I wanted to check in with anyone who has bought a Tango Steel Core Coin English Penny. I purchased 3 mail order that came from two different sources. All 3 have a tarnished 'head' side and a shinnier 'tail' side. It is noticibly different when you turn the coin over. I was curious if anyone else has noticed the same thing or if there is a reason for it (e.g. it can blend in better with either tarnished or newer/shinier english pennies).

Thanks,
John

I am not an expert in gaffed coins, but I'm pretty sure you need 2 regular coins to manufacture one steel core coin.
Probably they just took two different tarnished coins, which isn't nice indeed. My experience with Tango isn't too good either :-(

Nightcrawler

Tango is not my favorite. I polished my english pennies which made them really pale, so then I held them over fire to darken them again. It takes a few tries to get the color even but it works to make them the color you want.

Good chances that chasessummers20's way works.
But when I buy new products, I want them to be ok from the beginning. I don't know if I would put much work in it. In my optinion it's a deficiency you describe. Maybe I would ask my dealer to replace them.
Or you send them back and give the Johnson Steel Core English Penny a try...

Nightcrawler

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I am checking into getting some coin cleaner for these coins and others. The brand that I just purchased on eBay is "E-ZEST COIN JEWELRY CLEANER" The advertising blurb says:

E-Z-Est Coin Cleaner is preferred by numismatists and coin dealers across the country for it's unmatched cleaning ability and superior shine. There is no equal. Instantly removes tarnish and finger prints, restores shine, safe for copper,gold and silver coins.

I'll see how it goes when it arrives.

John

John,

ALL copper shells I own are like that. They look as ifthey have been heated, with a slightly annealed metal look to them. Almost looks like they are multi-colored, right? I haven't founda fix for this. I asked Todd Lassen about this very issue a few months ago and he said that it just takes time for them to develop a patina, although in my experience they never seem to develop a patina, even after years of use. I end up just shining them up and making sure that all copper coins I use with them are also shined to match.

It must be a result of the manufacturing process.

Jim

Numismatists and coin dealers, as a general rule, do not clean coins. It ruins the collectibility of the coin. Just watch Pawn Stars and you will eventually see someone come in with a cleaned coin that has lost a lot of value. Perhaps under very unusual circumstances a dealer might clean something, but that would be mighty rare.

I have a great little home remedy for polishing copper coins. (I didn't discover it myself. I found it online.) The secret ingredient: KETCHUP!

If you have tarnished copper coins that you want cleaned, this works great. Just smear some ketchup on both sides, let it sit for 30-60 seconds, wipe it off amd rinse with water. Now I've only used this on moderately tarnished english pennies. I haven't tried to clean any 80-year old coins that look more brown/black than copper. I would imagine they would need some more abrasive work.

This makes the copper coins rather bright, so perhaps you could try chase's method to darken them if that is what you want to do.