Help Me Badthad!!

Both are well regarded as coin safe solvents. However, any conservationist must use good judgement as excessive soaking in ANY liquid (even water) may produce adverse effects. There's no replacement for experience, the more you practice and understand the various problems coins have, the better you'll be at conservation.

Wow....I have to say that was nothing short of a miracle. I really had my doubts about conserving that coin. The only other thing you might try is to put it under VC fluid and try to work the remaining stuff with a toothpick, thorn, or whatever. You might be able to get a little more of the stuff held tightly around the devices off.

Have a safe trip Ricard. Thanks for sharing your results!

Sorry for giving this old thread a bump.. but I'm on my way to ordering some VC and then trying to take care of some pretty mucked up coins myself....

My question is with respect to Acetone and xylene... I can't remember where I read it.. but thought that you should rinse with acetone then xylene then go back to acetone... is this true? I'm having a hard time understanding the chemical principle at place with such a technique..

Secondly once I soak my coin in VC should I let air dry then just place in a 2x2?

Finally.. I have had some coins soaking in olive oil for a wee bit of time... should I just remove rinse with distilled water, acetone and then try a soak in VC?

Read this and see if it helps...

https://goccf.com/t/57008#447106

I don't recommend picking, I put little scratches on one coin doing that. Maybe I am reading this wrong. Is a dental pic just water being sprayed? Throw it is distilled water for a while first, like a week. Then soak in Verdi-care for 24 hours and leave it on and let it dry. reminds me of a blob of verdigris on this higher grade large cent that I removed and re-sold here. People soak coppers in acetone first but I don't trust it since people have said that this can cause discoloration.

This coin had PVC on it. How does it look now after soaking in acetone for a week and rinsing in distilled water?
Before:



After:

I realize this is an old old thread, yet...I have a bag full of these old copper coins, approximately 150+, (small bag?) and many are so full of verdigris that the date is indiscernible along with other features, though the coins appear to be in decent condition, features are fairly clear, the denomination fairly clear, the edges are full of grime. Many are just displaying nice patina, but the ones in question could use a cleaning. I have read and read the recommendations and have not found any that agree 100%. I have seen other posters asking for a pinned post that has concrete information regarding this matter. I would appreciate a method that leaves most evidence of age/use intact and without being told not to clean at all, as obviously there are times a cleaning of some sort is needed. I am working on a collection for an older gentleman. He has many coins that have been kept in old bank bags for years. As in 50+ years. The coins in question are from Canada and the USA, Half Cents, full cents, etc., all before 1910. Anyway...answers appreciated! TIA