Unclean...unclean

OK, so I thought I would make some work for myself. 50 uncleaned ancients...am I in for some fun or frustration? Suggestions for cleaning, I know soaking in water for 20-30 years (maybe not so long) and brushing. After that...

 

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A bit of both (maybe more frustration lol) by the look of them....but fun to do! Try soaking them in distilled water (the type you can buy to top up your car battery) and every few days a scrub with a old cut down toothbrush. By the look of them you may want to go straight to olive oil though (up to 3 months) then gentle removal of the excess "crusty bits" with an old pick/dentist tool. Good luck.

 

Gawd ... good luck

=> I wouldn't spend a cent on uncleaned coins (*sober-edit*) ... but maybe I'm lazy and I realize the time and patience that goes into restoring those nasty, early coins ...

good luck (better you than me)

 

Wax on.....wax off.

Better you than me Ken......

 

here's my basic technique, cut and paste from another thread.

i used to clean coins, and had some degree of luck with this basic technique.

1. initial soak for 12hr- day in water with a tad bit o dish detergent. set out in sun and swirl around every now and then.

2. pick at them with a toothpick or needle (careful) and toothbrush

3. back to soaking, plain distilled water.

4.repeat 2-3 as often as you want, every day...every week...whatever, until your happy. change out the water every so often, when in looks "gunky"

5. bake the coins to dry, 20 minutes 200 F (or sit them out on in full daylight in the summer to bake.

6. apply some wax if that something you're into (optional)

it's hard to tell from the pics, but i think you'll have a few attributable coins there.

 

I don't know anything about ancients, so, could you explain these steps to me? Like, why would you do them, and what would it accomplish?

 

Don't know much about ancients either, but I have a sudden hankering for licorice.

 

Distilled water(harmless) is the best idea and a great deal of patience/picking the "chunks" off very carefully.Best of luck!....

 

I start off with distilled water and change the water when it looks cloudy, once every 1-2 days for a month. Each time just wipe them off with a cotton swab. You'd be surprised how much dirt comes off. Use a toothbrush and picks as needed.

 

Those coins look kind of oily from the photo. I might even boil them for an hour or two in distilled water.

 

The myriad of aromas must be fabulous.


Joking aside, you ancient guys sure have a lot of fun with your coins.

 

I have always been curious about cleaning methods. Primarily for old copper. I don't mind the chocolate or steel coloring, but many seem to have crusty stuff on them. How do you get this off without ruining the coin? Heaven forbid the thing comes out all bright shiny red! But, I have some, and have seen some that would be vastly improved by removal of crusty stuff.
I also prefer my silver coins to be silver. Not mirror bright, but the normal silver coloring. I cannot afford uncirculated versions of everything in my Type Set, but that black oxidation that is so common to silver really turns me off. Its also weird in what coins have it. As a metal detectorist, I have dug silver coins out of the ground that had no oxidation, and found them in circulation that were heavily oxidized. What gives?

 

i noticed they looked oily as well, i assumed they had already had a dip in the water. if they are oily, may want to just stick with the oil treatment (get some olive oil).

here are some coin i cleaned up last year, nothing spectacular.

before..





after..



the coin on the right i could get to clean without damaging the patina, so i gave up.
the other two weren't keepers for me, but they did improve quite a bit.

 

The seller says he got them 10 years ago and that he had been soaking them (not for 10 years, I don't think) in water.

 

I know some people talk about soaking in olive oil. What about soaking in motor oil? Motor oil has additives to clean deposits in your engine...what about coins? Perhaps dilute a little with hexane or heptane?

 

brutal ... it's like those poor subjects have arrived at Jeffrey Dahmer's house of ancient coins!!

 

Wouldn't boiling, or at least hot, water be better than just sitting in cold water? It would remove soluble materials quicker and won't harm the metal?

 

So, for the month of July these have been sitting in water (sometimes with some soap, sometimes just water) and getting brushed with a cut-down toothbrush. Here they are after that.

 

I separated out eight of them and worked with the toothbrush and with a dental pick under a magnifier:

 

Wow, nice job!