What's the deal with acid washes?

[mindtab]

I am so annoyed. I just went through a box of pennies (2500), and I think that over 75% of them are acid washed.
Let alone it destroys the coin, it doesn't look pretty. Just dark violets and blacks. No yellows. What is the deal with this trend?
Have some people gone bonkers?

[VAB2013]

Can you show us a pic? I'm not quite sure what you are referring to because acid usually causes thinning and pitting.

[enamel7]

Yes, I'd like to see a few pics also.

[Maineman750]

I've never seen it, but it is possible somebody collected a bunch of dirty change and came up with an idea to clean them so they would go thru a counter. I have a buddy that worked at a junkyard and found buckets of change like that....but he made his daughters wash it in the sink,then roll it.

[mindtab]

I made a pile of pennies to be rolled up. Will look through them and take pictures tomorrow, in the daylight. I could be wrong. Maybe it's just patina. Who knows. They don't look pitted. Actually, most of them are quite shiny and pretty looking, otherwise.

[mindtab]

So, in Dec, got 5000 pennies. Then got 2 more boxes. 10,000 pennies in my little studio apt now. Whoa! Will be busy forever. So, below, here are pics (front/back) of some of the pennies with strange colors. Not all came from the same box.


re_re_p1-front.jpgp1-back.jpg

p2-front.jpgp2-back.jpg

p3-front.jpgp3-back.jpg

p4-front.jpgp4-back.jpg

p5-front.jpg

Can't attach the back of these, since only 10 pictures per post message.

[VAB2013]

Thanks for the pics mindtab! Looks like toning to me, various degrees of it and the black one is some type of environmental damage as well.

[mustbebob]

Great pics. I personally think they were cleaned at some time and the toning you see is a result of those previous cleanings leaving a film on them. Since you are finding so many of them at one time, I am inclined to think they were all cleaned and may have been in a album.

[mindtab]

Thanks, Viv. Actually, I think they are quite pretty, and unusual, now that I've looked at them more. Yah, I think the black one, someone must have painted it for some reason. I've found quite a few completely black ones like that.

[mindtab]

bob, well, that is a good thing ---for me, to find them later, then. Interesting looking. Each one with its own character. They almost look like art paintings!

[uglycent]

I have seen this before, I think they were in some kind of pool people throw change into that has chlorine in it. I got a whole box that were actually corroded from being in so long.

[jfines69]

Those are cool looking coins!!!

[mindtab]

JF, at first, I didn't look at them up close, so they all seemed dirty or messed up. But once I did, I agree---some cool art-deco coins.

[jfines69]

JF, at first, I didn't look at them up close, so they all seemed dirty or messed up. But once I did, I agree---some cool art-deco coins.

The toning can get real wild looking... If you look at some of them to long they will make you think your on acid

[mindtab]

LMAO. Indeed so.