Papal Coin, To Clean Or Not To Clean

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Author	Replies: 9 / Views: 1,234
Thelloyf New Member Belgium 9 Posts	Posted 04/21/2019 02:07 am Hi! I bought a piastra of 1692 some time ago. It had ugly green smudges, which I was able to remove over a year ago. To patina is slowly recovering, but the rest of the coin seems patchy. So my question is, do I clean it completely and hope for a smooth Patina in some years or stop touching the coin? What do you think? Report this Post to the Staff

Daves Errors Pillar of the Community United States 1566 Posts	Posted 04/21/2019 02:32 am poorly cleaned Report this Post to the Staff
spru Bedrock of the Community United States 12477 Posts	Posted 04/21/2019 04:16 am Leave it be! 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 Report this Post to the Staff
John1 Moderator United States 56855 Posts	Posted 04/21/2019 05:14 am Leave as is. John1 Report this Post to the Staff
tdziemia Pillar of the Community United States 7940 Posts	Posted 04/21/2019 07:47 am What a wonderful image of the Archangel Michael! He also shows up on some coins of England, Naples and other places. This pope's reign saw some gorgeous Baroque religious imagery. I have a piastra with an image of St. Matthew, I think from a few years earlier. If you like gleaming white coins and don't care about its value to any future collector, do whatever pleases you. But on a coin like this that already has some wear, it would probably look odd and unnatural. If you are a new collector, you should also take into account that your tastes may change over time. If it were mine, I would leave it as is. Report this Post to the Staff
Thelloyf New Member Belgium 9 Posts	Posted 04/21/2019 08:20 am Thank you for the advice. I also have a half piastra of 1693 with a wonderfull black patina. This one was relatively cheap at 500 from Bertolami. But it had really bad green smudges which felt almost sticky. It was probably on there for ages as when I removed those, the Patina was gone. Just thought a 'reset' could do good and allow a new Patina to form? But nobody seems to agree here Report this Post to the Staff
John1 Moderator United States 56855 Posts	Posted 04/21/2019 09:50 am Quote: bad green smudges which felt almost sticky. Sounds like PVC damage. Acetone (100% pure) should have removed it without damaging the coin or toning. John1 Report this Post to the Staff
Albert Pillar of the Community United States 1913 Posts	Posted 04/21/2019 11:38 am Acetone and a Q-tip will take away PVC slime, but if you take the extra effort to clean the whole coin, you may wish you didn't. I've done that with some of mine and ended up regretting it. The result can be very poor eye appeal. Report this Post to the Staff
Thelloyf New Member Belgium 9 Posts	Posted 04/21/2019 2:30 pm I will give the aceton a try and restrain myself to clean the rest! Report this Post to the Staff
tdziemia Pillar of the Community United States 7940 Posts	Posted 04/21/2019 3:28 pm Quote: Just thought a 'reset' could do good and allow a new Patina to form? I have never observed a re-patination process on coins, but I would guess it takes decades, or even longer. I have silver coins in my collection obtained 20 years ago, which were cleaned before I got them, and there is no noticeable change in their appearance. Maybe this has been discussed elsewhere in CCF? Report this Post to the Staff
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