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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,572 |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5246 Posts |
 This is the top of a bag of about 300 Romans I got at a coin show today-at a price I could not refuse. I need some good advice as to the best way to clean them, in order to attribute them, or at least as many as possible. I can see some portraits and some of the legends on a few , but many are quite badly encrusted with dirt. They average about 2 grams each, and apparently came from Lyons, France. With this many, I can risk losing a few to failed experiments.
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Some of the loose dirt you can probably pick off with a tooth pick. Than you can soak them in distilled water or olive oil. I prefer using olive oil, though it does have tendency to darken the coin a bit.
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
5246 Posts |
How long do you typically soak it in Olive oil?
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Moderator
United States
34426 Posts |
@oriole, are they all bronze or are there any silver mixed in too?
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5246 Posts |
@Spence, I believe that they are all bronze. If there are silver I would be very surprised.
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Moderator
United States
34426 Posts |
Ok, for bronze then I would be more conservative with olive oil soaking times--maybe starting with a few hours at a time before progressing to longer soaks.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3443 Posts |
You know I have always wanted to ask this question since I have never tried the olive oil approach.
Refined olive oil or Extra Virgin ?
I notice in googling that Extra Virgin is low in acidity.
Spanish or Italian ?
California ?
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Moderator
United States
23731 Posts |
Extra Virgin is the best and the more pure the better. As far as how long to soak, that depends on the amount of encrustation.
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New Member
United States
26 Posts |
Understand that many uncleaned coins will never clean up very well. Being in the ground there can be chemical reactions with the metal in the soil and nothing is going to break those bonds. Even a dremel is not going to help.
After buying, selling and cleaning untold coins I would begin with distilled water and then move on to olive oil. Olive oil may penetrate better, but it stinks and it can discolor a coin. I have one coin that after a good 20 years still reeks of olive oil.
Also never ignore the tiny coins...many treasures are found in those.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5246 Posts |
Thanks. There being no rush, I will sample some different techniques.
Still smells of olive oil after 20 years? Nobody has told me that before, so it is good to know.
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Valued Member
United States
253 Posts |
Hi- I have been doing this for about 100 years now. #1. Put all of them in a container of water and dish soap. Use your hands to agitate them for a couple of minutes. Repeat several times, drain and rinse completely. This gets rid of the loose krap and oil base. #2. DON'T do the olive oil. It is a waste of time. #3. Separate them out by condition and put them in separate containers by your own estimate of grade and soak them in distilled water. #4. Go to ebay and buy some brushes! #5. By hand, stir up the water in your soaking containers every day and replace the distilled water daily. #6. When your brushes arrive- brush each coin daily and put back in new clean water. #7. Start with softest brush and then you decide when to advance to harder. #8. I have included pics of my brushes. Softest are on the top. #9. If you are buying from ebay usually the highest rated, action only, and hardest to win are your best bet. Have fun!   Edited by pendrak
11/11/2017 6:19 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3443 Posts |
I found that my local auto parts store sells a set of 3 small brushes for "auto detailing"
Brass Steel & Nylon
Of course we can skip the steel !
But the other two work nicely
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5246 Posts |
@pendrak, excellent advice. I doubt that I will get any more. This was a one-time thing as the price was so low.
Brushes, soap, distilled water... so simple...
So distilled water is used to avoid chlorine and other contaminants? I would not have thought that it could make much difference but I will believe you.
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,572 |
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Posted 11/10/2017 9:03 pm
