Nothing new about my coins as I have shown them before on various occasions. But new is my wondering: Have my second Phocas(photo 2) and my second Justinian(Photo 4) been dropped in oil? I have sometime notified, without thinking further, that one of my Phocas has somehow unusual different patina. Now that I know it is a common practice that someone does indeed oil their coins I want to ask: Can you determine whether my second Phocas and Justinian is oiled? Do you think that my second Justinian is oiled or just over-cleansed? Thanks for any help. And something to debate as i am curious now: What do you think about people oiling their coins? Are they destroying them? or making them better?
I believe Verdicare is an oil or a combination of. If that is the case then I guess I've oiled a few of my own. I'd also like to see what others think.
Verdicare is great. I put it on my one or two bronze coins, and I've even coated my silver coins in it. I don't see it as oiling the coins, but rather making sure they are free of dust and debris, are protected, and look their best. PS; Nice Byzantine coins.
The first and third look dry as a bone; they can use some oil! Leave the green one alone. The bottom one looks "wet." Any time (quite often ) I have put a solution on a coin - oil or other, the surface looks wet and the coin generally darkens a bit. The coin can be brushed with a camel's hair jeweler's brush or blotted to dull down the shiny appearance from oils. They also may dry-up over time. Oils attract debris so don't over do it. Oils are mostly used on copper/bronze alloys. This is my opinion and I'm sticking to it.
They definitely have been treated with something. My understanding is that some don't mind the look, but I'm not a huge fan of it myself.
Herberto, Some of my bronzes get the Verdicare treatment when necessary. I do not belive that Verdicare is an oil, it evaporates quickly and leaves for lack of a better term a "protective residue" that creates a bit of a sheen. Looks like your 2nd and 4th coins have some sort of treatment. Could be olive oil. By the way, those are nice coins
Yes, they have been treated. But its not always oil. Often petroleum jelly is used. This typically looks fine with dark to black patinas, but it will certainly change the color of greens. A purist will tell you the coin has been altered. Its up to you if acceptable or not. It doesnt change the value in either direction.
Not sure if its available in the US but alot of people are treating there bronzes with a product called Treborius Balm in the UK. Its marketed as artifact preservation & enhancement balm. Invented by detectorists but also used by archaeologists. Works ok from what I've seen of it. Seems to stop bronze rot in its tracks.
I remember that years ago many people used to put Renwax, a microcrystaline wax, on their coins to protect them. Does anyone still do this?
I have cleaned thick dirt off coins using nothing more than distilled water to find exactly that shiny smooth patina underneath. It is not common to find that but it happens occasionally. More often you find patina like your rougher coin. I know some people polish coins with hard patinas using progressively finer polishing compounds to try to achieve that shiny look. Cleaning with a soft brass brush also has a polishing affect. It is also not uncommon for people to use wax or mineral oil to preserve them or enhance their appearance. Some or all of these things have been done to many bronze coins before they reach the market. In the olden days people would lacquer their coins to protect them, or even worse paint them green or brown using any kind of paint they had handy to apply a nice patina. People used to dip their old bronzes in mineral spirits to see if they were painted. There was an old article in the Celator about this. Your shiny coin must have smooth surfaces to look that way which is not a bad thing.
Renaissance Wax is still very popular in the industry, but much more so for antiquities than for coins. Me, I dont alter my coins in any way. Too afraid of messing them up, though I understand why many do it. Yes, this was extremely common in the 19th Century. If anyone is familiar with British Conder tokens they will know that half of them have been shellacked or lacquered.
I've only used the Treborius balm on stychas that where showing bronze disease. I felt it was preferable to use that than to see them crumble into a pile of blue dust eventually. I don't clean my silvers unless there detecting finds that are blue black in colour and obscuring details. And then its only a light clean to bring out details with distilled water.
