Some of my old pennies have green spots... What is your opinion and advice for what I should do with these pennies and halfpennies?
Here is a more extreme case with a 1917 farthing. Should I throw it away? Will my other coins with green spots get this bad?
and yes if left untreated they could get that bad but it probably won't be in our lifetime. take action now and stop the process.
If you use verdigone, it will help if you first rinse the coin in acetone or xylene as that will take off any organic material that might prevent the verdigone from acting well on the verdigris and rinse with water before using the verdigone. And it will also remove any pvc that might be part of the problem if these coins were once in vinyl holders. Jim
They were stored loose in old tins. Perhaps they reacted with the metal wall of the box? (Black Magic chocolate and Players Navy Cut cigarettes).
Then there probably won't be any change in the amount of "green" after the acetone, but the surface will clear of oils and other organic material which might block the water based verdigone.Some of the verdigris looks deep and may not be completely removed, and if it is, the surface would have some pitting. The flatter areas of corrosion will probably be more successful. Jim
Anyone here having experience using verdigone? I have read that distilled water is the best bet for dissolving verdigris. Maybe this product is nothing but this.
I found this earlier thread on the subject enlightening (thanks DesertGem) http://www.cointalk.com/forum/t47318/
