Conservation Showcase: 1913 Buffalo Nickel Variety 2
Posted on 3/1/2010
A recent example from our conservation laboratory.
It’s not easy being green. Green is the color of corroding copper and PVC residue and not the color of a healthy coin. This 1913 Type 1 Nickel was submitted to NCS to have the green removed. American nickel coins, being made mostly of copper, are susceptible to the same kinds of corrosion that a bronze coin might endure. An astute numismatist realized that some green usually leads to more green and if this was caught in time, the green might be arrested of its damaging progress.
The green on this Nickel was a residue and luckily could be removed before any corrosion had begun. This coin was able to grade numerically uncirculated with NGC following the conservation work.
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