You’ll see both of these terms tossed around a lot in coin collecting, especially when it comes to details grades, and sometimes they’re used interchangeably. But while they overlap, they’re not identical. Think of it like this: all corrosion is environmental damage, but not all environmental damage is corrosion. In this post, we’ll clear up…
The phrase “shipwreck coin” carries a certain mystique. It conjures images of buried treasure, sunken galleons, and ocean-crusted riches pulled from the deep. But what does that actually mean for a coin’s condition? This post strips away the romance and looks at the science. We’ll break down what shipwreck corrosion really is, how it affects…
Not all corrosion looks the same. Sometimes it’s a faint green haze creeping along the edges. Other times it’s a thick, black crust that seems to rise up out of the metal itself. Each color tells a different story, about what the coin has been through, what environment it’s been exposed to, and what kind…
Corrosion is one of the most destructive forms of damage a coin can suffer. It eats away at the surface, breaks down metal at a chemical level, and leaves behind pits, discoloration, or flaky crust that can make a coin nearly unrecognizable. Most of the time, corrosion happens when a coin is exposed to moisture,…