Green Verdigris on Coins

Hmm, never knew that toning was a form of corrosion. Thanks for all the information!!

 

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Some may prefer to use a different word than corrosion, but it is a change to the coin surface chemically. Tradition is that "dipping" silver coins is allowable, but it just removes the top altered surface and by doing so removes part of the luster. Too many or 1 too long dip can make a lusterless silver coin. Since the "cartwheel effect" is a direct effect of the microscopic surface structure of the coin , dipping each times removes a part of it. Soon it can be still "shiney" but no cartwheel. I have a thread someplace showing a microscopic photo of an original surface.

Jim

 

One mans corrosion is another's beautiful green patina.
Here is one from circa 400 AD. :devil:

 

Beautiful coins that are actually enhanced by the patina. To keep the patina from continuing to grow (and it will continue under certain circumstances) the coin should be kept dry and away from as mucvh air as possible (Saflip or some such thing).

 

I'm not holding my breath...this coin is a pretty tough case. Frankly, I would be very surprised if Verdicare™ (or anything else) can save this coin, but I've been surprised in the past! I'll post initial pics and pics after the first treatment (don't expect much)....then I'll post more pics a month or two later. That's when I think we may see the most improvement...or not, who knows?

...we'll see! :kewl:

 

Went back and took another look at the coin. One of the "saving graces" it might have is that the verdigris is moderately even with no areas of concentration. If the verdigris has attacked deeply, removing it will leave the coin with pits. Evenly spread like this would give the surface a grainy appearance if completely removed. Then you might have to put it in a rock tumbler

 

I got the coin in the mail today. The Seller shipped fast and the coin was well packaged. The pictures of the coin were accurate, also. It has VF-30 details, but the corrosion is bad. I began treating the coin with Verdicare™. We'll see how it does on the verdigris...but there's nothing that can be done about the damage the coin has already suffered. It may be a few weeks before it will be ready for initial pics.

 

I went ahead and took some initial pics after the first treatment. The coin already suffered a lot of environmental damage...nothing will fix that. However, much (not all) of the verdigris is gone. I find that I have to let the coin sit for a month or two then treat again (for really tough cases like this one). I've treated coins that don't look much improved initially, but look at them again after a couple of months and see more improvement. I'll let this one sit for a while and post some more pics later. I may need to treat it again if traces of verdigris are still evident.

Compare these pics with the pics in the next post to see the difference.

 

This is what the coin looked like before the initial VerdiCare™ treatment...

 

Thad's stuff is a valuable tool if used properly! It of course didn't fill in the corrosion pits, but it wasn't forumlated to do that, In fact, nothing is formulated to do that. Even with all of the experimenting I have done with Verdigone and Verdicare, your results surprises me ~ better than I expected to see.

Jim

 

Is this coin also a candidate for that Verdicare? It is the only large cent that is green. Many of the rest are just those worn down, bent, and/or holed cull coins people price like they are some kind of treasure.
This coin below has a much higher price listed on Numismedia than the current bid and might get a good deal if you can get the green stuff off of it.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1800-Draped-Bust-Large-Cent-/160861220996?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item2574137084

 

The coins I've treated with Verdicare™ continue to improve in appearance over time and I've never seen the verdigris return...not yet, anyway. I don't know what it does to the value of the coin...if it's detectable by the TPGs. The coin above has too much corrosive damage to bother sending to a TPG. However, I've wanted to send in one of the others to see what happens.

 

Thanks for sharing your results yakpoo! I always enjoy hearing about and seeing VC results.

 

No problem...glad to do it. When I first began using your product, I was a little disappointed with the results; I wanted it to work 100% on contact. However, my experience is that I see about a 70% improvement in a day or two. After that, the product seems to continue to work and I achieve 100% improvement in a few months. I don't know if that makes sense to you, but that's what I've observed.

I've been very pleased with the results! :bow:

The next thing I would like to know is if Verdicare™ is detectable by the TPGs. What's been your experience, BT? (no warranties, implied or expressed)

 

Do you believe they would give a details label if you use Verdicare? It doesn't seem like something that would be considered harsh and they themselves "restore" coins like you are doing. It is not like it was whizzed. Another question is how many cleaned coins make it past them? I would think that cleaning is not always apparent.

 

I really don't know. I've "heard" that TPGs use "sniffers" that check for the presence of chemicals. I've never treated a coin with Verdicare™ and then sent it in for grading. I have a few good candidates I was thinking about sending in...as a test.

BadThad makes Verdicare™...I was hoping he could offer some guidance (off the record, of course).

 

See FAQ #124:

http://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/files/images/Verdi-Care-FAQ.pdf

 

...yaddie, yaddie, yaddah :goof:.

What I would like to know (should you care to share) is...how many Verdicare™ treated coins have you (BadThad) sent to the TPGs, how many were graded, and how many came back as "improperly cleaned"? Metrics...we need metrics! :hail:

:secret: (PM me! I'll keep it on the DL :madangel

 

I've never submitted a VC conserved coin. The product is intened for use on coins that typically wouldn't slab with a TPG due to corrosion or other surface issues. Submitting any coin that has been "worked on" by any means is akin to dropping cash into a slot machine.