Treating problem coins with oil.

I have used mineral oil on nasty zinc foreign coins/tokens. Experimented with an acetone wash after to remove the oil, but the crud looked almost as bad as it did to begin with once the oil was stripped.

 

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Doug,

Just for fun I pulled another coin out of this collection to play with.

Here is the before.



Here is the after. This time I used a cotton swab dipped in acetone. It looks like it took off some of the surface issues... still left quite a bit. I'm sure with more time and effort a better result could be had.

 

Yes it was also soaked with the original coin. And I did use the cotton swab.

 

I think the key here is disclosure, as Matt said.

If someone wants to oil a coin to make it look better in their collection, there is nothing wrong with that. If someone wants to sell it, and clearly states what has been done to the coin, I don't see any problem with that either.

As for people that would sell it deceptively as being all original: money is nice, but a clear conscience is priceless. =)

Once you remove the oil the coin returns to nearly the same state as it was before being oiled, be it crud or discoloration. Personally I prefer using high proof neutral spirits to remove oil. It seems to be more gentle on copper and bronze coins and also has very little water in it.

 

Oil is INSOLUBLE in acetone and it's a horrible solvent choice for the removal. Mineral spirits are better, but xylene is the best.

 

I would advise not saying this to your wife

 

I've noticed that when trying to use acetone in the past.

Pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is xylene and is it something that is readily available for purchase?

 

Quick Chem Glossary for the Non-chemist

Chemistry is full of terms that are meaningful to chemists, but misused in general.

Oil - Oils such as olive oil, peanut oil and soy oil are actually long chain (lots of carbons in a row) fatty acids. Don't freak out, the acid is very weak, after all we eat them. Mineral oil is a fraction from distillation of petroleum. Essential oils are just essences that are washed out of plants, herbs and flowers, usually with alcohol. Sorry, but there is no easy definition of oil, although the first two are kind of used interchangeably.

Hydrocarbon - A chemical compound that is composed of only carbon and hydrogen. These are often materials having a boiling point range from petroleum. These can include mineral oil (quite high boiling), hexane (low boiling), butane (a gas at room conditions) and others. These are aliphatic (sorry) hydrocarbons. They are good for dissolving oils and greases. They include lighter fluid, charcoal lighter, kerosene, white gas, etc. Another class of hydrocarbons are the aromatic hydrocarbons which include benzene (carcinogenic and not much commonly used now), toluene (benzene with an attached carbon that makes it much less hazardous and is also known as toluol), xylene (benzene with two attached carbons having a higher boiling point and less smell than toluene) and mesitilene (benzene with 3 attached carbons). You also run into odd names for hydrocarbons such as naptha (which has nothing to do with napthalene).

Other organic compounds such as acetone and the alcohols contain elements other than carbon and hydrogen. If you want to know what something is, PM me and I will try to help.

 

Xylene is another organic solvent which has been used on coins. It also goes by the name xylol and can be picked up in a hardware store.

 

I agree with Nuismatic, it's all about disclosure. Obviously LostDutchman is upfront about any alterations. On the other hand lets be real here, do you really think the average coinstore/dealer picks up junk silver/non slabbed and doesn't dip/oil before displaying the coin? On the flipside I believe the coin displayed by LD in the initial post would fit into the category of "properly restored." The art world is more nitzy about alterations than coins, and they do small touch up work. As long as disclosure is present, I believe we should leave it up to the buyer to decide. The coin before light rub looked like a piece of trash.

 

I have to somewhat disagree here with you. I am far from an expert, but when watching "Antiques Roadshow", the subject of restoration comes up often. A bad restoration can ruin the value of an object, but the appraisers often tell the owners of artworks that a good restoration can increase the value significantly. Now I am just imagining a torn piece of paper currency being repaired. Not acceptable. How about a coin being re-lustered or re-plated - sacrilege. It is interesting what can be done to acceptably "clean" coins and conserve them without interfering with their value.

 

Hmm. I see your point. I love the orginal look, but if she begins to rust over, I would feel comfortable allowing her to be professionally restored by somone from say like " Ricks Restorations " Or whoever the Pawnstars guy takes his cars to. I guess I'm assumming that these are cheap/junk coins that nobody would even give two seconds to. I will say that the alterations done by sellers such as Southern Great Coin really annoy me.

 

AWESOME post!

 

When I was a kid I collected a couple hundred 1943 steel Lincoln cents. I guess I was afraid they might rust so I put them clear plastic tubes and added a little oil (motor oil probably). I often wonder what I may have if I opened them up some 60 years later.

 

Be all "fussy" about coins? So what happens to those coins from sunken ships exposed to salt water, fresh water ships that "sunk in a storm, or blown apart" with all those fabulous chains, pearls, emeralds, diamonds and other such things amid the goo and the muck? You are telling us those things do not have value when uncovered and "cleaned up" from all those things....nothing is being hidden nor faked....those are treasures notwithstanding....so the WORLD still thinks. Perhaps in the name of total purists this is NOT OKAY? But what of the value they still hold today? Either it is a rare commodity, or NOT? Thinking "rarity" and limited availability is what makes a coin/commodity the most valuable of things....for people will pay a premium for something NOBODY ELSE HAS....limited quantities make for rarity....and the more rare the item....the more the value....oiled or NOT? Now, CHEATING to make something more valuable by appearance...is another totally different perspective for one to consider when purchasing RARE ITEMS.....