Expert: Joe Hylas - 12/17/2011

Question
Hi Joe,
     I have a 1920 wheat penny that is in good to fine codition
the word liberty is completely missing. I have viewed it very close to make sure it has not been tampered as it appears to be genuine.can you give me a value. I know there are many determining factors. I also have alot of wheat pennies that are green corroded,some are heavy and unable to read.The golden rule is don't clean coins.How can I do this safely and effectively.
If they are not cleaned will they over time get worse?
         Thanks  Ken

Answer
Hi ken,
Once the copper starts to corrode (Green), there isn't much you can do.  The coins are already ruined so cleaning them will not detract from the value.  It takes a few months but you can try soaking them in olive oil.  For some reason, the olive oil seems to dissolve the green corrosion, but it does take a long time.

As for the 1920 cent, the world LIBERTY may have been removed many years ago and hence looks like it was never there.  Only using a microscope will determine what caused the missing word.

Best Regards
Joe Hylas