I like the top ones. Those have the beautiful patina. When i clean, i always want to keep the patina. That's just my way of thinking. I would say that if the top coins show the condition in which you got them, no cleaning was warranted. Maybe a light soft brushing. Certainly no wetting. imho
Its the same coin.... Yes, people have different opinions on weather to clean a coin at all and if so, how far to go. I think of the brown color as patina.... the green... not so much... that is a chemical conversion of the copper of the coin... it is literally eating the coin
If the photos are natural, no alteration of color, I would consider the top , but not the bottom photos. Yes, corrosion is damaging, but cleaning doesn't add anything back to the coin, but rather removes material , mostly corrosion compounds, but no matter how skilled a surgeon, some coin is removed or altered also. IMO. Jim
Yes, the photos are natural. Yes, the corrosion was actively eating the coin... so no, I dont think leaving it in place is a good long run idea, but hey, everyone has their own prefrences.
Well, to each his/her own! Of course i use light - one I can move around. Can't seem to get enough light. I do also have magnifying glasses with light. Those glasses you see on my tray actually have lights on them. Btw - Welcome to CoinTalk
Hi, Oh, I get it, No I use just a magnifying glass that has a light and stands on the table top with an adjustable stem.
Yes, for sure @Pondering_Infinity, there is a great difference between how we from the "dark side" treat and like to see our coins. I've shown these before and am working on other coins which are at various stages of cleaning (all ancients), but since you are new and interested in coin cleaning, I'll post them again here in your thread just so you can take a peek. For me, knowing or feeling when to stop is as important as where and with what tool I will begin cleaning an ancient coin. It is one of my favorite things to read about, plan and do. I come from a family of surgeons so "First do no harm" is ingrained in my very soul! To me, that that is my approach to these wonderful metal treasures, as well.
Hi again @Pondering_Infinity - I don't exactly, but I take photographs of the coins I have selected to clean first and examine the photographs well. I look at the coin closely. Sometimes I have an idea of an attribution (even a general one) and as I go along I try to nail that attribution down so that I know where everything is on the coin and I don't go poking around where I should not. But as for what I will find under one layer or two of crustiness, I am never sure. Sometimes I know immediately not to go down any further like on the Vot coin. Then there are surprises like the coin shown at the bottom where after getting rid of all the green, I found a dark bluishblack layer and then only by thinking I saw something lighter but not metal under that in some spots did I dare to dive further and that is when I found the final lighter rather creamy brown color which, of course, is still patina over the metal which is below.
I realize that many of the ancient coin groups refer to it as a "disease", (as it will spread if not totally removed). But it is not a life form, it is a chemical reaction, and probably only the exposure of a metal coin with mercury produces such a permanent process in amalgamation. Otherwise water ( whether by itself or containing reactive ions such as acids , sulfur compounds, oxides, etc. is needed for the reactions to occur. It doesn't reverse the damage by removing it, but lack of water in the environment can prevent such continuation. I believe that careful choice of chemical agents can remove such damage far better and with less physical damage to the coin than mechanical. But each collector is entrusted with coins and make their own decisions, but I suspect far more coins are damaged by mechanical cleaning than chemical cleaning. Jim
Yes it is chemical and not alive, we agree on that much. As to it being active or inactive, I think it will remain active far longer than one might think. True, one should not just start cleaning nice coins if one does not know what one is doing. Physical cleaning must be done very slowly, very carefully and very lightly. Chemical cleaning can reverse the chemical damage to some extent and ensure the verdigris is inert. If one wants to leave it in place that is.
Without the presence of moisture for reactions, I am not certain how it could remain active? A near pure copper coin in New Orleans has a very short life in the soil due to corrosion , yet a similar near pure copper coin in high deserts might not for many centuries. Few reactions we can see as coin corrosion can exist without water liquid/vapor. Some corrosion such as on coins are less thick than a sheet of printer paper, and even though I have used scalpels for many years on softer material, I would find it hard to use it on metal without at least microscopic damage which can serve as active sites of further molecular corrosion when moist conditions are there. But different thoughts for different people. Jim
To be clear, I agree, no more water no more corrosion. My point was, what might appear dry on the surface may well and likely DOES contain H2O down deep. I am not so much an ancient coins guy, maybe some of those ancient ones a bone dry inside....
Unless some how the water is bound deep , it will , through random movement , move into dryer air, such as using a desiccator jar to remove it. Then if stored in a dry environment, no further reactions should occur. Sorry , just that many think it will 'grow' unless physically removed and although you may be capable, most newcomers are not. Jim
