I payed just a few bucks for a small lot of British Pennies and this 1922 George V was in the mix. Definitely the best woodgrain or woody (improper alloy mix) that I have in my little coin collection. If you look above the first N in PENNY you might see the little spot of verdigris beginning to form on the rim. I am going to purchase some VerdiCare in the near future and try to give this coin a little love . . . any recommendations or direction would be appreciated. Are these popular among collectors? I sure like it.
I have seen that alloy mix before but not as dramatic. Yours is very nice. I probably couldn't wait for the verdicare and would use acetone (the verdicare directions say to use acetone first anyhow). With acetone, most would tell you just to soak it, some then to also roll a q-tip over it with pressure, and few to swipe back and forth with the q-tip. The latter may be the only way to remove the heavier spots of verdigris. I would try the later just in these problem spots, then roll a q-tip over the other parts. Make sure the qtip is soaked well in acetone before using. After all this, then a day of verdicare followed by a pat down to remove the moist look and it should be set. Again, most would say to skip swiping it with a qtip and generally that is good advice. But my experience is that soaking or just rolling the qtip over tough spots has no affect. The verdicare is good b/c it will darken the verdigris but if too much verdigris is there it'll stay there. The acetone and qtip will help remove it first, if you so desire. I've been successful doing all this, but a few times the removal of the heavier spots resulted in discoloration of the patina that the verdicare can't cover up
On second thought, you could also just use verdicare, let it soak for 10 mins, then use a toothpick carefully or qtip on the encrusted spots. When doing this, you'll see the qtip darken with verdigris. That's a good sign you're removing the stuff as intended.
Pennies of this period are fairly common with this stripy effect, the EF grade is more significant than the colour as far as value goes.
