NCS Conservation: December Highlights

Numismatic Conservation Services (NCS) uses a variety of proprietary techniques to remove harmful surface contaminants, stabilize and protect a coin's surfaces and, in many cases, improve a coin's eye appeal. After NCS conserves coins, they are seamlessly transferred to Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), an independent affiliate of NCS, for grading and encapsulation.

Below are a few interesting highlights of coins that NCS conserved and NGC graded. 

South Africa 2001 Silver 2 Rand Before conservation Click images to enlarge.

South Africa 2001 Silver 2 Rand After conservation. Click images to enlarge.

Residue commonly develops when a coin of any type has been stored improperly. Probably because of a combination of a poor choice of holder type and storage location, this silver 2001 South Africa 2 Rand featuring a design of dolphins developed a rather thick brownish-gray residue across the surface. Particularly thick residues such as this require special care to remove to avoid damaging the surface underneath.  Thick residues also can permanently damage the original surface.  Luckily for this coin, the haze caused no damage, and skillful NCS conservators were able to completely remove the residue, allowing the coin to grade very well in a superior NGC holder.  

Canadian 1967 commemorative 50 Cent Before conservation Click images to enlarge.

Canadian 1967 commemorative 50 Cent After conservation Click images to enlarge.

Poor storage conditions cause a peculiar residue to develop on the surface of this Canadian 1967 commemorative 50 Cent. We don’t know why this opaque white residue with a stippled pattern developed but it was imperative to remove it, not just for aesthetic reasons but also because of the permanent damage such residues can cause to a coin’s surface.  The technicians at NCS have developed specific techniques to tackle all sorts of residues and even this one was not beyond an NCS conservator’s abilities. The residue was safely removed without damaging the underlying surface and, following conservation, this coin graded well with NGC.

China 1994 Gold 10 Yuan Panda Before conservation Click images to enlarge.

China 1994 Gold 10 Yuan Panda After conservation Click images to enlarge.

Gold coins — even modern ones — can develop issues quite different from those made of other metals. The small red spots seen all over this China 1994 Gold 10 Yuan Panda are one kind of issue seen only on gold coins. These spots commonly are called copper spots, and NCS conservators have developed specific techniques to eradicate them safely. Following conservation, this coin is brighter, has improved eye appeal and has no copper spots. This coin received a good grade from NGC following conservation.  

For more information about NCS, visit NGCcoin.com/NCS