I attempted to clean my first coin today and I ruined it

So I’ve had this bronze coin that had some dark looking gunk on it. I don’t think it was patina.

Anyway I had it soaking in a cup of distilled water for about 3-4 weeks but it didn’t seem to do much.

I had tried over the weeks picking at it with a toothpick but that wasn’t getting anything off and no luck with a toothbrush either.

Well today I took the coin out of the water and this time tired using a metal pin to scrape it off.

I had success and this was now starting to get the stuff off it but to my horror I discovered that I had scratched the coin

So I pretty much ruined it and made it look ugly. There’s no way I’m keeping it so that’s like $90 down the drain.

But to be fair the toothpicks and brushes weren’t doing anything so trying a pin seemed like the logical next step.

It’s just a shame.

 

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Can you post a picture?

 

Sorry I know these are not good photos


It’s hard to see but that light greenish stuff around the coin.

 

With a coin like this, if a dry brushing with a tooth brush doesn't do it, you love it as it is. It's not going to get much better. I'd just suggest some finger grease and rubbing to try to spread the toning over the scratches and leave it alone. Unless you know what you are doing, sharpe objects are a no-no.

 

Don't say ruined . nothings ever ruined .

 

that's life

 

what's finger grease , lol.

 

Just the natural oils from your fingers. Some rubbing may help tone the fresh bronze marks back down to near the color of the rest of the coin in time.

 

Really . I didn't know that. I've always use a thin ,thin layer of Vaseline on my Coppers.Just enough

 

M.V., Orange Julius gave you good advice . Don't be too hard on yourself, the coin is not ruined, it's just impaired . In the future leave the cleaning process to the experts. The coin pictured below I bought for $150.00 knowing it was scratched, but didn't care because I was so impressed with the portrait . After owning it for several years I had the coin slabbed & put it in a Heritage auction, it sold for $480.00 !

 

I would pay $150

 

...And that still gets to be a solid, nope, impressive sestertius of Maximinus. Echoing a couple of people here, it's nothing like ruined; just impaired. A little. Like I am, most nights.

 

look on the brightside you picked a cool named MasterVampire.......I love it ...Tribe Seed.....Song Vampire......I play it everyday.....I took over my son (Joe) hobby

 

The OP's example is why all of us tell folks not to clean coins. However, if you are annal like me and want to clean everything, ancients - many of which are impaired to begin with make great coins to practice on.
Unless you are experienced and are working under a stereo Microscope you should NEVER use a metal instrument on a coin. I laugh when I read about folks using dental instruments with their naked eye or under a large magnifying glass.

Work on cheap coins first as you are learning because everything you encounter on them can be found on expensive coins. The other thing to consider is that the removal of many deposits on a coin will leave a depression. Some coins are just better when left alone or given minor conservation. Chemical cleaning is usually a better approach.

On the bright side, now you can practice the "smoothing" technique.

 

I have 2 microscopes that I work with. One gets me very close. Couldn't work without it.

 

Still a pretty nice coin. Lesson learned. I have had my ups and downs cleaning coins. I tried a chemical approach one time (which I found on the Internet) and it destroyed the coins. (Don't use liquid descaler on late roman bronze!). Minor efforts to remove crud using a toothpick and/or a dental pick can yield decent results on occasion. Your coin still has a nice orichalcum color.

 

You can use Ren Wax for smoothing.

 

Ouch. That's an expensive and wasteful lesson.
That coins patina looked beautiful the way it was.
If you don't like the way an ancient looks then don't buy it. But for Zues sake don't scrape it with metal!

 

Don’t feel bad. I scratched the heck out of a really rare Herculi Romano Commodus denarius. Live and learn...