Billon in Lemon juice/Ammonia???

undoubtedly it is a coin from a group so would have been sat next to bronze coins of tetricus etc which are bronze. this is more than likely copper oxide leached from one of the other coins, although this coin has a proportion of copper too, but i think it unlikely from the surface that it has leached any.

 

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if washed properly it would leave nice toning in the lettering and bust detail. id make up a dilute lemon juice and put a tiny bit on a duster. then id gently rub the coin between the duster and it will do the trick very nicely.

 

"Duster" must be a UK term that those in the US call something else. Are you suggesting something more specific than just any rag/cloth? Google searching the term did not help much due to other uses for the word (coat, vehicle, plumed stick).

 

Thank you. That looks a lot like the Ilford Anti-staticum cloths we used in the photo lab to wipe off negatives in the film days. I remember learning the hard way that you could not wash them because they had a soapy treatment that really made a mess when wet.

 

Not anti-static. Mostly used for dusting furniture after applying polish. Applying wax to shoes prior to buffing with a brush. Applying silver or brass polish before buffing to a shine. etc, etc.

 

Any soft cloth would do it. I'd avoid anything impregnated with a soapy solution, or wash it first to remove. I have 30 or so high silver content billon postumus ants and I tried it on one last night. I didn't even use lemon juice, just rubbed long enough for the grey to go.

 

This was a cleaning method that collectors often employed in the "old days". Just beware that repeated friction cleanings with a cloth can, over time, wear the high points of the coin.

 

If done lightly enough the coin should be relatively unaffected.....
Reminds me of a definition of what eternity is....
Imagine a butterfly flies past a steel ball, the ball is about the size of the sun.
As it passes the ball, its wings lightly brush against the surface of the steel ball.
It goes in a cycle, and once every million years the wings of the butterfly brush against the steel ball.
In the time that it takes for the steel ball to be worn down to nothing, that, that is the beginning of eternity.

 

Well, that just put my day, week, month, and life in perspective!

 

Hard to wrap my mind around that. At my age, I'm just trying to make it to the next day and every day above ground is a good day! I say all that knowing that if I were to die today, I would die a happy man with no real regrets. I've lived my life!