Can I Clean These Crusty Coins Without Removing The Patina?

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 3,251
hyperborea New Member Canada 10 Posts	Posted 10/26/2012 10:57 pm I recently bought a few cheap coins for less than $1 each. I'm not expecting anything rare or amazing, but I'd like to try cleaning them. There are eight in total; four are very small and the other four are of varying quality. Two are almost completely covered in crust and one has some green gunk on it - maybe bronze disease? Are any of these (aside from the first one) cleanable? If they are, how do I know what's dirt and what's the patina? Can I use a toothbrush rather than a wire brush? I've checked out a few websites and this forum but I don't want to totally destroy my coins, even if they are only worth what I paid. I should add that I am a very, very casual coin collector; I mainly pick out interesting coins in my change. Thanks in advance. The best looking coin This one is sitting in a jar of distilled water. Also sitting in a jar of distilled water. What would I lift off of this coin? Is this bronze disease? Report this Post to the Staff

chrsmat71 Pillar of the Community United States 4973 Posts	Posted 10/26/2012 11:27 pm oh yes! plenty of those are cleanable! here's what i'd do... hit them with a TOOTHBRUSH! don't use a wire brush! most of them have dirt that I bet will come off...may take a while. pick at the dirt with a toothpick or needle (careful with metal needle!) the second coin has lots of dirt that will come off. may take a while, pick some dirt of...let it soak a week...then hit it again...change your soak water if it gets cloudy. i don't think the last coin has bd...but not an expert. will that green stuff come off? kind of powedery, scratch off with fingernail? if so, then it probably is BD...if it doesn't come off easily, then probably not. sorry for rambleing....but hope that helps. hey, dirt vs. patina: when they are wet, that dirt will become pretty dark..it will change color fairly noticeably. when it's starting to dry, but hot quite yet...great time to pick at it, seems to come off well then. oh yeah...and Edited by chrsmat71 10/26/2012 11:49 pm Report this Post to the Staff
echizento Moderator United States 23731 Posts	Posted 10/26/2012 11:43 pm to the community The first two coins look like they have some detail under the dirt. The last two not so much. Some warm water and a soft brush will remove some of the loose dirt and than you can soak the coins in either distilled water or olive oil. I prefer olive oil, but it has a tendency to darken the coin. I use dental picks to pick out some of the harder deposits, but until you get some experience cleaning ancients just stick with toothpicks. Good luck with cleaning and post some after pictures when you are done. Report this Post to the Staff
Gil-galad Pillar of the Community United States 2044 Posts	Posted 10/26/2012 11:44 pm Yes, wet them and then scrub with a toothbrush. I also use a electric toothbrush. I'd also let them soak for awhile in distilled water. Be patient. Report this Post to the Staff
hyperborea New Member Canada 10 Posts	Posted 10/27/2012 5:47 pm Thanks! How hard should I brush the coins? Report this Post to the Staff
dougsmit Pillar of the Community United States 1549 Posts	Posted 10/27/2012 6:19 pm Gil-galad has the right idea but keep your expectations low. The first coin is now fully identifiable (Constantius II Spes Republice SMKE Cyzicus mint 5th shop) so all you are accomplishing is making it look better. I don't think there is much better it will look. The others might reveal more ID points but thy might just stay mysteries. The 4th one is a provincial of the Severan period but the evidence that shows (Greek legend ..ANOPO.. could be more than one town most likely in Thrace (Marcianopolis?). I always say this and no one wants to hear: When finished with these you will probably have one very common coin worth at best $2 and three slugs. Buying low end uncleaned coins is not the way to get 'collectable' coins but is a hobby only for those who like the challenge of chasing down ID clues. I'd rather take the same $4 and put it toward a $5-10 coin that could be identified and have some eye appeal (perhaps a slightly better example of the first one). We each must make choices. I still have a few survivors of my cleaning efforts in the 1960's and they are still worthless. The only difference was that then they were a dime per lesson rather than a dollar. Report this Post to the Staff
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