it arrived today Biox not Botox and about time too. maybe i should take you to coin shows when i start again if you bring me luck i might grab expensive coins cheap
actually i am most likely going to take them to hawaii to conduct some true experiments. I am looking for a sponsor in case you guys like my results
Hmmmm... my bad! I assume you bought it from Dirty Old Coins? The Biox they sell is either made or bottled in the UK, hence my confusion. I'll go stand in the corner now.
the first shipment was lost but DOC is top notch they sent a replacement so as soon as i am back from my field trip i will start to post results no need to stand in the corner it happens sometimes I will ask for volunteers to send me their copper coins i will pick 2 ( one coin each) if my experiments are successful. cheers
Oil & Verdigris? So, are natural oils, such as olive oil, which contains an acid group, the cause of so much collector's verdigris? BH
Never thought about that, could be. But then verdigris on many modern coins as well, and occurs naturally without any help from man.
Probably would get some AT as well. If it even worked. Hope someone tries (on a nonvaluable) and lets us know.
Doesn't alcohol boil at 80 C? Would the alcohol in this mixture boil off before it could reach 115 C?
If verdigris melts at just above boiling, no alcohol would be needed. maybe salt to raise boiling temp, however could salt damage coins quickly?
yes i have decided to be on vacation till this coming Wednesday so dr spock wont air before next weekend and some more news i lost my camera batteries so our show time will be cut in half but patience is rewarding
It would take a pretty fair amount of salt to raise the BP of water that much. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd calculate it, but, well, I am. Plus, the salt would damage the coin, not to mention the heat increasing the oxidation rate of the coin's surfaces. I don't think trying to melt the verdigris off of copper coins is all that great of an idea.
It would be easy to heat a coin to 115C. If verdigris melts at that temp, could it be lightly brushed off? I think I need to do an experiment.
I have treated it by pouring boiling distilled water onto a coin I have in a bowl. This will arrest it but will not take off (from my experience) the residue and I dont think it was what I would consider a permanent solution that would make me feel safe about putting the coin away as 'problem fixed'. What I did was to take biox and spread it on the whole coin...working only the effected area. I put it on the whole coin just in case there IS some form of lightening or darkening of the tone / patina that it would effect the whole coin evenly. After letting it sit for a bit on the coin I, again, poured boiling distilled water on the coin to rinse it. The coin was a very worn 6 Kreutzer Franz II. I have had it sitting out for a few months just to monitor it, to date it has not lost its toning, it has not changed color, its clean but still dark as it was when I got it, and the green patches have not returned....I caught it quick enough that you cant even tell where the verdigris was save for a few very light discolorations.
I recently won a copper-nickel IHC on ebay that is VF but with some green in 'E Pluribus'. Got it cheap because of the green, I will try to de-green it when it arrives and post the results here. I think I will try microwaving it for a couple seconds. On second thought, I'll try it with a nickel first.