I think Im gona try it, and just wanted see what you guys think the negatives of using it are I wont use it on desert patina, and I know that the coins will be harder to phtograph thanks
It will be good o protect your bronzes...just don't use it on silver or anything.. The neg: ...if you decide to use wax, you may have trouble selling your coins later..as some don't accept the use of it..same as some don't accept the process of repatination. stainless
You can use it on silver, you can use it on any metal. It is used by museums on most metal antiquities for protection. I use just a small amount on bronze to help protect them...with silver I just dont need it because I want my silver to continue to tone...It would be faster to list the museums and conservators who DONT use it as it would be a much smaller list. The coin I use in my profile has a thin layer on it. A lot of coins have it on it and you might not even know it.
Yeah, museums use it, museums also rub their coins with cloth to polish them up and make them look better - to the public anyway. What you have to realize is that many museums have no interest whatsoever in the numismatic value of a coin. Their only interest is in the coins as historical artifacts. They use stuff like wax so they don't have to polish up the coins so often.
Yes, they want to preserve the coin while making it look nice as well...that is what I want for my coins. I dont think museums harm a coin or destroy its value and I am sure the coins they use renwax on (as well as the myriad of other things they use it on) WILL retain their value. Museums have whole packages of documents with procedures spelled out step by step as to how they treat their antiquities (no secrets kept)...especially the Smithsonian and the British Museum who deal with lots of coins. I would bet that the coins I have used renwax on will retain their value as most would (save american because of the mindset of those collectors). I am about as anal about preserving my antiquities as any museum. Also, as far as I can tell, renwax is not frowned upon nearly as much by collectors of antiquities as repatination...I have not heard or seen many people complaining about renwax but I, and many others, do not want a coin repatinated...there is a big difference between the two...One is an alteration...in essence coloring a coin or promoting corrossion...the other is a small amount of added protection for a coin that might be 2000+ years old. But yes, if you of the mind set that soft cotton harms coins, and on the whole coins should not be touched, then you shouldn't use it.
Dru - the Smithsonian will even admit that they routinely take the coins in their collection and polish them up with rags on a regular basis. Now if you wish to believe that doing that does not lower the value of the coins - be my guest.
Do you have a link for that? I would like to see it if you do...but I have read from them directly saying they will polish metal antiquities, they never mentioned coins...and no, I dont think polishing metal with soft cotton cloth is terribly bad for a coin that has seen a few thousand years in the ground... but then again I have found I dont agree with much of what is offered as advice from some people who call themselves numismatists as I believe knowledge should be shared in this hobby.
Do I have a link for it ? No, but it is related in several numismatic books and there are people on this forum who have seen with their own eyes. Write to Dave Bowers and ask him yourself if you won't take my word for it. And don't forget, we are not just talking about coins that are 2000 years old. We are talking about coins like Morgan dollars, St. Gaudens double eagles and the like. And so far Dru you are the only person on this planet that I have run across in 49 years of experience in this hobby who believes that rubbing a coin with soft cotton cloth will not harm it. But you are welcome to believe that if you wish.
I see...you dont get out much I guess because there are people rubbing coins with cotton all over Forum Ancient Coins...some use brushes and picks and some of those coins are going for huge sums!! But I agree that probably in the circles you are entrenched in...people DO think a light rub with a soft cotton cloth could actually harm metal...I have seen much stranger assertions. Its all about common sense which some numismatist completely lack I have found...like saying its best not to tell a person how to conserve a coin that needs help with the outrageous reason given...to protect the coin...Knowledge sharing at its best and common sense cannot be found....or just no advice to give. I wont argue with you endlessly about some of the things you say, it would be a full time job...people can believe a guy on a coin forum or they can believe the British Museum who handles some of the most valuable rare and historically important coins in existence. I have to say I couldnt help laughing when you said that they (museums) do not worry about the value of their coins. Their coins are some of the most valuable in the world and collectors would be trampling over each other for just a chance to own one of the specimens they house....as if a little wax or polishing would change this
Dru comparing ancients to other coins is like comparing apples to watermelons. Yes, you are 100% correct - it does no harm, to the vast majority of them anyway, to polish, wax or use a brash brush on ancients. But that is because for the most part it is the only way to clean them after being in the ground 2000 years. But the story is entirely different with other coins. And if you can't understand that then I truly do feel sorry for you.
I'm actually kinda with GD on this one. Mostly because I've spoken with people in the Smithsonian numismatic department who could vouch for them. Still, I feel it depends on the individual coin.
I know...this thread is about ancients is it not? Randygeki was talking about desert patina...how many American coins or modern coins would have sandy patina? I would not put renwax on a morgan dollar any more than I would scrub a mint condition uncirculated coin with a mirror finish with a cloth for fear it might have particles...not because cloth does ANYTHING to the metal...because it doesnt. All the same, assertions made here by some who are supposed to be in the know often simply defy logic sometimes. It reminds me how collecting here in america has because what it has...
Well then, it would be much better, if when you make comments like this - - if you would specify that you are only talking about ancients. It is all too easy for people reading these threads to misunderstand. Your opinion is respected and your comments can easily have consequences that are not intended.
I only plan on using it on ancients, and plan on being selective. I am mostly going to use it on one I cleaned (starting with the slugs) and ones where I think it will improove the coin. I wont put it on any modern coins.
