So I've been chemically cleaning coins for a while and have had some tremendously successful results in the past. However, we all reach that point where pride cometh before the fall. Below are an unholy trifecta of misery wrought by an over-estimation of ability and an under-appreciation of the virtue of patience. Gordian III Kallatis 4-assarion Varbanov 354 This coin started out a little rough, but decent. I wanted to bring out some more details on the reverse, as I was unable to read it well enough. After submersion in sodium hydroxide and sodium thiosulfate, I raised enough of the reverse to clearly read the Greek letters, and even brought out the delta in the left field! So, naturally, the logical next step is to throw it in vinegar and promptly forget about it. A few hours later, it was all ogre, and all progress was lost. Coin started off being a worn, but attractive smooth green guy. It ended as another sacrifice to the slag heap. Fail Rating: 9/10 Antoninus Pius Thrace This started off pretty rough. I thought it was just a layer of minerals and I would reveal a glorious coin underneath. I was wrong. This is one of those relatively rare instances where the "cleaning" actually removes detail. Fail Rating: 8/10 Trajan As RIC 395 Trajan had a really bad case of getting shotgunned in the face. I felt that I could probably even out the color a bit. After giving it the magic juice, at least the color is even. However, entire loss of the patina and the new injury on victory's head are unfortunate and ugly. Maybe this was DOA, maybe it never had a chance. Regardless, the end result isn't very pleasant and I am very sad. Fail Rating: 4/10
Yes, if we are going to clean coins, we have to accept the fact that there will be occasional failures. Learn from this, but don't beat yourself up over it. They are, after all--bring on the hate mail--just hunks of metal. I'm sorry for your loss.
One of my first coins was a Nero as with Victory. It had traces of beautiful green patina (just traces, as somebody tried cleaning it sometime in the past). In my infinite wisdom, I thought it was BD and cleaned it mechanically and left it in oil because the same wisdom whispered me this will enhance the color. Result - scratches, bad color and shiny higher points. Fail rate - 6/10 I guess.
If you ask me, the results of your makeover made Trajan look more like a skeletonized corpse that has been picked clean by carrion scavengers than a victim of a gunshot wound.
Nice tries but the thing with uncleaned coins is that slugs are just slugs and our efforts are not always successful.
It is a lot like when we look in a mirror hoping there is something looking back that is Hollywood Handsome. The secret is when to stop primping and realize it is time to go on with our day just as we are.
Some bronzes are very problematic when it comes to cleaning, even when using the most conservative approaches. The rough and corroded surfaces that emerge are an unwelcome outcome. Here's an Antoninus Pius bronze as that had a very heavy, and hard brown deposit on the portrait (coin to the right). I had a feeling that this was a lost cause, but I did try to remove the deposits with distilled water and alkali washing soda, along with a dental pick. After several sessions, the results are not gratifying to say the least. Much of the original patina has been stripped, and the area on the obverse is a mess. This coin appears to have a Fides reverse. 10.4 grams
I wonder why some are so cooperative and some just don’t want to play ball. I think yours looks better, overall though
Thank you. I attribute all of this to fate, plain and simple. Some coins come up beautifully, others bomb out. This coin that I am working on is a work in progress (if progress applies here). The deposits are hard. They are sort like the Maginot Line - concrete accumulated over hundreds of years. Removal takes time and patience.
I don't clean stuff very often - I definitely would've left the OP examples alone - the colors were nice. This Nerva is the only thing I feel I was successful at cleaning (my other efforts were not good, so I rarely try anymore). I already posted this, but here it is again. The eBay seller photo - I didn't even know what it was when I bid: Because of a wad of gunk on Nerva's face, his signature beaky nose was obscured. So I took a Q-tip and some oxalic acid (Bar Keeper's Friend). A lot of black gunk came up: I was pretty happy with the results - hardly a professional job, but the nose emerged from the gunk. Nerva Æ As (97 A.D.) Rome Mint IMP NERVA CAES AVG P M TR P [(II?) COS] III P P, laureate head right / FORTVNA [AV]GVST, S C across field, Fortuna standing facing (or left?), holding rudder and cornucopiae. RIC 83 or RIC 98 (as) See notes. (11.03 grams / 26 x 24 mm) Attribution Note: Obverse legend unclear; it could be either one of these: RIC 83: ...TR P COS III P P RIC 98: ...TR P II COS III P P Fortuna described as facing forward for RIC 83 in Wildwinds; elsewhere facing left. I'll admit I have little idea what I was doing, I am not sure it was "patina" that I was removing. The coin had obviously been harshly cleaned before I got it - the shiny copper areas were there when I got it. I just worked on the raised areas that were still black (the nose). The way this stuff came out on the Q-tip without a lot of work leads me to believe this was crud, not patina. But I'm guessing.
Cleaning coins can be rewarding, but sometimes, it can be frustrating. In general, I find bronze coins much harder to clean than silver ones: with chemical treatment, usually the deposits dissolve while the silver remains unharmed. For bronze coins, you have to take care not to dissolve the underlying bronze. Here are a couple of fails: Bernhard I (973-1011) with some copper deposits. The coin was very shiny afterwards. This one still haunts me. A Menander drachm, one of my first cleaning projects. It took me hours to remove the deposits (looking back, these deposits were likely horn silver and would have dissolved easily in sodium thiosulphate). Afterwards, the coin was shiny silver, and I decided to apply elemental Sulphur to retone it somewhat. I warmed it in the oven and forgot about it... Twenty minutes later, there were thick layers of molten Sulphur that quickly hardened and had to be removed mechanically. Garbage in = garbage out. Trajan Decius antonianus was rough, but the pits were masked with grime. After removal, I ended up with a pitted coin.
