O.K., I know you should not clean or dip a coin in almost every case, but, I have one I want to try. What is the best solution and the best method?? There are products on E-Bay, but I really do want to do this right, if I do it. I am prepared to take the beating for even thinking about cleaning a coin, but I don't want to mess up. Best solution, how long in it, what kind of rinse or dry process, things like that.:stooge:
It depends on the coin, the alloy, the stuff you wish to remove, etc. This is not for the faint of heart. Learning to "properly" clean a coin takes a LOT of experience and trial and error. Each situation is different. Be prepared to ruin a LOT of coins along the way.
I will try to post a picture by Thursday. I will be gone for 3 days. It is a walking libery half that has a lot of dirt on it. Not really any problems other than that. Just too dark.
That is what I needed to know. If I am going to ruin a coin, I might not do it unless I was to practice on some bulk silver so I could get the feel of it.
If you use the "search" button above, it will give a large number of threads. Use a commercial product sold by a coin supply store. Dilute some of it with distilled water ( maybe 1 part dip to 3 part water). This will slow the action and allow you to do it multiple times and observe what is happening. With experience , you can use full strength. Rinse coin well after finishing. Jim
Jim, is handling the coin in the solution a problem? I have seen plastic tweezers in some of the kits to hold the coin in the solution. It seems you would want some way for the solution to get to all parts of the coin, so the problem is how to put the coin in a postion that it can be evenly contacted.
One of the reasons I dilute is that there is more time to change positions. I use nitrile medical type gloves from the drugstore and hold by the edge and change position. I don't like the plastic holders. If it seems it is too slow, then add a little more of the full strength. Jim
I have learned from COIN TALK rule #1 never try or attempt the cleaning uf a coin what ever situation it may be.:bigeyes:
I have an 1866 2 cent piece that is black.As it is now,I can barely see any of the detail on this coin.I was thinking on lightening it up a little. What would I dip it in If I were to do so. I know this is a controversial subject and I'm still debating on whether I should try this or not. Here are some scans of the coin.After i had resized the pic I noticed there was corrosion that I could not see before ,especially on the reverse. This would be a good candidate for verdi gone. Any thoughts? 1866o.jpg 1866r.jpg
Check out Auto parts stores for Battery Acid. Leave that coin in that for a few months. Make sure you use a rubber container for this process. Place the coin in with your bare hands since some gloves may melt. :whistle: All just joking. Please don't do that. If your really intent on cleaning that coin, first do a check on this forum at the search thing at the top for things like cleaning coins, coin cleaning, Acetone, etc. After reading all those then you should have some ideas of what to try safely. Two things to note. 1. The safety of your body comes first so be carefull of what you use. 2. The safety of the coin is important also so don't go cleaning it if you don't know how for sure.
The coin appears to have some deep verdigris. VERDI-GONE™ would help remove a lot of it, but not likely all of it. It would not remove the "black" surface residue unless it's water soluble. The first thing to try is distilled water. Soak it for a few days and see what happens. If you don't get the desired results, you should try xylene. Personally, I wouldn't even bother with acetone, it would likely be a waste of time. If you have not made conservation progress with water and xylene, then VERDI-GONE™ would be a good thing to try. That verdigris is going to be tough in some areas. I suspect there's some pitting in the deep spots already, it's just hiding. You might not like what you find under it all. If you choose not to attempt conservation, I would recommend a good rinse with acetone and then an Airtite holder. That will keep the verdigris in check for a long, long time.
