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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;LaCointessa, post: 2805792, member: 87186&quot;]Hi everybody!</p><p><br /></p><p>I haven&#039;t been on much recently. I&#039;ve been busy figuring out how to clean my crusty ancient coins. </p><p><br /></p><p>Try soaking in acetone (at Walgreen&#039;s for less than 5 bucks) for about 12 hours. From there, the coin goes directly into warm water (distilled is good) and sits for about a half hour. Take a gentle soap (I&#039;ve been using Neutragena - it&#039;s a transparent soap. I do not own stock in the company) and tooth brushes and brush coin gently in one direction (not back and forth) from center of coin outward. I brush the coin under running water to flush away the grime as soon as it is loosened. Then when I can see some progress, I pat it dry with a soft towel or t-shirt. </p><p><br /></p><p>I use a little tuft of fine steel wool wrapped around the pointy tip of a chop stick and around both ends of a stick used for making kabobs. I use the steel wool tipped sticks dry on the still damp coins after seeing the areas that still have the thickest areas of built-up grime. I always work gently and in one direction rotating the stick and wool so that I am not rubbing the grime right back onto the coin!&nbsp; I change the steel wool on the tip (put it on as if you&#039;re making a q-tip).&nbsp; At some point I rub some of the soap on the wool and then use that. I may also dampen the steel wool covered tip just a tiny bit and go very carefully always checking my progress. </p><p><br /></p><p>I have been able to keep the chocolate or turquoise patina. On some there is silver showing through. Now, instead of working one coin at a time, I am working several coins at a time in stages. I can not believe the results I am getting and I am very excited. I like doing it.&nbsp; No. I love doing it. I have some reverses I have never seen before and need to start working on my attributions - but I always convince myself that I should start cleaning just a couple more coins first. Also, now, everything I see I evaluate in terms of whether it might be a helpful ancient coin cleaning tool. </p><p><br /></p><p>One of these days soon I&#039;ll post the most beautiful and interesting ones. I stopped photographing them before cleaning them. Some were so horrible that I never thought I would find anything under there. That&#039;s why I started with those coins first and used steel wool on them! The fine steel wool does not damage the coin. I am actually not touching the surface of the coin with it. I&#039;m scraping the surface of the gunk and that allows the edge of the brush to further break into it so the soap can help dissolve it and the water can flush it away. </p><p><br /></p><p>I went on way too long.&nbsp; Sorry. </p><p>Hope everyone is well.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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