getting rid of the green

Recently won item 200005782008 on ebay which is a 1794 Large cent in I think VF shape. Problem with it is it has the green verdigris on the obverse and although I'm aware that if I get rid of the verdigris that I'll have pitting on the coin where it was. I'd like to see if I can get it gone somehow and then put a stop to any future harm to the coin. Anyone have any ideas or experience in this? Also, I'm thinking the coin I have is a 1794 Head of 1794 variety? And, also would like anyone's idea of grade. Sure wish the obverse would have been as nice as the reverse!

 

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btw....I have the coin along with a 1796 and 1797 that I also won a while earlier soaking in mineral oil which has helped a good bit and I had hoped would remove the green, but as of right now, there still seems to be a large portion of it remaining.

 

Check the WD40 web site that stuff is amazing, I'm sure that it won't hurt the coin

 

You have to take the verdigris off or it will eat your coin untill its gone Search the forum for "verdigris" and you will find the name of a "cleaner" that will take it off for you the best.

Speedy

 

If I were to recommend any one, I would have to say Blue Ribbon Professional Coin Conditioner & Perservative works well.

 

thanks for the help folks! I've got an order in for the Biox and will give it a try. I'm getting more and more impressed with the knowledge and friendliness in this coin chat setting. THANKS again!

 

I looked at the URL for biox conservation fluid which is an ancient coin
cleaning site I gather and then not convinced of the material, googled it
to the original supplier who seems to use it to clean septic tanks and such,
so I followed Goog to this site of cleaning experiment, including one for
BIOX.
http://clean.ancients.info/joe/Links.ht

click on the BIOX experiment to see the results. JMO. but now that you
mention it I have a nice 1876 IHC with some "green" also

 

Sorry, lost the tail of the url, and wrong one at that. USE

http://clean.ancients.info/joe/index.htm

 

hmmmmm....guess I should have waited until I got all the information before I went to buying anything...those results for the Biox don't look too promising. I can probably gather up an Indian cent or two with some verdigris and try it on them before trying it on the large cent. I might just end up soaking the coin for a few more months in the mineral oil and see what results I get. I didn't see an experiment for the Blue Ribbon coin cleaner/preserver. Wonder why he didn't use it for an experiment?

 

Try a slight touch of Vinegar on the actual spot. Most pure Vinegars contain about 4 % Acetic Acid which sould nutralize the green discoloration. Note that all green discolorations on Copper coins is NOT necessarily extensive and may just be a slight layer of Copper Carbonate which is normal on Copper exposed to Oxigen and Carbon Dioxide. However, the safest thing to do is just rinse the coin is distilled water to see if it will rinse off, blow dry the coin. Even better is to not mess with the coin and seal it in a 2x2. If no further exposure to Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, etc. no further spreading of that green stuff should occur.
Your greenish color is probably not Verdigris. This term is abused and is normally intended for Copper exposed to SO3 or SO4 radicals with moisture.

 

Maybe it is too gentle for cleaning off that must crust I was really smiling
at some of the combinations he used...oxy-clean in a crock pot :goofer: I am
still fuzzed about how some people can "conserve" coins from the deep
sea salvage iincrustations and get them graded as high as they do.

 

I don't like the idea of using any sort of chemical cleaner on a copper coin. I like Just Carl's suggestion best. An off-the-wall idea would be to put the coin in your pocket with a number of other coins and just carry it around for a couple of weeks. There might be a chance that the random contact with the other coins would clean up the surface without lowering the grade over that short a time. After all, this is the way coins naturally wear anyway. The method does not come with a money-back guarantee, but it probably isn't any more radical than using a variety of powerful chemicals on it.

 

take a brown lincoln cent, cover the face with tobasco, wait a few minutes, and she'll clean right up.

Not sure if this works with the green coin boogers on coppers though.

 

I agree with removing deposits of verdigris from modern coins as best you can but as far as ancients go...LEAVE THEM ALONE! Chances are if they've lasted this long,they have stabilized.Remember,the green on the Statue of Liberty is what protects it from the elements.It was the color of a new cent when it was new.
I pulled a few "greenies" from my collection to illustrate their beauty.

 

photo's of coin after treatment

Here are some scans I took of the 1794. First scans were about a week ago after some soaking in mineral oil for about two weeks. The next set of scans were taken today after applying Nik-a-lene coin cleaner (that I'd forgotten that I had but found it) and then applying a touch of Dellars darkener. Coin don't look great, but, IMO it looks a good bit better than from the auction pictures. Of course, the reverse probably looks a tad worse for some reason as from both the auction scans and from the first scans I did, there wasn't any green showing on the reverse!

 

Oof. This is just my opinion, but that coin looked much better before you cleaned it. The mineral oil certainly seemed to help, but that other stuff you did.. The character is just totally gone, and the color looks like it was applied with a magic marker.

I'm glad you're happy with it, but I'll certainly remember this the next time I'm looking at one of mine thinking "I wonder if that would look better if I cleaned it."

Fish

 

You know, you're actually right. After looking at the before and after photos, it did look a bit better with the original toning it had but I just couldn't stand looking at so much green. Anyhow, we live and we learn.... Probably shouldn't have got impatient and just let it soak a year or so in the mineral oil. Lesson learned!

 

But you failed to mention how they tasted after that.

 

last photos

I soaked the coin in mineral oil a few more days and then got a pin and methodically over a period of about 4 hours removed all the green I could see and then let the coin soak for about an hour in mineral oil. Finally, I carefully applied some more Dellars darkener and this is gonna have to be the final result for this coin. Look any better now?