How do I clean the dirt and scum from this letter?

I've got a VF token covered with dirt and scum. Much of it is in the recesses of the letters and denticles. How do I clean it? I've been told NOT to brush it.

 

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High-powered air ??

 

Good long acetone soak and a toothpick would be my weapons of war.

 

I dunno, have you tried Olive Oil ? Use Tootpick to lightly remove dirt . Letter ?

 

Use this until you don't see the dirt anymore.



But seriously, @Randy Abercrombie has the best approach IMO

 

Depends what it is. My first thing is always 24 hours in distilled water and analyze it again

 

Looks like a doubled letter as well. I agree with Randy on cleaning. The wood on the toothpick isnt hard enough to scratch metal.

 

What is it and what is the base metal? A full photo would help.

 

I too have used a toothpick.
Usually it's an improvement, but close examination afterwards will probably catch that it's been messed with though. (Maybe I'm just not good enough.)
Very interested to learn on this....

 

It is a token and it sure looks like copper or bronze to me.

 

I would NOT do olive oil. might darken the coin.

Start easy. Distilled water for a while and see if it soaks in to loosen it up. A friend who cleans much more than me swears by dried rose thorns. Will not scratch metal, but much harder tip to dig stuff out.

 

medoraman, posted: "I would NOT do olive oil. might darken the coin."

Any copper, CN, or bronze coin I've soaked in olive oil got brighter. Do you have a coin that got darker we could see?

 

It depends on the metal. I have had ancients get lighter, but I have had them get darker. Point being you never know how the reaction with the light acid might occur. That is why I walked away from olive oil a long time ago. Distilled water and manual removal is all I do, and treat for BD. Anything else is beyond me right now and I leave alone.

 

I agree with some of the other posts - Steel Wool.

Just kidding. As others have mentioned, soak in distilled water, the try a rose thorn or toothpick (When I messed with uncleaned ancients, I used to soak the toothpick to soften it even further). If that doesn't work, go to acetone.

However, from the looks of your coin, I would be worried about finding lighter toning under that stuff. This may be a "damned if you do and damned if you don't" situation

 

Seems like that would be a prime candidate for ultrasonic cleaning. But I'm pretty sure you've forgotten a lot more about coin conservation than I've ever learned, so I'm mostly here to listen, not to talk.

 

From the part of the piece that I can see it looks like the entire token needs to be cleaned. I soak some of mine in 40 volume hydrogen peroxide, acetone or distilled water. I would start with distilled water. There are almost as many options as there are collectors. Alcohol and a soft toothbrush could do it.

 

I have used a small bamboo skewer with tip soaked in water for several minutes a few times. Rather these than hard points like thorns, bamboo has xylem ( water ducts ) throughout the plant , so it acts like an old fashion ink pen , dip and load and gently use. The tip point can be cut away with a sharp razor knife. Oriental owned 99 cent stores usually have them. Be gentle and take the time. Don't tell PCGS. Jim

p.s. it works with acetone also.

 

The coin is what it is. I might try a few solutions. Distilled water first. followed by one or both of Acetone, Xylene. Rolling a q tip on the surface. I have in the past used a rose thorn, but I have also scratched the patina and revealed a fresh copper/bronze surface.

Some deposits can be loosened by long soaks in olive oil, just that light loosening can help the distilled water, acetone, or xylene work better.

 

In the copper world, people recommend a soft rose thorn and patience.