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Replies: 11 / Views: 619 |
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Valued Member
Italy
206 Posts |
Hello folks!  Well today is the day of the oldest copper I found from USA. A very dirty and gunky 1879 Indian Head cent. I think with this one it's probably a good idea to do some water and acetone baths.. that poor coin is dirty!  I would love to hear some of your opinions on this one. Do you see anything interesting and is it rarer than the other coins I posted? Are we in the AG/G grade realm? Hit me!   As usual, thanks a lot! 
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
94367 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
505 Posts |
A perfect candidate for acetone and verdi-care.
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Moderator
 United States
164408 Posts |
Verdi-care will probably work well here. 
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
59749 Posts |
Good Details, Environmental Damage. Try using pure acetone and Verdi-Care.
Errers and Varietys.
Edited by Errers and Varietys 01/17/2024 10:58 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
33743 Posts |
Looks like that crud is raised on the surface. Try a bath in pure Acetone if that is available in Italy. It should allow for some of it to be removed.
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Valued Member
 Italy
206 Posts |
Thank you all! I will definitely work on this to clean it up. I also think most of that gunk will go away. But I will probably leave it for a later time so that I may build some experience on other less valuable coppers!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1257 Posts |
Experience prior to conserving value coins is essential - great position to take. However, there is not a lot of value with your Indian in its condition. I'd say it is an ideal candidate for an Acetone (100% Pure) bath and would likely clean up well. It would be a good indicator coin of what is possible. Put it in a sealed glass container of Acetone for 2-3 days, flip it a few times. I think you'll be surprised. FWIW, I do a lot of coin conservations. The advice you received in this thread is spot on: Acetone and VerdiCare are your go to products. There are other tools/chems out there for more serious efforts but start with these two. Here is an example of Acetone and VerdiCare finishing a dirt coin that straight-graded. 
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Valued Member
 Italy
206 Posts |
Hello DOCC! Thank you for your inspiring example! I would not believe these were the same coins! Excellent work! By the way, this is to-date my brain dump of what I would do to clean coppers: http://goccf.com/t/458018#3974492Would love to know your opinions. Do you think it makes sense to follow the "polarity ladder" and start with distilled water (w/ or w/o some added salts to make it slightly basic) and then acetone? Thanks in advance!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1257 Posts |
Read your post, you have the right strategy and toolset in my opinion. Disclaimer though, I have no experience with verdigone. I do sometimes start with DW but only because most of the coins I process are dirt coins. I've found that alternating rounds of VC and Acetone works great. I also throw Sodium Sesquicarbonate into the mix frequently alternating all 3. However, I never run it stronger than 2.5% on coppers and 5% on silvers. I recently wrote a blog post on it if you'd like to have a read. https://www.prodetecting.com/blog/c...-alkali-wash
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Valued Member
 Italy
206 Posts |
Thank you DOCC for the pointers! I will read and study your article with attention!  By the way, as we were talking yesterday about practicing on coins with even less value.. look at the coincidence.. today I found these two... http://goccf.com/t/459014
Edited by joe_77 01/20/2024 2:37 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1257 Posts |
Honestly, it is just what works for me. Not a definitive answer for conservation by any stretch of the imagination.
Oh wow, yup those other 2 are not going anywhere. #2 is pitted bad, corrosion has done its duty on that one - nothing will come of it.
I think #1 is a great candidate for practicing spot application of verdicare on the obverse. The coin is toast anyway but you could certainly get some experience from the obverse.
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Replies: 11 / Views: 619 |
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