I removed the varnish from 16 coins this time and 2 of them came out with this wild toning. Is that somehow from removing the varnish (2 actions washes, then distilled water, and patted dry), or was that maybe why the otherwise unremarkable coins were kept in the first place?
Look, this long and boring, but please read it anyway. I've got a problem all of you would like to have. I've been tasked with dealing with a couple boxes of coins, and even some paper as well, excavated from a family closet. It's a huge (by my standards) cache - hundreds and hundreds of coins: IHP, Lincoln wheat and Lincoln modern, Buffalo head nickels, Roosevelt dimes, foreign coins, mint 1964s (one's a straight G), heavy silver from Panama and the Bahamas. It's also got over 3 pounds of US silver pre-65, just rolled up. I want to unload all of it, but without getting fleeced, but also in a way that it can be in the hands of people who will be excited to have them for their own collections. Trying to know what's here, so I don't give away my kids inheritance, or a mortgage payment, makes me feel like I'm cramming for a test in a class I didn't want to take, and didn't know I was in.
If anyone in the SF Bay Area (East Bay) is interested in seeing it all out of interest, or helping me out for love of the coins, or to see they're treated right, or even in buying the entire lot, let me know. The coins are beautiful and fascinating, but I can't enjoy them if I'm worried about doing something wrong out of ignorance - taking big chunks of value out of something by some arcane sin, like farting on a toad in the same room, or something. The thought that someone casually wiping a silver dollar with his shirttail decades ago to admire the shine somehow utterly destroys the coin's value to collectors is bewildering. It's ok if it's been banged up at the bottom of a canvas bag at the mint, dented and scratched, or in and out of pockets and cash registers for decades is fine, but rubbing it with a soft cloth to get a better look at it isn't. Or one that's a lousy, indistinct stamping from the die and beat up in the sack is great, but one that's got beautiful detail, but which someone handled 150 years ago is less valuable, I just can't wrap my head around. I'm not judging, I have my own passions. IDK, I just don't want to accidentally spoil something which someone else could really enjoy. I'd feel awful, and I wonder what harm I've done already in just unpacking things to see what it even is!
I could post photos of 300 different coins easy, and dozens of duplicates of many of those. I could bore everyone to tears, but I'm not into being a drag for others. Otoh, if you all would like to see what a great-aunt I never knew amassed over decades (the massive 1976 5 and 10 Balboa sterling commemoratives are the newest), I can do it. I'd even enjoy going to the trouble, if it would give others a vicarious thrill. It would offset the anxiety to a degree, and at least make it fun for me too in some way. I'll do it for love, if you want it, but I don't know what is worth seeing. I'll show what I've got, or I'll bugger off. Either way let me know please.
In a family box from 60 years ago. Pennies were coated with nail polish then. See the note on the flap. Order is 1909, 1909-S, 1909 VDB, 1909 VDB-S, then the folder pages, obviously. I've been given exactly contradictory advice about removing the nail polish, so I don't know what to do about it.
Trime grade and value? I'm a totally uninformed novice, so I don't know the mint mark, but i guess it's P?
Going through a cache of coins found in my aunt's closet, collected prior to 1976. This one was stuck to the side in the corner of a box, almost missed entirely.
I've come across a coin collection in a family closet. It spans years from 1837 to 1970 in all sorts of conditions. Including some very rare ones, like a 1909 VDB-S in circulated but very good condition. I've been looking at all kinds of stuff (with AI help, of course) because I'm so at sea with this stuff. There are silver coins, some rare, some very heavy (1970 5 Balboas). The Lincoln pennies from 1909 to 1963 were coated with clear nail polish 60 years ago by the original collector. There's a couple thousand dollars just in melt weight for the silver coins alone, and the single rare penny could be maybe be worth that much too, if certified. Should i clean off the varnish myself, as Gemini says, or send it for certification to have them clean it professionally? The value will be greatly diminished if I send it off with the 6 decade old coating because of some psychology I don't understand, supposedly. I'm not a collector of anything, except scars, bad habits and regrets (lol), so I don't get the philosophy behind someone's wiping a coin off with a cloth before they put it in a cardboard folder being a terrible sin. If it is, it is. Not judging. I don't know what to do, or where to turn so I don't get fleeced trying to redeem a family heritage. I like things I don't want anymore to go to people who do. I understand the passion for the marvelous, and the fascination, but for me, it's things like these cool old watches I discovered in MY OWN POSSESSIONS that i didn't even know i had, nor how they came to be there. Kind help and sage advice will be gratefully received.
I have an Eno hammock pad that has developed a leak at one end of the urethane block that holds the valve. I've seen how i can weld a failed edge back together with an iron or with seam seal, but at the corner of the block is difficult. How does it go? Anyone? OP
Hi there. I was given a Brother 1211a machine by my sister. I tried it out, but it's unusable as is. The pedal is like a light switch - all or nothing, basically. It seems it could be the original pedal, with a ceramic block inside. The cord is too short even to reach the floor from a table! Anyway, I only have the very most basic knowledge of these things, so I'm asking what the right replacement is. I'm not very proficient, so low speed modulation is something i value highly.
In case there are multiple series with the same model number, the plug and pedal lead to an outlet block inside this one. I can get inexpensive ones on Amazon, of course, but would just as soon not, unless they're really all the same.
Thanks in advance
Hi all,
I broke my grill by backing out with the trickle charger still plugged in through the grill. The plug didn't separate, and the the wires did, but not before an awful crack and flying plastic.! Fuck.
There are grills available from ~$50 up to $300+. CAPA approved from ~$180. Times are tight and I've no desire to spend more than necessary, but also don't want to do it again in short order, due to the whole "taking apart the front of the car" thing. My question is what experiences have been with the less expensive, non-CAPA ones: Are they all crap? Just as good and from the same factories? You get what you pay for and more expensive ones are, in fact, better? OEM seems self-evidently overpriced, so that's out, but there's eBay, Amazon, Carparts.com, etc. Any good sources?
Thanks in advance.
I bought this shirt and had to send it straight back because of how dumb the construction is. The pads themselves are great. I know because I have their knee-pads and tested them out by dumping my 890 Adventure in a low-side misadventure on the gravelly road I was on. Big bike, too much oomph, too little traction, and fuck! Hurt my ankle painfully, but not my knee.
Anyone know of a product, or otherwise figured out a practical way to carry extra visors on a trip? If so, what?
Something on the bike itself would be best I think. I have Mosko R80 bags, not really a help.
I have a Transitions visor (Klim Krios Pro), which is kind of a mixed bag. It takes too long to clear after dusk, or in overcast, dark even in rainy weather, still tinted when it really ought to be clear. Basically, I like the idea, but it's usually darker than I'd like. A plain tinted visor is much cheaper, as are clear and yellow. Being able to swap according to conditions would be nice, but carrying the extra is... tricky. And another thing: Pin-lock... I've ruined one before, trying to save it from off-pavement dust.
Suggestions?
My 21 890 Adventure R OEM toolkit has this 17mm socket for the 6mm drive along with the other things, but I've never seen anything that it fits! What's it for?
Turns out I have yet one more watch. It's a *verge fusee* by Jacob Melly, late 1700s (?), but I find no mention of him specifically in a search. Claude says:
"What you have:
Geneva-made verge fusee pocket watch
Pair case, silver
Probably 1720-1780
Maker: Jacob Melly, Geneva
Later serviced/sold by D.H. Rodewald, Bad Fallingbostel, Germany"
I've learned a lot in the past couple days, and find I'm fascinated, as are you all. This watch has 8(!) watchmakers' slips inside the pair case, the very oldest two stuck together, sadly. Apparently, well used and maintained by someone in the mid 19th century, 1855-69, at least, but the oldest are not legible - handwritten and missing a fair sized piece, in addition to being stuck together. Celle is close to Hanover and Fallingbostel between Hanover and Hamburg in northern Germany. It was repaired at some point, likely in that mid-19th century span, though by this time it's in pretty poor condition - not surprising given it's over 200 years old, last serviced over 150 years ago! Far out. Really far out.
Hi all, I have this Waltham pocket watch which my father used to carry. Front and back came off once I figured out how. I didn't think to start here, which could have saved some time. The crystal is hazy, and plastic, so was replaced at some point. I was able to figure out how to set it too. I wound it a little and it started ticking, keeping very good time for an hour and a half. After reading another post, I won't wind it any more than I have. I posted about another watch, an Illinois railroad, too. Thanks in advance for whatever you can tell me. Serial number appears to be 7861135.
I have this Illinois railroad watch shown in the photos. It does not wind, though the hands set fine, so something is broken or worn out. It's missing the crystal too. I finally figured out how to open it, difficult because the screw wheel holding the crown in was really tight. Luckily, my fingernails are like guitar picks, as the knurling is also pretty worn. The serial number of the movement is 4056905. I'll be grateful for anything you can tell me about it. I have another watch I'll post separately, also. And now a third!