Paddy Posted July 9 Posted July 9 I have been experimenting with trying to recover a 1739 Half penny since December. I am going to post 4 pictures to show how things went. Firstly, this is the start point after I had picked the coin up and given it a quick Acetone wash, only to discover the verdigris hidden under old polish/varnish or whatever. Quote
Paddy Posted July 9 Author Posted July 9 Here is the coin after cleaning. I started with the Sodium sequicarbonate, both hot and quick and slow and cold, which removed most of the patina but not the verdigris. I resorted to a short dip in diluted Ammonia, which got rid of the verdigris and most of the residual patina. The remaining red staining would not shift - is this "Copper disease"? Quote
Paddy Posted July 9 Author Posted July 9 I then set about an attempt to retone the coin. A thin coating in vegetable oil and then left on the window ledge in the sun. After a couple of months, it looked like this: Quote
Paddy Posted July 9 Author Posted July 9 After another couple of months, it now looks like this. This photo taken with the new camera I have just picked up - I have not quite got the hang of the focus and exposure yet - sorry! The "copper disease" is much less evident in the hand and the coin will never be perfect again, but I think better than it was. 1 Quote
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