From what I can gather "Verdicare" is not available in Canada. I have asked a/the source (BadThad) ....very nice person; but doesn't ship to Canada. I usually let my coins sit in distilled water for a day or so then give them a good wipe with a cloth. Then I will bake them for a bit (at the recommended temperature) to get rid of the moisture and apply Renwax. Am I handing the coins correctly? Is there something more (or less?) I should be doing? *Not asking about curing Bronze Disease here... but asking how to prevent it.
Ancient coins with original patina are very stable. If no problems are to be recognized you do not have to do anything. If you apply wax, there is always the danger of damaging the coin, or do you know exactly what will happen to your wax in the next 50 or 100 years? If you get a coin that shows signs of chemical cleaning, the distilled water might be a good idea to remove chemical residues, but I still wouldn't apply wax.
I have several problem coins which were apparently waxed (Ren Wax?) by some earlier collector. Corrosion occurred anyway and the shiny waxed portion of the coin flakes off. If they hadn't been waxed, the corrosion might have been detected earlier and the surfaces of the coin wouldn't have become so chipped. I'd prefer uniform slight corrosion over the entire surface over chipped surfaces with some shiny patches and some corroded patches. If I can find some pictures I'll post them. I'm against waxing or other forms of sealing unless you are sure there is no moisture or BD-favorable condition within the coin... and how can you really be sure of that?
I think many people heat the coins to 180 degrees or so for a few hours before sealing them. I have been thinking that coating them with linseed oil, wiping them and letting them cure would be as good as or better than RenWax
I don't use Ren wax very often, but I always baked uncleaned coins in the oven on low heat after any cleaning with water.
I, too, am no fan of Renwaxed coins but a lot of that is the fact that many people figure if a little bit is good, a ton is better. Many things work that way. Cleaning coins is necessary; scrubbing is not.
If there are no restrictions on the chemicals in it I wouldn't mind shipping you some. I use verdicare on any bronzes I buy that I see suspicious areas on. Just a couple drops, clean out any green that is powdery or loose with a toothpick and that seems to do the trick. That said, in my experience most green is hard and stable, I've only had a couple of coins where the green was powdery and some I've had for 4+ years and applied verdicare to haven't changed in that time so I believe they're stable.
