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 Replies: 32 / Views: 4,163 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3479 Posts |
So I picked up a nearly completed Whitman album of Franklin halves for dirt cheap from one of my pawn shop sources a couple weeks ago. This one in particularly was in rough shape. I didn't use any abrasive chemicals. Just acetone and a tooth pic. How do you think I did? Before:   After:   |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5661 Posts |
Certainly looks better, but probably didn't change the value much... since it looks like crud rather than corrosion, maybe an overnight soak in distilled water?
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3479 Posts |
Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking. I was debating a water soak or olive oil. There were a couple more coins in this album that had that red crusty stuff on them. Almost looks like old, dried blood. Yuck, right? I paid $3.75 each for these coins so I'm not concerned about value. I just thought it would be a good set to explore the wild world of coin restoration with.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3479 Posts |
I should note that I soaked it in acetone for a couple days before I went at it with a tooth pick.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12477 Posts |
You're right, it does look like blood! No wonder they were cheap.  Anyway, I have never soaked a coin in olive oil, but that may be a good candidate for a test. Your acetone/toothpick results are noticeable, for sure, but I don't think the eye appeal was raised much. In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
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Rest in Peace
10197 Posts |
Mike, acetone and possibly xylene may work on the brownish spots, but see the dark black spots on the cheek and by the lips didn't change at all. That means the culprit isn't organic, acetone or plain water won't work. Those areas I treat with a tarnish remover on a q-tip, not soaking the coin entirely. Wet the tip and press/dab or maybe roll the tip over the area. I see three other spots that may need that also, the left bell hole, the eagle's left wing and the obverse field at 10 o'clock.
Edited by Crazyb0
03/10/2018 11:47 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3479 Posts |
Thanks for the tip, Butch! I'll give it a shot. I did try the q-tip rollover trick with acetone after I went at it with a tooth pick but I didn't get any results. Guess it's time for harsher chemicals.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3479 Posts |
I tried the water soak last night and results were spectacular. I put the coin in a bowl and let the tap water get as hot as it could. I put the bowl under the water flow to fill the bowl. The results were almost instantaneous but I let it soak overnight. It's hard to believe it's the same coin.   |
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Rest in Peace
United States
4078 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
314 Posts |
Quote:
Amazing.  |
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
Ok guys , thanks to Mikes experiment all we have to do with our dirty crusty coins is throw them in boiling water .   Nice outcome ! |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
It all depends on what the crust is. In this case it was something that was either water-soluble or softened due to the heat.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3479 Posts |
Quote:
In this case it was something that was either water-soluble or softened due to the heat. I did this before with a bunch of gunky change from my old truck. The coins were plastered with sticky crud, coffee and whatever other crap and drinks that spilled on them over the years. When I sold my truck I had to scoop the change out from the middle console. At the time I just wanted them to be presentable for deposit at my bank. So I boiled them in vinegar and salt which did the trick but turned all the coins yellow. So my guess on this coin would be that it is was either coffee, soft drinks or blood that crusted this coin over. I'm thinking it was the heat that did the trick. Almost immediately, when I looked at the coin in the bowl, I thought I made a mistake and put the wrong coin in. The gunk was removed that quickly. Edited by MikeF
03/11/2018 11:54 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5661 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8715 Posts |
Great restoration!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6514 Posts |
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Replies: 32 / Views: 4,163 |
Posted 03/10/2018 11:20 pm
