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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,657 |
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New Member
Canada
10 Posts |
Last fall I bought some cheap uncleaned coins on ebay. After a few months, I let this coin:  soak in distilled water. I would occasionally take it out to gently scrub it with a toothbrush or try to remove some of the dirt with a toothpick. After a while, I could start to see some pale green emerge from underneath the dirt, which I assumed was the patina. Some of the "dirt" in the more recessed areas of the coin was a darker shade of brown than the rest of the coin. I figured the dark brown was just some more crust as it began flaking away from the edges of the coin. Eventually I realized that the underside of the dark brown "crust" was the same shade of green as the blotches of green on other areas of the coin. The edges where the "dirt" flaked off are a lot thinner and jagged than I expected they would be, which made me think I was actually damaging the coin and not cleaning it. I immediately stopped and put it back into the distilled water. I can't take a picture of the coin right now (and I am almost embarrassed to, in case I butchered the poor thing). Am I worrying too much or is it possible that I actually wrecked it? Thanks. |
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Valued Member
United States
79 Posts |
Brave of you. I haven't cleaned coins myself yet. I was advised to try cleaning with olive oil as opposed to distilled water however. One of these days I'm going to pick up some cheap uncleaned coins and experiment myself. Good luck. I look forward to the responses here.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
Some ancients just refuse to clean up well.
That happens with the professionals as well. They take the risk after they are recovered from the ground, and before they are sold. The cost of the risk is built into their pricing. Indirectly, we pay for their risk taking.
If we attempt to clean an ancient coin, we take the risk.
Have you done FURTHER damage to this coin?
Most probably not.
It just that the professionals get the best, and we get the rest.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts |
I prefer DW to olive oil. Go on, post photos, we might be able to reassure or help. Some coins look ok and then suddenly fall apart because they are rotten inside.
Even if it is beyond help, it can still teach you a lot about the structure. Can you describe the "green patina" was it bright green? If it was bronze disease lurking beneath the layers, then there was nothing you could have done. Pictures would help.
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
 to the community As long as you didn't strip the coin down to bare medal, cut gouges in it and than polished it with a drummel tool you probably didn't do any damage to it. I've cleaned lots of coins and I prefer to use olive oil, it tends to darken the coin a bit, but I've gotten better results from that than by using distilled water. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
946 Posts |
What size is the coin?
The second photo seems to show encrusted dirt still on the surface.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4971 Posts |
i think you're doing just fine, I would say keep on going. there is certainly more removalbe dirt there. i think some of the patina may be gone or damaged on the edge, but I doubt if you did that with a toothpick (9 o'clock maybe?)...the patina is probably just damaged or very weak in a few spot. |
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New Member
 Canada
10 Posts |
Here it is...  I don't know how the edges chipped away like that because I mostly focused on removing the dirt with a soft toothbrush (mainly because I was afraid of wrecking it with the toothpick  ). I probably spent about 20 minutes altogether with the toothpick, holding it so the edge of the tip made contact with the coin.   I couldn't get a semi-decent shot of the other side, so here it is in the DW... yikes:  Edited by hyperborea
09/28/2013 3:33 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts |
Looks like Bronze Disease. Not your fault and nothing you could have done. I think it is too far gone, but I could be wrong. See what some of the others say. Looks like a Constantine I so not a rare coin.
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Moderator
United States
23731 Posts |
It is a Constantine era coin, I think it might be Constans. The legend seems to fit DN CONSTANS PF AVG. The reverse looks like two Victories facing each other. You might be able to bring out a little more detail with more soaking, but there is some environmental damage on the coin nothing you have done. This would be a good coin to work on your cleaning skills, your not going to do any more damage than what's already there
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
The coin wont see 2100AD without highly preferential treatment. That would be puting into a Nitrogen atmosphere cabinet, holding over a flame until the moisture is all gone (this would mostly stop corrosion) and then sealing it into a glass ampoule full of either nitrogen or Argon. THEN, keep it completely still. Even better would be to fill tge ampoule with sand to support the coin. Maybe they'll be able to save it in the future and your coin can hang out with Walt Disney's reanimated head! Other than this, Id say use verdicare if you have it and then put it in olive oil and just leave it. Id think a year would do it. This should dislodge all that dirt without cracking off any more patina. Then distilled water for a couple of weeks, dry in an oven for a while, verdicare again if you have it, then wax/lacquer with anything you have. For this, I recommend lacquer - it would hold it together pretty well. Quote:
Did I damage my coin? Ive cleaned many coins from the UK and many of them fall apart in your hands (literally) and I dont think you could really help this one..but it might come out nicely, theres a lot of design under that muck. |
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New Member
Canada
10 Posts |
Thank you for the tips and reassurance, everyone. I can't say I'm not disappointed that it was already on the road to crumbling away, but it is a learning experience!
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,657 |
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Posted 09/28/2013 01:22 am
