Finally A Rather Nice One.

I am a trained scientist and have done much research on using electrolysis. Done wrong and it destroys coins. Done right it does absolutely NO damage to the metal surface of a coin. BUT -- it will usually remove any patina along with the other corrosion. Not a concern with badly encrusted coins, which defy soaking.

I use a battery or device charger as my electrical source.

The solution is DISTILLED water, with a small spoonful of sodium carbonate. ( Arm and Hammer washing soda). Do NOT use salt, sodium chloride, or baking soda.

The coin is held with a stainless steel clamp, which must contact the metal of the coin.

The other electrode is a carbon rod.

I honor your skill at restoration. Your item is precious. You've seen to it that it lies now preserved in time,else it would be lost for all time.

This coin once mattered a great deal to some of us now lost. I doubt it will again matter as much to us who remain, but It should. I'll pause my personal use of time just now to thank you for your scientific perseverance.

Kevin

That is one of the best results of electrolysis that I've seen, and a very nice coin too.

I tried electrolysis some years back with varying degrees of success. Most were coins that had been in de-ionised water for a long time without a decent result, so I gave up on crusties. I have one coin that didn't improve after being in de-ionised water for months, it didn't respond at all to electrolysis, and has been in virgin olive oil for four or five years now. The crust hasn't softened much, and only tiny fragments have been picked away. I can see bright metal around the edge where some crust has come away, but I wonder if I'll ever see a coin?

Good job, it looks like you preserved the patina. I've never had such luck - always stripped coin bare. Nice to see there is still hope for this method.