I like Cleaned Coins and you should to thread

I was looking at coins on Ebay and what do I see? Coin lots taped to paper. That just drives me nuts now. These coins were nothing, just a bunch of modern foreign coins I can get out of the coin machine reject bin. I really didn't want to soak this large cent because another cleaned pre-civil war coin isn't really needed.

 

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Very true Doug, very true.

 

I soaked this in alcohol for a few hours and then distilled water over night and this happened. I probably should have just rinsed it with in distilled water rather than soak it for that long. Too late. I know that BadThad said to soak it in distilled water for 24 hours but think this was a bad idea, now it has green stuff on it.

 

I would repeat except just rinse with distilled water. Also, a cotton swab may also help. It could also be the alcohol. I just remembered that when I leave my razor in alcohol overnight, it is crusted with rust the next day. I would try any soaking in solvent for an hour at a time with gentle cleaning with a cotton swab, or if you are very careful, a toothpick.

I think it is savable. Also, a special oil will be needed to conserve it in the future. I am not sure what kind of oil though. I will check with my LCS this Saturday.

 

Nah, it is too late, I don't think that soaking anything for 24 hours is a good idea. I should have just soaked it for 20 minutes and rinsed it, forget the rubbing. Now it is ruined. I am trying it again, this time 20 minutes in the alcohol then a rinse in distilled water and that is it, no rubbing, no 24 hour soaks. Next time, I am just going to leave it alone. I don't care if it had been scotched taped to an album for twenty years. I knew I should have left it alone and now it is destroyed. It was a nice coin. I don't think I will be discussing coin cleaning or "conserving" or whatever you want to call it.

 

I do not think it is ruined, it just needs some tender loving rehabilitation.

If I may ask, what did you pay for the cent?

 

I just mailed this one off to NCS yesterday to see what a professional clean-job will look like. First coin I have ever sent them. The photos make the coin look nicer than it really is. In hand, there are blotches of dark crud on the coin. Since I've only got $70 in it, wouldn't be the end of the world if it got destroyed. Since copper is far and away more difficult to clean than either gold or silver, it will be interesting to see how agressive they are in actually "improving" the coin. I checked the box indicating I wanted it slabbed after preservation. Do you suppose it might come back "ungradable, harshly cleaned"?

 

How much I paid is besides the point. I think it is now time to just leave it alone.

 

I wonder if the crud that was on it concealed PVC damage, and once removed the green stuff is actually goo. But then I thought acetone was supposed to be good at removing PVC?? I've never tried it, instead I simply avoid coins with PVC damage if at all possible. In any case, seems to me the crud on the coin made the devices, especially the portrait, look much more detailed and presentable. It's the same coin clearly, but from a details only perspective it looks like it dropped from what was a VF25 down to what is now a F15. (IMHO)

 

I did drop it into acetone but only for a minute then rinsed it quick. How long does it take for acetone to remove PVC damage? Maybe your right, maybe this was just under the crud and was already there.

 

Isopropyl alcohol was a poor choice, always follow the polarity ladder starting with water. For brown copper, I usually skip acetone and go right to xylene, if needed.

 

What would you do with the coin at this time? Feel free to say Verdi-Care if you feel that is the best for it at this time.

 

I don't understand why I don't really get an adverse affect from alcohol. I have done this many times with wheat pennies. I saw nothing after this but noticed the next day after soaking overnight in distilled water. Here is the original picture withe coin under a light. Compare the greenish areas of the original coin with the blueish areas of this picture. The seem to coincide. It appears to me the blueish areas coincide with the greenish areas. What do you think would be good for it?

 

I am wondering about verdigris on coins. How much is acceptable before removal is warrranted or is it best to remove it before it gets worse. So if a coin has small amounts or even minute amounts, should it be removed so it doesn't get worse? I know verdigris is an issue when it comes to coppers. What about this coin? It has tiny amounts of verdigris.

 

I would just do the normal clean as discussed previously (no alcohol, 100% acetone & distilled water only) the whatever is left is left. I would then use Verdi-Care to conserve the coin from further damage.

 

I don't see extensive verdigris on your coin, but verdigris is caused by a chemical reaction which will continue to consume the copper of your coin as long as other materials and factors are present. If you seal this coin away in its present state (don't even have to be too fancy, a 2X2 would probably be sufficient), it will not get worse. If you use some conservation measures such as Verdi-care, it would remove the verdigris present and help with the preservation of the state of the coin.

 

I'll just stick it an air-tight. If it get's worse I will have to do something about it. I don't think alcohol causes any damage to copper but does remove crud like distilled water and you can get a surprise when that crud is removed. I use alcohol on roll found wheats sometimes if the roll is disgusting. I only soak them for a short amount of time. I probably should of took a good look at the large cent I soaked. Alcohol is good for germs or removing tape as I read but seriously doubt it remove verdigris. I was asking since I just bought some 2 cent pieces with a bad picture. I zoomed in on one and did see some verdigris on it, not severe but present.

 

Pleeeeeaase, no more alcohol on copper coins. For the verdigris, after soaking it in acetone, try gentle cleaning with acetone and a cotton swab, then rinse with distilled water. I don't think you will get rid of all of it, but I do think you can get rid of some.

 

I don't think alcohol causes any trouble with copper. Acetone is reputed to cause discoloration. Gotta check that some day.