| Author |
 Replies: 11 / Views: 7,074 |
|
|
Valued Member
United States
302 Posts |
|
|
|
|
Moderator
 Australia
16851 Posts |
The two shilling coin, also known as a "florin", was worth 24 old British pence, or one-tenth of a pound. First, the good news: prior to 1947, these coins were made of 50% silver, so at a minimum, it's worth bullion value - $3.50 at current silver prices. It's not a scarce date (mintage almost 40 million), so in that condition, it probably isn't worth too much above that.
A farthing was one-quarter of an old British penny. And here's the bad news: that farthing looks like it's in really excellent condition, except for those nasty-looking green blobs. I hope for your sake that that's just blobs of dirt or goo sitting there, and not corrosion or "PVC damage". This is definitely a case where the general rule "don't clean coins" should probably be broken, just to see if there's anything worth saving. I'd suggest giving it a swirl in acetone. Don't rub it! If the green goo comes off easily, you could have a $30 to $50 coin there. If it doesn't, then the surface is most likely already damaged, and the coin becomes almost worthless.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2217 Posts |
That farthing looks really nice but with problems - I agree with sap's assessment ;) if it's in an EF condition, the problems are bad if it's verdigris or something like it...
|
|
Valued Member
 United States
302 Posts |
After reading a whole bunch of threads dealing with verdigris and other "nasties" I've started this coin on the olive oil bath plan. I'll give it a while and see what happens over the next few weeks.
|
|
Valued Member
Ireland
498 Posts |
I have many coins have verdegris.
For me it will take 1 month to three months soak in oil.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
302 Posts |
I'm not real sure it was/is verdegris. There was only 1 spot on the coin that really had a "green" color to it or that looked like it would "flake" off if scrubbed. I tried using a wooden toothpick with no luck getting anything to flake off so I'm keeping my fingers crossed here.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
302 Posts |
Well, the coin has been bathing for 10 days and I must say the verdegris has taken on a lovely shade of green but it is not coming off without a fight. I have started the coin on a new olive oil bath and will give it another week/10 days and see what it looks like. I will say that the rest of the coin looks really nice....pretty redish color with great details
|
|
Valued Member
United States
302 Posts |
I last looked at this coin on 3/15. This evening I removed the coin from the oil and took a look. The Green Death seems to becoming a little "chunky" which I hope meant it is getting ready to fall off. Using a toothpick I wasn't able to remove but just the tiniest bit. I refreshed the olive oil bath and will let it sit for a while longer. I now have acetone but I read somewhere that acetone wasn't the best thing for copper or bronze. Any input on this would be appreciated
|
|
Moderator
Australia
16851 Posts |
Acetone is fine for a quick rinse; it's only reported to be a problem for bright shiny copper when left soaking for a prolonged period (like several days). With acetone, if the gunk doesn't come off in 30 seconds, leaving it in there longer isn't going to make much difference.
Ten days is barely the start of an effective olive oil treatment. I've got a small Roman, a quadrans of Caligula, that started going green on me; it's been in oil since sometime last year.
When you've finished with the oil treatement, you can use the acetone to wash the oil off.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
|
|
Valued Member
United States
302 Posts |
I've had this coin going for just over a month now. I'll leave it alone for more time. How often do you change the oil on your coin? (LOL, that sound hilarious)  |
|
Valued Member
Ireland
498 Posts |
If I see some coins with less verdegris and they are all gone,if the rest still have it,I soak it again,maybe once a month.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Australia
839 Posts |
ha I have a one shilling coin from 1950 (British) which I don't know much about.
Ill read these posts.
Man I hate verdigris.
Edited by Spedward
04/27/2008 07:01 am
|
| |
Replies: 11 / Views: 7,074 |
|
Posted 03/12/2008 09:37 am
