Cooking with Olive Oil

http://www.coinworld.com/news/062507/bw_0625.asp

Olive oil not just for cooking
Hobbyists use 'fruit juice' to remove verdigris
posted 6/12/07
By Paul Gilkes
COIN WORLD Staff



Olive oil has been used as a softening agent for ages to aid the removal of built-up verdigris or dirt accumulations on coins that are up to centuries old.

Some collectors swear by it. Other collectors, and some conservators, swear at it, claiming the fatty acids that the olive oil contains can actually damage coins, particularly copper.

Ironically, copper or copper alloy coins are usually the subject of the olive oil immersion process.

Susan L. Maltby, a conservator at the University of Toronto in Canada and author of the Coin World column "Preserving Collectibles," commented on the practice in her Nov. 24, 2003, column.

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See the link for the rest of article.

Ruben

 

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I have a friend who was really excited about this coin even in the bad condition it was in, but wanted to know if some of the corrosion could be removed. I said that it appeared there was already significant damage and would probably be a lot more beneath. I said I would try a product I had, but no promises.



Here is the result after about $5 worth of product and 5 days.
Not Olive Oil.
Jim



As you can see, there was hidden corrosion. Not recommending, but sometimes it might be useful, especially for ancients.

Jim

 

Jim,

What did you use in place of olive oil?

 

I'd like to know this too.

 

pretty ugly

 

Yes, I agree, but beauty is in the ......

As long as I showed one, here is one of mine. I bought this because of a possible RPM, and I figured I could show just the reverse which was fine, but even after rinsing with acetone, it looked like this.



After treatment it looked like this, and although damaged is much more respectable looking.





Jim

 

Nice

Stanous Cl

Ruben

 

The hairlines on the chin and in the field are raised and were already present. No rubbing by me. I suspect that the roughness caused by them might have been why the focus of the corrosion started there.

Jim

 

or it is from the removed corrosion?

 

I'd like to know as well.

 

When a coin is in that sort of condition, a little cleaning is warranted.

 

I agree. If these coins aren't cleaned, they will continue to degrade and be destroyed. Cleaning in this case in necessary.

 

Yep agreed. As far as I am concerned it was an improvement.

 

100%. It will entirely corrode away if now cleaned.

Ruben

 

The chemist inventor claims it will only dissolve cupric acetate,sulfate, and carbonate. It is non toxic although slightly alkaline. It doesn't work on "carbon spots", black smears,fingerprints. Also there is a cautionary on BU or proofs. It is called a conservation fluid ( not a cleaner) by the inventor.

Sorry, been watching games :rolling:

Jim

 

And we don't know what is in it? Soap?

Ruben

 

Politically correct.

Nicely done.

 

Where pray-tell might someone buy a bottle of this elixir?

Very best regards,
collect89

 

The science lab at PS 306 in Phoniex

 

Ruben, they don't have P's in Arizona....