'conserving'/Cleaning/Grade 1870 1/26th Shilling

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 1,795
paul g Valued Member United Kingdom 115 Posts	Posted 12/05/2014 7:23 pm Hello, I wonder if I could have some advice....? This coin has been devoloping some dreaded green destruction. It is not gooey at all, quite dry. My question is, would running it under water remove this stuff or would that rinse off the patina? It's a nice red-rainbow sort of colour. The coin also has a very low mintage. I don't want to wash it off, especially if the water would do nothing to remove the green stuff anyway. If it can't be removed, is there any way of at least preventing its advance? Can anyone also give me a grade for this coin, and how the green stuff affects that? Report this Post to the Staff

Medieval Pillar of the Community 3772 Posts	Posted 12/05/2014 7:28 pm The coin has previously been cleaned as far as I can tell. If you do nothing about the verdigris it will just increase, seems there was an attempt to remove some with a toothpick or similar. Edited by Medieval 12/05/2014 7:29 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Pertinax Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 2133 Posts	Posted 12/05/2014 7:38 pm Verdigris is unfortunately all too common on Victorian Jersey coins. I would be inclined not to attempt to remove it because you'll probably be left with a scarred coin. Running it under the tap won't achieve anything nice. I would avoid acetone because risk losing the patina, toning or lustre. I grade this GEF (good extremely fine or what our US friends call AU) with verdigris on the reverse. Report this Post to the Staff
paul g Valued Member United Kingdom 115 Posts	Posted 12/05/2014 10:06 pm Cheers. It's never been cleaned in the last 45 years at least, but possibly before then? The light makes it look a strange colour! It's a nice lustrous shine off it. I'd love to attack it with a toothpick, but have resisted! Do you think this has been circulated then? I hung on to this one because when I was looking at it through my loupe I can't see any wear at all.? Report this Post to the Staff
sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21786 Posts	Posted 12/06/2014 05:56 am The black discoloration is not verdigris; that is green. It is most probably a copper oxide or sulphide, but definitely not the complex copper hydroxy-carbonate double salt that verigris is. The coin has lost it's cartwheel luster (due to a tiny amount of wear and patination), that it had when it was a freshly struck coin. Can the black stuff be removed? No, but it does not pose anywhere the threat to continued corrosion that verdigris does. I would just enclose it in a Mylar / cardboard 2x2, and put that into a non PVC album page. Report this Post to the Staff
BadThad Bedrock of the Community United States 19935 Posts	Posted 12/07/2014 6:45 pm The good news, it appears to be moderate verdigris which could be mostly addressed with VC. However, the black cupric oxide is a serious problem and cannot be removed with damaging the surface. Nonetheless, I think you could perform a decent conservation if you wanted. If you choose to do nothing, I recommend dehydrating the verdigris with acetone and putting the coin into an air-tite holder. Lincoln Cent Lover! VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/ Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 5 / Views: 1,795

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