Conservation Showcase: 1922 Lincoln Cent

BEFORE CONSERVATION
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AFTER CONSERVATION
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Key and semi-key coins hold a special place in the collection of any numismatist. The special status these coins have make it especially sad when an example arrives at NCS after years of improper storage. One coin to recently arrive in such a sorry state was this 1922 no D Lincoln Cent. A thick residue had developed fairly uniformly over the surface of this coin making it appear almost oiled in an unnatural way.

The NCS conservators were able to remove the offending residue from the surface of this brown copper coin being careful not to alter that chocolate hue. The color of copper coins is well known to have a fragility not seen in coins of other metals. Being too aggressive with a copper coin can lead to permanent unnatural color change. This 1922 no D cent was able to be conserved safely and graded numerically with NGC following the professional conservation work.