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 Replies: 11 / Views: 809 |
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Valued Member
Italy
284 Posts |
Hello everyone!  As I start to play with coin conservation, I would like to show you my first attempts and enquire about your opinions on the results. In the past week I've started with some culls that had minimal or no "problematic" contaminants. Here's the first attempt. All in all this is a 48h soak in distilled water (4 changes of water) and 24h in acetone (2 changes). Not counting all the various rinsing. Water baths were made at above room temperature while acetone well below (outside is still chilly here!) This is before:  This is after:  Kind of impossible to see nicely with such low resolution pics so I will link here some high-definition ones for your enjoyment: https://i.redd.it/36bg4qrmptsc1.png & https://i.redd.it/j5hlgrttptsc1.png Thank you for your time and have a nice weekend! |
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Moderator
 United States
94812 Posts |
slight improvement. Not much, but a good start.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
73717 Posts |
Some improvement.
Errers and Varietys.
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Valued Member
 Italy
284 Posts |
Thank you both!  I have a question though -- when you say "some/slight improvement" -- do you mean the cleaning could have been better? Or you are commenting on the status of the coin? Coin was and still is a cull so no way to change that! I have very limited experience but I would say there isn't much more a conservation attempt could have done (except maybe removing the 2 dark spots). Thank you!  Edited by joe_77
04/08/2024 08:36 am
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Moderator
United States
94812 Posts |
Quote:
when you say "some/slight improvement" -- do you mean the cleaning could have been better? Not necessarily - sometime the gunk and stains are so deeply ingrained into the metal, it simply won't come off simply by soaking. |
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Moderator
United States
187702 Posts |
Looking good! Quote:
when you say "some/slight improvement" -- do you mean the cleaning could have been better? I would say the coin was not that bad from the start, so the improvements are not as obvious, but they are there. Quote:
sometime the gunk and stains are so deeply ingrained into the metal, it simply won't come off simply by soaking. I agree with this. You do not want to start removing metal, that goes beyond conservation. |
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Valued Member
Italy
284 Posts |
Thank you both!! See you at the next trial!  |
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Moderator
United States
187702 Posts |
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Moderator
United States
94812 Posts |
Has the next jury been assembled for the next trial yet?  Edited by Dearborn
04/16/2024 5:00 pm
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Valued Member
Italy
284 Posts |
Quote:
Has the next jury been assembled for the next trial yet?  Not yet! I had to take a break from my conservation trials to handle a "disaster"  I asked a locksmith to pick a little safe that had some 50ish coins inside, undisturbed for probably 80 years. Despite asking not to use chemicals they probably unloaded half a can of WD40 (or similar) inside, pretty much messing up the poor coins with a mix of oxidation, patina, dirt, grease  So I've been trying to salvage those for the past week  |
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Moderator
United States
94812 Posts |
 Oh my!! get those coin into some pure acetone to get the residue off them as soon as possible - that may reduce the impact of the lubricant/water displacement chems. (any photos?) |
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Valued Member
Italy
284 Posts |
Sure thing! They are mostly common Italian coins from the 20-40ies, quite circulated in the first place. My first "impact" treatment was indeed to dump all of them in acetone (twice). Showing below some quick snapshots. Coppers/bronzital which are currently baking in distilled water. The others are the silver/cupronickel ones which are mostly done (only missing the final swim in acetone). Patina is completely gone though I don't know if they had some in the first place. The oldest silver coin (20 cents from 1919) did somewhat retain its patina but the WD40 (or acetone/water) did displace some encrustation, leaving a pretty annoying "bold spot".  Needless to say I wasn't quit happy with the discovery     |
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Replies: 11 / Views: 809 |
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Posted 04/07/2024 11:08 pm
