Best Brand Of Olive Oil

Heres my thoughts:

Olive oil is used because its very slightly acidic. The other properties it has which make it preferable to a different dilute acid, I dont know. I assume its a very weak acid compared to something like lemon juice or vinegar which dissociates easier.

Also, higher quality olive oil doesn't leave a greasy film in your mouth. Better? I dont know. The old grease might protect the coin to an extent, who knows. I just didnt bother, I bought the stores own brand, but I did find it easier to work on the coin when I used higher quality branded oil. Speed of cleaning? No real difference, as far as I could see.

i would be surprised if it mattered...but I've been surprised before.

Actually there are different grades of Olive Oil, Some more acidly than others. I usually use extra virgin olive oil it's less harsh.

FVRIVS makes them sound delicious

The best olive oil to use for cleaning ancient coins is distilled water. Seriously. I used olive oil for years, and then I heard about using distilled water (DW), and I've never gone back. It's not acidic, so it won't damage your coins. It doesn't darken them or leach out the copper. It does a much better job of loosening encrustations. And it's a lot cheaper.

Never use tap water. And don't use spring water, either. You want simple distilled water (or deionized water if you can get it). The absence of minerals in the DW is makes it so effective. Change it weekly.

I know, I'm sounding really dogmatic. But that's only because I've been so pleased with the results that I've gotten.

Glenn Simonelli

Thanks.

I used to clean uncleaned ancient coins for many years. I stopped around 5 years ago because of time constraints, but have recently started up again. (Boy, has the market changed!) I teach middle school science. One of my students is studying Latin and really enjoys it, so I introduced him to Roman coins, and we started meeting once a week during his study time to clean some. After two weeks, a friend of his starting joining us. A couple of weeks later, another. We're up to around 6 or 7 students and growing.

We use Glenn's Ever-Increasing-Level-of-Destructiveness approach to cleaning, moving up to a more abrasive method only after a gentler approach has proven to be insufficient. Start with an old toothbrush with the bristles cut down very short and brush the coins. If that's not harsh enough--it rarely is--soak in DW for a week and try again. Next level, soak in DW for a week and scrub again with dishwashing soap and rinse. Next levels, in order: Brass bristle brush, brass tools and a stereo microscope, electrolysis with a sodium carbonate solution, and finally, electrolysis with a salt/baking soda solution mix, carefully monitoring and adjusting the solution pH as you go. (Final level: estimate the age of the coin and give it away to a little kid.)

Regards,
Glenn Simonelli

The more "virgin" the olive oil, the less acidic it is.