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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;SeptimusT, post: 2983378, member: 91240&quot;]And it&#039;s not a coin...</p><p><br /></p><p>A while back I posted <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancient-but-not-a-coin-artifacts-thread-post-em.307997/#post-2946285" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancient-but-not-a-coin-artifacts-thread-post-em.307997/#post-2946285">my collection</a> of Romano-British fibulae. Well, much to my horror, while inspecting them this morning I discovered that there were powdery green patches growing on my ornate silvered Hod Hill brooch, flaking off onto my shelf. You can sort of see them in this picture, circled for emphasis. There are many more smaller ones, and one particularly bad patch on the bottom. From the look of it, I imagine it&#039;s festered up before and been cleaned off, and may have been inactive for a while.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]734334[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>This evening I sat down and cleaned it out with toothpicks and a dental pick (talk about tedious). I&#039;m certain it&#039;s bronze disease, from the pitted appearance and the fact that the powdery material leaves behind yet more pits. Luckily, no holes, and there is a similar patina to the rest of the surface beneath the powder.</p><p><br /></p><p>I feel I have a sacred mission to save this beautiful piece for future generations. So for now I&#039;ve removed the powder, and I am letting it sit on a lamp to hopefully slowly desiccate it. I am afraid to put it in an oven or do anything too drastic, as the remaining silvering looks quite fragile. For the same reason, I have not soaked it in distilled water as some have advised. I&#039;ll only get harsher if I have to; hopefully it&#039;s treatable with very conservative measures. If it goes a few weeks without coming back, I will coat it in Renaissance Wax to keep it sealed.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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