date nic-a-dated nickel has got to be worth more then an unknown date. You've lost no value by cleaning it.

 

[Joe777Cool]

An acid treated 1918/17 D sell for $300-400.