Details Grades: How Big Can A Verdigris Or Carbon (Sulfur) Spot Really Be?

Very interesting topic.

I have a feeling the threshold is going to be something left to the grader's discretion.

A good reason to never buy a slab sight unseen, even if that was the original goal of having a coin professionally graded.

Something insignificant at the time could have grown to be more noticeable. Slabs are not completely air tight, so storage in an unstable environment is a possibility to consider.

I consider verdigris more superficial and a milder form of corrosion. These are deeper corrosion spots, possibly starting from verdigris that has been mostly neutralized. I think this would definitely be a details coin from the size and number of corrosion spots.

Nice DDO, though!

They would discolor the area if removed - and removal is not always possible. Personally I do not believe PCGS would attempt - others may have a different opinion.

In my experience there are no hard and fast criteria. Don't look at it from the raw coin perspective, they don't - look at it from the perspective "do I want this coin in our slab"? Every coin is different and the threshold for bagging is too.

I've seen many coins with verdigris inside slabs. Like everyone else, I hate that they do that but they do. Corrosion is a serious problem that needs to be chemically addressed even if it's just dehydration with acetone. I've seen it so light it would have simply rinsed off with water.....but they left it. SUCKS

Black "carbon spots" are permanent on any coin. If they are removed, they leave behind a spot/stain. I fiddled with this on many coins over the years - don't bother. The end product is worse with an obvious sign of being cleaned. Even the TPG's restoration services usually refuse these, i.e. "not a candidate". Side note - I've even tried carefully burning them off with a soldiering iron tip, which actually works well. But there's still a metallic/stain spot afterwards.

It will never happen for many reasons, but the TPGs should be rinsing every coin with acetone just prior to slabbing. At least blow everything out with clean, compressed air for God's sake. The amount of fuzz, dirt, threads, skin, etc. they get inside the slabs is nasty.

I had rather suspected that after seeing how lenient they are about specific rare coins. For example, a 1942/1 overdate dime, or some of the mid-1960s full steps nickels. We often discuss on these forums that the line is arbitrary, but I think often we don't discuss enough why the line can be inconsistent. For example, I have often wondered if the firms doing $10000+ in grading fees per year might get more flexibility than some random n00b. It definitely seems clear that certain truly desirable rare coins like the 1939 Doubled Monticello get generous treatment in both grade and overlooking flaws.

I don't know if this particular variety is prestigious enough to move the needle. I do know that 1942 FS-101 is rare in high grades. I don't know if this coin would grade mint state. Is is definitely a candidate for full steps, especially compared to the other MS-FS 1942 FS-101 in TrueView.

All things considered, I would be inclined to roll the dice on this particular coin, as the upside is strong.

I gather that your option (Thad) is to not meddle with the corrosion spots. What about that aqua verdigris on the U? And would there be any downside to an overnight soak in pure acetone?

Got it, thanks.