I've never been one to clean coins. After ruining some coins early in my career I decided to simply stay away from the idea. But, I have had this very rare sestertius of Galba for some time which was unfortunately coated (likely shellacked as was common in the 19th Century). Looked horrible. So today I decided someting needed to be done. The stuff was pretty thick, and took some soaking and brushing with acetone, but I think the results are pretty good. And, it seems to me the shellack actually highlighted the corrosion and pitting. Before and after:
Both look good, but I know what you mean that shiny look in hand is a real turn off. I've got one like that the photo looks good but in hand it looks shiny and unnatural, below.
Looks excellent.. as a newbie - I have never used acetone on a coin. Is this only used to remove artificial "coatings" on bronze coins or will this help with other natural encrustations? Any guidance/info is appreciated.
