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 Replies: 107 / Views: 11,788 |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
756 Posts |
progress continues slowly on this one. here is what it looks like today.   most of the zigzag is gone now. the obverse is starting to look pretty solid. I think this will shake out to be a decent looking large cent. the problem spots near the date, by B in liBerty and the two chunks of the reverse are all progressing nicely. you can see that they are more visually distinct and the color is not as close to that of the coin. that stuff is getting brittle and flaking off as I go through a soak and poke rotation. soak the debris and then poke it off and rinse and repeat. total time ~1.5 hours Edited by CarrsCoins
12/08/2022 7:20 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
18737 Posts |
Carrs, I'm admiring your work. Thank you for detailing this restoration effort.
Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7057 Posts |
Great work! I recently picked up a coin from the Azores for my Portugal collection. When I got it, it had some sticky residue on it. I just put in acetone overnight, the acetone was completely yellow green. I rinsed it again in acetone and then used Verdicare. After drying it looks better but the date side lightened a little. My results.   Edited by hfjacinto
12/08/2022 9:05 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Helder, please don't push this off-topic.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7360 Posts |
As long as you've taken it that far, I wonder if some Deller's Darkener would even out the color a bit.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
756 Posts |
@hondo - thanks! its a tad nerve wracking doing it publicly and on a coin I hadn't seen. I'm glad its progressing well. it could have easily turned into an embarrassment and we aren't out of the woods yet!
@ hfjacinto - that coin looks nice. ive heard good things about verdicare but I have no experience with the product. I probably ought to buy a bottle and play around with it one of these days.
@edweather - there are a few spots I want to spend a bit more time on before I start worrying about getting the color right. I have a tube of Dellers but I havent used it much. I smeared some on some Lincoln cents for science and will be keeping an eye on what happens there. in the past ive had great results recoloring coins by touching them and exposing them to the elements. when copper coins are circulating you have to try pretty hard to keep them from turning brown.
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Valued Member
United States
378 Posts |
The progress in a little more than 2 weeks, is amazing!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3042 Posts |
Very nice progress and a huge improvement already!
Just curious - if the residue is getting somewhat brittle and flaking, could one of the ultrasonic cleaners like those used for cleaning jewelry be of use?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
756 Posts |
@hokiefan_82 - I had a couple ultrasonic cleaners fall into my lap a bit ago. I got them with the goal of cleaning parts for my project car. the ones I have are terrible pieces of junk. I havent taken the time research them properly or try again. I dont know if ultrasonic cleaning could be used to conserve coins. it seems like it could be a useful tool. I am concerned that loose debris could scratch the coin. its something I plan to spend some real time with in the next couple years. if you or anyone else has experience with them I would love to hear about it!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3042 Posts |
I've never actually tried it on coins myself. You're right, you'd probably want to provide a way to ensure the debris fell away from the coin as it was loosened. I wonder if there'd be a way to suspend the coin in the solution using non-abrasive netting or something like that. I'll have to think about it a bit...
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
13696 Posts |
Looking good so far. Thanks for sharing the process/progress with us.  Take a look at my other hobby ... http://www.jk-dk.artToo many hobbies .... too much work .... not enough time. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
756 Posts |
i figure its about time for another update. here is what the coin looks like today.   i was thinking it might be nice to see some of the process pictures together so I threw this together.  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
18737 Posts |
Outstanding work, Carrs! You have literally rejuvenated what appeared to be a junker. Granted, it's not a Servpro job ("like it never even happened!). But you have restored this coin to a condition that virtually any collector would be happy to own. The serpentine mark on the obverse is virtually nonexistent now, and this is a very presentable coin now. Kudos to you, and thank you for detailing this restoration effort. This is why I find Coin Community Forum such a valuable resource.
Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21645 Posts |
Obviously looks cleaned, but
if it came up for sale
I would buy the 'after' cleaned coin at a higher price in preference to the 'before' uncleaned coin at a lower price.
It proves the point that if a coin needs cleaning, it should be done by a person who has the required experience.
This is almost always the case with ancient or detector coins that have been recovered from ground burial.
The results shown here support that view.
Nevertheless, nicely toned coins are almost always damaged (sometimes severely), by cleaning.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
756 Posts |
thanks hondo! I am enjoying documenting the process.
sel you make a couple great points.
this coin will always be a cleaned coin. I cant, and wouldnt want to, change the truth of the situation. it has been cleaned. it would be dishonest to represent it in any other way.
i strongly agree that most coins should not be cleaned. an honest patina is always better than a recolored coin no matter how well its done. well preserved coins are what every collector should be striving to find. preserving the coins to the best of our abilities is our responsibility as stewards of these pieces of history.
im not done with it yet. its going to end up looking better than it does now. the color is really flat and splotchy. we can get that evened out and add some contrast. there is still a lot of build up on the reverse that I continue to pick at.
i think there is a decent chance that by the end this will look market acceptable.
thanks for your comments!
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Replies: 107 / Views: 11,788 |
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Posted 12/08/2022 8:04 pm
