Here's the candidate, freed from an ICCS MS62 Lustrous Brown flip: As you can see, the reverse is spotted with nasties, but on close inspection I believe we can ameliorate and hopefully completely excise them. We will be employing both acetone - on the off chance there is PVC plasticizer involvement - as well as Verdi-Care. I will be documenting the process in subsequent posts to this thread. Below are some detail images of the most-affected areas, as "before" pics. If you'd like greater magnification, we can bring it to bear in abundance. It's a lovely coin, and very much worth the best effort to conserve.
I'm certainly hoping so. The verdigris was represented in the listing imagery, but aside the flip (I've learned to perk my ears up hard when seeing ICCS "Lustrous Brown" flips. ), the luster was not and it's tremendous. Consider it done.
Awww geeeez ! C'mon now, why don't ya just tell 'em you're gonna clean the coin and be done with it ??? Have you been listening to Thad again ?
It'll take a few days for the Verdi-Care to get here; in the meantime, I'm ensuring that acetone and xylene won't do the trick all by their lonesomes.
Verdi-Care can work wonders under the right circumstances. This medal was almost terminal when I started. The medal is bronze and quite large at 76mm. Overall I'm satisfied with the end result considering what I started with.
Of course. For something like this, the first acetone soak is 24 straight hours untouched, to ensure any possible chance for it to "soak in" to the stuff on the coin happens. I'm particularly interested in the thinner spot above the N in ONE; if a simple acetone soak disappears that, it's an indicator that there's a decent chance it's PVC plasticizer at work and we may be able to get most of the way with acetone alone.
I'll grant ya Dave I wondered about a spot or two myself but I'm thinking most of it is verdigris. And if it is, acetone or xylene may remove what is loose and leave the rest. But then distilled water would do the same.
Somebody's gonna want to slap me for saying this, but.... As a generality, acetone will make PVC plasticizer byproduct soft and gooey, but even if it breaks verdigris loose, that'll always remain grainy and gritty. I intend to do something involving fingernails to make this determination, if it's possible.... I tend to grow my fingernails long, they're due for cutting, and I'm going to Dremel one to a point.