I just got a bunch of old India coins. SOme of them have a green growth on them, probably reacting to the copper. How can I get rid of it, or can I??
Sure, you could get rid of it. It's not too uncommon to see this in older coins. It definately will damage the coin's value. However-it is probably better to just leave it the way it is. Odds are if you clean it the value of the coin would be less than if you left it uncleaned. If you try to remove the 'green stuff' with a tootpick or your finger nail it will almost certainly scratch the surface of the coin. You'd be amazed-I've seen some coins that have been scratched by a q-tip. Now-others might disagree with me, afterall I am just starting out in this wonderful hobby. But if they were my coins I would not clean them, I would seal them in a 2x2 or something that will protect them for the time being to prevent any future damage. Hope this helps- Bill
It could be PVC...if so you have to clean it...there isn't any if, and, or but...if you don't it will eat the coin untill its not a "coin"--use pure Acetone...DO NOT RUB the coin with anything...after taking it out of the Acetone put it under running water. Speedy
I wouldn't recommend running water - no sense in having even more deposits on the coin from tap water. Use distilled water to rinse the coin - water preferably at room temperature. PVC, unless it has hardened and dried over time, will usually appear as an oily, slimy coating on the coin. Verdigris, also a green substance typically found on copper but also on silver at times, is a dry, crusty corrosion that look like raised lumps of green stuff on the coin. Both of these substances MUST be removed from the surface of a coin or they will continue to do further damage to the coin and literally eat it up over time. It is better to have a cleaned coin - than no coin at all.
---I forgot to say distilled Amen...one thing I do if I have clean a coin is put it aside and when I can I sell it and buy a better uncleaned coin of the same date and mintmark...that way my collection keeps a good uncleaned look. Speedy
I have used, to clean copper coins, a good soak in olive oil. This helps break up the encrustment. Also you can try electrolysis to try to break it up.
I pat them off with a towel, this gets most all of the oil off. The coins being copper you do not have damage by the towel as if it was a silver coin. Then I place in a holder. Generally speaking if there is green stuff on the coin chances are there is corrosion on it. There may be some small traces of oil on the coin, but this should cause no harm to it.
