Let's See Your Copper Coins, Tokens, Or Medals!

[Peckris 579]

Peck

Can I have a sniff of what you are on.

Have you ever had a 10lb cod slapped against your cheeks (I won't say which ones )

I do like your posts HNY.

That would be telling

I like your posts too, while we're in this brief cocoon of mutual admiration

[Coinery 926]

Peck

Can I have a sniff of what you are on.

Have you ever had a 10lb cod slapped against your cheeks (I won't say which ones )

I do like your posts HNY.

That would be telling

I like your posts too, while we're in this brief cocoon of mutual admiration

You two can be so sweet sometimes!

[brg5658 111]

I picked this up at the FUN show in Orlando on Friday.

[RLC35 288]

I picked this up at the FUN show in Orlando on Friday.

I wish I had known you were there on Friday...so was I! Small world!

[Peckris 579]

I picked this up at the FUN show in Orlando on Friday.

That's a nice enough halfpenny. Not spectacular by any means, but certainly nice, especially at the right price

[Gary1000 41]

I picked this up at the FUN show in Orlando on Friday.

That's a nice enough halfpenny. Not spectacular by any means, but certainly nice, especially at the right price

A few small green spots on the reverse, I hope they are stable.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Gary1000

[VickySilver 775]

Wow, beautiful halfpence there. Really captures the look of the coin and reasonably well struck. I think it looks better that a mostly "red" piece. Those look to be IMO stable green mini-spots on reverse of copper chloride, not likely verd candidates and not PVC.

[Accumulator 52]

Lovely coin and excellent photos which really capture the tone and texture.

[brg5658 111]

I'm quite sure the green spots on the reverse are stable. I had a look at them at 10x and 20x, and there is no signs of what I would call "activity". I know it's the most common of the halfpence, but the reverse has a lovely lustrous glow to it, and I quite liked the strike of the seated Britannia.

My two other copper purchases at the show were Conder tokens (see next posts)

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1792 Warwickshire/Coventry halfpenny, DH-231 (Common)

Nice chocolately brown surfaces, with some hints of blue and pinks in the protected areas. The 1792 obverse has the nicest strike of the many dates, as the dies were still rather fresh. Later dates have many die crack and weakness problems (1793, 1794, 1795). I have looked at around 40-50 of this token over the past 4 years with much frustration. This one "fit the bill" so I added it to my collection.

[brg5658 111]

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1796 Norfolk/Blofield halfpenny, DH-6B (scarce < 150 mintage)

Prooflike surfaces which are very difficult to capture in images. A decent amount of red still visible in the protected areas around the devices. Both the obverse and reverse exhibit iridescence on the proof like surfaces in delicate hues of blue, pink, and gold. The obverse has a few spots, but about as nice of a strike as these come. The reverse has a large cud at 7 to 9 o'clock, present on all of the late die state (plain edge) pieces, and (in my opinion) adds an interesting charm to the token. The reverse strike is strong, with full details on the horse's head, the rider's head and sword, and slight weakness to the rider's left leg and the sword sheath (common to the issue).

[Peter 615]

I see you had a boring show.

I bet your wallet is a bit lighter.

I would however be a bit concerned on the 54 1/2d.Reverse above the F of FID.

[Coinery 926]

I'm quite sure the green spots on the reverse are stable. I had a look at them at 10x and 20x, and there is no signs of what I would call "activity".

Just out of interest, how do you determine verd activity at magnification?

[brg5658 111]

I'm quite sure the green spots on the reverse are stable. I had a look at them at 10x and 20x, and there is no signs of what I would call "activity".

Just out of interest, how do you determine verd activity at magnification?

Verdigris usually accumulates at the surface and can be seen "eating" into the coin's surface. These small green spots are translucent, and the coin's lustre can be seen beneath them. No signs of "active" acidic verd.

[Coinery 926]

I'm quite sure the green spots on the reverse are stable. I had a look at them at 10x and 20x, and there is no signs of what I would call "activity".

Just out of interest, how do you determine verd activity at magnification?

Verdigris usually accumulates at the surface and can be seen "eating" into the coin's surface. These small green spots are translucent, and the coin's lustre can be seen beneath them. No signs of "active" acidic verd.

It's the term "active" that most interests me! How do you determine that it's stable and not active?

[VickySilver 775]

I think BRG is correct in that colouration is indeed a form of oxidation, but tends to be stable unless subjected to further heat & humidity - hopefully the slab will help at leas a bit in that regard.

Verdigris is particularly worrisome when the reaction begins to proliferate - not just colour, but an appearance of bubbling which is microscopic at first. I don't see macroscopic on this, and he reports on his microscopic.Please keep in mind his blowup is quite large as well.

[Coinery 926]

I think BRG is correct in that colouration is indeed a form of oxidation, but tends to be stable unless subjected to further heat & humidity - hopefully the slab will help at leas a bit in that regard.

Verdigris is particularly worrisome when the reaction begins to proliferate - not just colour, but an appearance of bubbling which is microscopic at first. I don't see macroscopic on this, and he reports on his microscopic.Please keep in mind his blowup is quite large as well.

I'm not sure if you've misunderstood my point VC, I'm not talking about oxidation in the common sense but, rather, how can it be determined that "verd" is stable just from looking at it?

'Bubbling' starts somewhere, of course, but it has a beginning! How is it determined, as BRG has confidently done, that the process has ended?

This is what I'm interested in!

[brg5658 111]

I think BRG is correct in that colouration is indeed a form of oxidation, but tends to be stable unless subjected to further heat & humidity - hopefully the slab will help at leas a bit in that regard.

Verdigris is particularly worrisome when the reaction begins to proliferate - not just colour, but an appearance of bubbling which is microscopic at first. I don't see macroscopic on this, and he reports on his microscopic.Please keep in mind his blowup is quite large as well.

I'm not sure if you've misunderstood my point VC, I'm not talking about oxidation in the common sense but, rather, how can it be determined that "verd" is stable just from looking at it?

'Bubbling' starts somewhere, of course, but it has a beginning! How is it determined, as BRG has confidently done, that the process has ended?

This is what I'm interested in!

I don't believe the green spots are Verdigris at all. Thus, I don't believe they are active in that sense. True verdigris is a reaction of acetic acid with copper, and has a certain "bubbly" look to it as VS described. These few tiny green spots simply don't appear as such, and have no signs of continued reaction with the surface metal (e.g., the lustre is still visible microscopically underneath the translucent green spots).

Edited January 13, 2014 by brg5658

[Coinery 926]

I think BRG is correct in that colouration is indeed a form of oxidation, but tends to be stable unless subjected to further heat & humidity - hopefully the slab will help at leas a bit in that regard.

Verdigris is particularly worrisome when the reaction begins to proliferate - not just colour, but an appearance of bubbling which is microscopic at first. I don't see macroscopic on this, and he reports on his microscopic.Please keep in mind his blowup is quite large as well.

I'm not sure if you've misunderstood my point VC, I'm not talking about oxidation in the common sense but, rather, how can it be determined that "verd" is stable just from looking at it?

'Bubbling' starts somewhere, of course, but it has a beginning! How is it determined, as BRG has confidently done, that the process has ended?

This is what I'm interested in!

I don't believe the green spots are Verdigris at all. Thus, I don't believe they are active in that sense. True verdigris is a reaction of acetic acid with copper, and has a certain "bubbly" look to it as VS described. These few tiny green spots simply don't appear as such, and have no signs of continued reaction with the surface metal (e.g., the lustre is still visible microscopically underneath the translucent green spots).

Oh, right, that makes sense, if you don't believe it to be verdigris! Claiming stable verdigris under magnification is altogether a different animal!

It might just wipe off with a bit of acetone?

[Peter 615]

There is verdicare which has just become available in the UK.

I've bought a bottle because I have walked away from specks of surface green before.

Not cheap but I like to experiment.

[Coinery 926]

Having a theatre/recovery background, I can clearly see how key-hole surgery would be appropriate in some cases?

I guess this will no doubt be an offered service one day; a microscopic hole and cannula application of chemical therapy to any and all re-submitted coins affected by contaminants!

[Rob 2,998]

I'm bored. P1258 Taylor restrike.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Rob

[Coinery 926]

I'm bored. P1258 Taylor restrike.

Not bad, not bad at all! Copper is definitely king in my book!

[VickySilver 775]

Not quite on board with BRG's acetic acid bit, as IMO is usually a CuCl2 oxidation if I remember chemistry from 30 years ago! And Coinery you are right in that I suppose verd has to start somewhere. Maybe we are talking probability, and I certainly did not look at the piece but it does have the appearance of a few other bits I have seen.

I sure would be tempted to try the acetone very briefly and maybe a mild detergent with very liberal wash and the obligatory white cotton tamp down sans "the rub".

Rob, always amazed by the plethora of coins you have and show...

[Garrett 76]

yes nice coin Rob !

The tokens of BRG quite nice too.

Must be nice to go to a show and see tables with stuff like that, I hope you remembered to eat .

[brg5658 111]

In 1797, Peter Kempson issued 10 different penny-sized tokens (or more accurately, medalets) featuring London Buildings on the obverse and "Standing Justice" on the reverse. I simply couldn't resist this Ludgate token. My pictures don't do it any favors, but it appears almost as a proof in hand. The fields are glassy and almost completely mark free, with high relief devices. Both the obverse and reverse exhibit dark hues of blues and pinks, as is common on the entire series of these particular tokens. This set of medalets was struck specifically for collectors (not intended for actual commerce), and in relatively small mintages of less than 200 of each design. The reverse reminds me of the Regal cartwheel issues of the same year, with inset lettering surrounding the central design. I have not seen a nicer example than this one, and for a scant £115, I was delighted to add it to my collection.

1797 Middlesex/Kempson's penny token, Ludgate D&H-78 (scarce, mintage < 200)