Hi it was not too expensive. I think like 10-15 euro. I bought it with a lot of stuff to make the postage work per coin.
Slowly and carefully.... its not magic.... a scapel, an iron pen - they sell them on EBay usually associated with guys who talk about cleaning old roman coins. Same basic idea.
OH - and the most important thing, a lighted maginfyer.... you do your work at 20X magnification at least....
@TexAg Yep. Scalpels work. Steadiest of hands and not all types for all problems. Here's my tool tray for cleaning ancients. I've added a few new 'can't live without first go-to' tools. Extremely slow process.
Yu Hi Yes, you have the idea - a better response than mine.... Well, you dont have the lighted magnifyer... The steel wool is another critical tidbit.. :U)
If the top photographs are the coins in the condition they were sold to me, I would not have done anything to them. The patina is absolutely gorgeous. I would not want to disturb that. That's just my way. I would have maaayyyybe given them a soft brushing but probably not. They were already gorgeous. I wonder how long it will take for that patina to come back (naturally, of course). Well, you asked
Oh, and to answer you, if stored properly, the green WONT come back. That is exposure to moisture from being the ground. Many like the look on ancient coins, but most contemporary (relatively) collectors do not like Verdigris on coins.
Coin finds or colonial era things? One of my fav's is this Brown Bess Flintlock I bought from a detector guy I know in CT. YOU WANT TO PRACTICE ON JUNK COINS FIRST... if you have cool finds dont have your best coin be the first one you try. Like anyting, this takes time to develop the skills etc. MANTRA = LESS IS MORE when it comes to cleaning.... where that line falls is a debate of course....
