How to dip copper coins?

Sidenote...in chem lab we sometimes use chlorine water (an aqueous solution of chlorine gas). During a late night lab, I ran out and had to make some quickly in the stockroom. I grabbed the bleach (sodium hypochlorite) and hydrochloric acid and mixed them quickly...a little too quickly, the resulting chlorine gas was very stinky and potentially lethal, but thank goodness there was a hood near by and I knew the trick of holding my breath! Be careful mixing anything with bleach.

 

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I cleared out the clerical side of a lab with an experiment using bleach that was NOT DONE with the "hood" on the other side of "my station." The girls probably thanked me for it as we all needed a "break" from the grind outside in sunny FL anyway.

 

its i am not going to answer the question forum
Q how do i dip copper coins
A1 dont dip copper coins
A2 i know how to dip them but i am not telling you
A3 There is no way to dip copper coins
A2 and A3 fight back and forth
A4 look at the evidence look at the evidence its being done since adam ate the forbidden fruit just dont ask me how to dip copper coins
A5 some poor souls actually trying to help out but those are few and far between.

How have you been buddy?

 

@spock1k

There is tons of info on CT about dipping. The people against it are trying to protect you and others from ruining your coins. The people for it have the experience to do it. They either learned the hard way (self taught) or had teachers (much faster). I've been dipping coins for decades. I know many of the folks at conservation services and dealers who do it. The conservation professionals sign papers that they will not give out proprietary info; yet, Brian Silliman (ex NCS)for example teaches ANA classes w/a few hints. I've had some luck learning "tricks" from dealers.

Dipping coins PROPERLY is an art with many steps. The basics are simple and work: dip, rinse, dry. You can read all about it on CT. The "steps" is the difference and those who know them are fools to tell unless you pay them $$$.

The major thing is to know what to touch and what to leave alone. Much better dippers than I have said to "do" a coin I didn't wish to touch - they were right and now it is a beauty in a slab somewhere. Sometimes even "easy" jobs "blow up." Comes with the territory.

Some members rag at anyone giving pointers but CLEANING coins and what they look like is a mystery for MOST collectors and VERY MANY dealers. I'm disgusted at the amount of ignorance out there? "Is this cleaned?" Of course it is fool! The color is wrong! It's that easy.

It's your choice. Experiment with bulk silver first. Forget about copper.
you'll hear stories about every concentration of chemicals, applicators, temperatures, etc. Anyone can learn to dip coins...even non-collector secretaries! You'll need to learn how to neutralize them and dry them also. For example, I use HEAVILY FILTERED compressed air. There is probably something better...LOL. Conservation labs us de-ionized water, much better than distilled but out of reach for you. Etc, etc, etc.

Why not PM the long-time expert posting in this thread (it's not me) and ask him for advice. I'll bet he tells you don't learn or don't dip...

 

I usually take deionized water and distilled water as mostly synonymous. Consider though, they are probably 99.99% or better pure water which means they could have as much as 0.01 parts per hundred impurities. This translates out to 100 ppm or parts-per-million. The average for tap water in the USA is 350 ppm and government regulations usually specify no more than 500 ppm (in San Diego, our water was about 850 ppm)

 

Well, that may be true as I am ignorant on the subject. You are the chemist. If a bottle of steam distilled water or the stuff that comes from the distilled water apparatus in one lab is practically the same purity as the four-tank de-ionized water system I've seen in another; than thank you very much and I will not worry about it anymore.

 

I would not dip any coin what so ever and would not recommend it to no one as with 50 years experience I have not found anything that I would dip clean or tone

 

@STU

Thanks for joining the thread. Your opinion is important and a valid one shared by many.

 

Your Majesty, I am humbled that you would inquire as to the welfare of such a lowly subject as me. I am still working at the McDonald's drive-up window, although I am due for a promotion pretty soon to indoor cashier. That's where the real money is in this racket. As aways, I pledge my loyalty to you and your cause to corner the gold market.

 

@Insider, spock1k knows everything. You probably didn't know that.

 

Nope. His review of the thread was very funny. I wanted to spend more time to go back and figure who each "letter" represented.
Hopefully, the time I spent writing my post will be seen by someone who needs the info. So is STU for real? I'll be thinking of a way to tempt Mr. spock1k to respond to a fake post of my own.

So you must be Buddy.

 

Good to know that you are doing great. It seems that we could not figure out how to turn lead into gold some clever people have figured out how to turn copper into gold without actually making it gold. I wish the centennial coins were made of copper

 

Since your knowledge is highly regarded; if you know about counterfeits, check out the thread "Gold Coin Real or Fake." I need help.

 

As one biggie stated that he is not an expert on coins and I am for the most part retired I doubt I could be of help but if you post a link I will go take a look.

I do believe that lot of members here at CT are very generous in their praise of me. I am just trying to learn something new everyday.

 

They speak of me differently.

Don't know how to do it except by searching for the thread by the name I posted - or look for it under "new posts." I was teasing about needing help. The guys are digging a hole for themselves.

 

So how do you know STU's post was fake?

Steve

 

I don't. That's why I asked. spock1k's question seemed genuine enough but it was not.

 

it was a genuine question. Unfortunately there are no answers. in other words if someone wanted to dip their copper they are on their own

 

I will be frank, and hope that this doesn't offend because that's not my intent.

There are strong similarities between techniques like this, and trying to teach someone how to shoot in an online-only interface. People wish to be spoon-fed, and I don't consider anyone wanting to be spoon-fed worthy of gun ownership, either.

Coin conservation is an exacting process, requiring genuine scientific method with all that implies. Some of it is downright dangerous to the person and the environment. I have - very deliberately not all in one place - dribbled out enough in the last few months in this forum alone (some of the most obvious of it in this thread) to have already enabled anyone with the proper disciplined mindset and scientific approach to go out and safely experiment on their own. Acquiring all that information would be trivial for the type of person who would make a good conservator.

I'm not going to spoon-feed it. I will put it all online in one place, I am already working toward that end, but that place will be behind a paywall and incorporating "unlocking steps" to weed out those who want instant gratification. You need to understand a very much larger picture before becoming a successful coin conservator, because (for the thousandth time) no two projects are the same, and optimal technique is as varied as the coins.