How to NATURALLY Retone Old Coppers?

This 1800 S-212 has enough going for it, that i want to do something to restore some natural color to it.

It has the unnatural sheen of an old copper which has been cleaned, specially the obverse. So I was thinking of leaving out on a windowsill for a few months, but in my opinion this seems to work bettter on silver, than on copper.

I emphasize NATURAL toning here, so no exposure to chemicals or fumes of any kind. Can anybody suggest an alternative approach?

Thanks,
Eduard

 

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plastic coin holder (the flip ones) in a window sill, sealed enveloped same thing

 

a paper flip in an old wood dresser- I have an old antique desk and this has worked well. People say put in a paper flip and tape near a light bulb- need heat and some humidity to accelerate. An album would do fine as well, but slowly- Dansco album. There is some combination of heat and humidity needed, nobody knows so you have to start conservatively and go from there. Someone told me to use a plastic flip and oil the coin and tape to window sill. I did on some keys and carbon spots broke out almost instantly so I will never do again except on junk. I say do a paper flip, but albums are more fun since you can look at the coin and safely monitor for any changes without risking sliding out of paper flip and potentially dropping the coin- done that myself so I know.

 

If I wanted to retone a coin like this, I would simply handle it (i.e. place in hands to simulate circulation without wear) a few times a week, and store it in a box or envelope as GDJMSP suggests above between sessions. I would not use heat, nor would I use an album -- both will retone the coin oddly in my experience.

Alternatively, one could use Dellers Darkener, but in my opinion and experience the results of handling the coin will far surpass those of using a darkening agent.

Hope this helps...Mike

 

I did both of these on my suggesstions- thumbing- handling the coin, and and dellars. The thumbing put a near permanant set of prints on coin and NCS got most of it off. Dellars caused black carbon spots as the sulfur in it had coagulated into little pockets of concentrated sulfur the size of pin points (I lacked the knowledge that this can happen, but inspected the Dellars after these incidents). This caused two of my keys to break out in black carbon spots- my S VDB and 1914 Lincolns. Got all off the S VDB with Verdigone. On the 1914-cut in half the size of the spots but caused about 5 or so brand new carbon spots.

When you use Verdigone on black spots it diffuses the carbon over the whole coin and causes a greying look- the longer you leave in the worse it gets but the spots go away. I post this to help you learn. Always mix the Dellars with a q-tip or tongue depressor and whip up like whip cream. Dilute with regular 100% white petroleum (Vasoline). Dellars is too strong (10% sulfur) and causes the painted on look. I have found that albums and paper flips tone nicely. Use xylene first to remove oils to cause quicker toning (oils inhibit this). Let us know what you do. Cool coin and it definitely needs some toning.

 

I never said thumb the coin, I said handle the coin -- often. That will stop the appearance of prints and tone the coin a more even manner.

 

I'm too impatient to leave it sitting... : )

 

Thanks Doug- I didn't actually know that's what thumbing meant. It is nice when people define their terms. Sometimes we give advice here and assume others know what we mean with coin nomenclature. It helps to device procedures and terms. I just learned something I didn't know.
:high5::high5:

 

Thanks for the advice!

Thanks for your advice guys!

I am intrigued by Leadfoot's suggestion to handle it regularly without friction, combined with storage in an envelope. Maybe that is what i will do. I am patient, i can wait.

PS- i don't know what my wife will say when she sees me fingering a coin like this though...

 

You're getting good at this. Would that be just a quick dip then out? This stuff is used to strip paint, so I can't imagine you'd need to leave it on too long to strip oils off a coin.

 

Dang that's a beauty Eduard. Good luck with these recommendations.