I've had this coin for sometime now and have not placed it into my collection because of this white crud on it. Does anyone know what this is? I've seen it on many a coin in the past. It appears to be hard not waxy. Is it glue or an old hardened wax? If I should try to clean it, how would I go about doing it without ruining the patina it has? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thx in advance, Joe
i had some green crud on a few coins.l. i used a q-tip and a small amount of vasoline.. not sure if it ruined it.. but its not green anymore.. nice looking coin too.. bit nicer than the one I have like it
\ Acetone? The fingernail polish remover? Not to question your knowledge, but might that ruin the patina?
Acetone is in nail polish remover, however that is not what you would use. You can buy pure acetone (99% I think) at any hardware store. It will not ruin the patina. It will remove any foreign substances without reacting with the metal at all. However, let's not confuse patina with dirt or grime. Sometimes folks are like "it removed my toning". In fact, it removed whatever substance that was impersonating as toning. It will not remove natural toning that occurs on the metal itself. If you do decide to use acetone, be careful as it is highly toxic and should be used in a very ventilated area.
That white stuff looks almost like verdegris, only white instead of green. It could be dehydrated verdegris and have the white appearance. A soak in distilled water, slight prodding of the white with a toothpick and then pating dry with a soft cloth shouldn't harm the coin and might help.
The white stuff is verdigris, or it used to be anyway. Sometimes when people try to clean verdigris off a coin it can turn that whitish color. And yeah, it often gets hard and crusty as you describe. At this point I don't know if anything will get it off without damaging the coin further. You could try Verdi-Care, but I doubt it will have much effect. My experience is limited with it though. You could ask BadThad, he's the one who makes the stuff.
What? I like my coins to start talking to me when I'm dipping them, it makes the dipping process so much more enjoyable. :yes:
I used a hard rubber dental pick on the rim. The hard white crud popped off and underneath was a bright tiny spot. I left no scratches. Under the microscope it appears to be the original patina. I also tried it on an Iranian coin from the 1970's that had the similar crud on it and it worked, that's when I tried it on the British penny. I don't think the crud is verdigris. I think it may be old hardened wax or a glue that was used to adhere it to some sort of souvenir a very long time ago when the coin was fairly new. Years ago, I had purchased a bag of coins from a dealer and several coins in the bag had this white hard crud on it. Maybe someone popped them out of their container/holders and discovered they weren't so pretty on the back. As far as the coin above is concerned, I remember it having a lot more crud on the reverse side, but I've never picked it off. I just noticed now that the holder has some crud shake on the bottom. I'm only concerned with this coin because it is sooo pretty and maybe worth something. Krause has it as $15 for XF and $60 for UNC Red. What grade does this coin appear to be? Just curious.
Yup, I use it on my Cheerios every morning and I'm still alive, well, I think I'm alive. Can someone pinch me please? :thumb:
Let's put it this way, the only time you are not exposed to it is when you are dead. Hmmmm? That really sounds like nasty stuff, doesn't it? Maybe it qualifies as MEBS, you think?
