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 Replies: 15 / Views: 1,532 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1045 Posts |
Recently purchased and decided to have a go at cleaning it. Progress pictures of glorious success and/or complete disaster to follow........ Best I can do with iphone for picture  |
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Pillar of the Community
3772 Posts |
Good luck with your cleaning endavour, but don't give it a harsh treatment, seems to have quite a lot of nice detail.
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
I really wouldn't do too much to it, maybe a little cleaning on the reverse. Otherwise I'd leave that nice green patina alone.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
513 Posts |
I wouldn't clean it past perhaps a DI water bath and some light toothbrush work, but that's just my super-conservative opinion on coin cleaning shining through.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1045 Posts |
Thanks for the advice everyone
I usually would leave as is but it just seemed like a good candidate to bring out more details, especially on the reverse. I am using a bamboo skewer and a pin vise with a needle in it, along with a toothbrush.
The reverse is coming along ok as it is a bit more sandy. The obverse sand seems more engrained into the metal
Edited by Biancasdad
11/06/2014 8:38 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
There is a risk that dropping the coin into a bath of olive oil for a very long time (months) may blacken it a bit all over; olive oil is very mildly acidic.
I would nevertheless tempted to try this, examining say, one a week.
Sometimes with ancient bronze coins such as this, there is no virgin bronze metal left at all in the core of the coin. They can retain a surprising amount of strength despite this, because most of the core can still be nominally bronze.
The existing patina shows up the detail of the coin quite well; you may loose some to most of this, in any attempt to clean it. Risk worth taking? Perhaps.......!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1045 Posts |
Well, seems I am caught between a 'rock and a hard place' now as the reverse is done but I know I can't get the obverse to clean up the same way   Reverse was done mechanically with a bamboo skewer along with a needle in a pin vise but the obverse definitely can't be done mechanically, the patina is a different animal under magnification. I think an olive oil soak for a week and some light toothbrush scrubbing might be the best option here with the goal of getting a bit of the sand off of it as well as giving it a little darker shade just so it matches the reverse better Edited by Biancasdad
11/06/2014 8:42 pm
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Moderator
United States
23731 Posts |
The olive oil will darken the coin a bit which just might do the trick to get both sides to match.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4970 Posts |
oh wow, how strange. I would have never guessed that one side would clean up that good and the other not much at all.
that stuff does look like it kind of wants to come off.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1045 Posts |
I decided that this coin is finished. I am happy with the result. My eyes are too old for to do this very often but it was fun.   Edited by Biancasdad
11/07/2014 10:28 am
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Moderator
United States
23731 Posts |
It came out very nice. Good looking coin.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
513 Posts |
I liked the light green coloring but you're right; there is considerably more detail in the cleaned coin.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4970 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
Wow. I would be happy with that result. Thanks for sharing. Good hearing from you.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1045 Posts |
Thanks for all the comments
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4211 Posts |
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G job~!! Great looking coin!
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Replies: 15 / Views: 1,532 |
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Posted 11/06/2014 01:24 am
