Cleaning my coins

[Gollum]

Ok, so tonight I got given a mix of old pennies, farthings, sixpences, a george vi english shilling that has NO silver on it, and looks copper, some other stuff, a lot of it is covered in some really hard encrusted stuff like that looks lime and green junk, verdigris ?.

So how to clean them all up and remove it all, I read on the forum to use Balsamic Vinegar, is that the best thing to use or is there other ways that you would approve of without doing too much harm.

Thanks

[argentumandcoins]

Ok, so tonight I got given a mix of old pennies, farthings, sixpences, a george vi english shilling that has NO silver on it, and looks copper, some other stuff, a lot of it is covered in some really hard encrusted stuff like that looks lime and green junk, verdigris ?.

So how to clean them all up and remove it all, I read on the forum to use Balsamic Vinegar, is that the best thing to use or is there other ways that you would approve of without doing too much harm.

Thanks

It sounds like verdigris (probably been stored in a shed or garage for a few years.

There is no real way to remove it although you can tidy the coins up and stop the spread by a good long soak in olive oil (a few months for encrusted coins) although it is only really worth doing with coins that have some value. If these are all common issues they are probably just scrappers although you could use one or two to try out the treatment on so at least you will be confident in the results if you find a better coin with verdigris.

[Peckris]

Ok, so tonight I got given a mix of old pennies, farthings, sixpences, a george vi english shilling that has NO silver on it, and looks copper, some other stuff, a lot of it is covered in some really hard encrusted stuff like that looks lime and green junk, verdigris ?.

So how to clean them all up and remove it all, I read on the forum to use Balsamic Vinegar, is that the best thing to use or is there other ways that you would approve of without doing too much harm.

Thanks

Just to add to what John said - if you don't want to wait months of oiling, you can soak in Balsamic vinegar overnight (remember it's an acid!). In the morning the green will have gone, replaced by a dark patch. The rest of the coin will have lightened considerably. It's a drastic remedy for a drsatic situation.

Remember to rinse off the vinegar thoroughly.

Edited December 17, 2011 by Peckris

[Gollum]

Thanks guys, so a electric drill and wire brush are defo out of the question then, better try the all new sand in a cement mixer job. :lol:

[Gollum]

I am rather concerned about my 1950 shilling, it has no silver on it at all, it looks all copper and it is not fair, why would it be missing any traces of silver.

[Colin G.]

I am rather concerned about my 1950 shilling, it has no silver on it at all, it looks all copper and it is not fair, why would it be missing any traces of silver.

That coin has no specific silver content, the coin is made from cupro nickel and when subject to a period underground or cleaning via various methods they will assume a pinkish tone

[Gollum]

Sorry Colin, I knew it had no silver content in it, I actually meant no silver look to it, it is all pink/brown and not very pretty , I guess it is a scrapper apart from reference in respect of the strike for others of the era,much annoyed !, people should look after their coins a lot better.

All my 1800 pennies are in olive oil as per advice as well. Hopefully I can stop the verdigris spread.

I may try posting some pics or scans later of my other coins, then one of you can tell me how awfull they are.

Message to the rest of the world - their a finite resource, look after them...

[Gollum]

I just had a thought, yes, I know, unique for me as the wife says, but are those electrolysis kits any good for cleaning coins or just a gimmick.

[Gollum]

Will Caustic soda do much admage to a coin ?

[Gollum]

Ok returning to this again !.

Hypothetical question.

If I have a rare penny that is covered in verdigris, I have 2 options for it, one being the bin, the other is I clean it and polish it and it looks nice and shiny afterward, surely that is better than throwing it in the bin, surely saving any coin is better than throwing it away, what if one day it becomes the only example left, is everyone going to moan that it was saved by cleaning it. Answers on the back of a penny black please.

[Coinery]

Probably a highly inappropriate conversation, but I have heard that the same process used for 'ageing' silver jewellery, will also work to some degree with copper! Might be worth tying it out on something of low value, just to improve eye appeal, if you're determined to polish something for your own collection.

An interesting benefit of Playing around with such processes is that it might just help you in spotting artificially toned coins in the future!

Apparently, liver of sulphur (nasty toxic fumes when reacting with silver etc), or the yolk of a hard boiled egg, will add tone to a shiny coin. Give it a try and see what happens!

Put the boiled yolks of one or two eggs into a sealed bag or jar with the coin, and leave overnight - this may darken the coin too much, or you may need to repeat the process a second time. Totally trial and error! Happy boiling!

[TomGoodheart]

Ok returning to this again !.

Hypothetical question.

If I have a rare penny that is covered in verdigris, I have 2 options for it, one being the bin, the other is I clean it and polish it and it looks nice and shiny afterward, surely that is better than throwing it in the bin, surely saving any coin is better than throwing it away, what if one day it becomes the only example left, is everyone going to moan that it was saved by cleaning it. Answers on the back of a penny black please.

It's a matter of choice I guess. If you search for Roman coins, you'll see many of them have been cleaned. It's generally accepted that a bit of silver that's come out of the ground will need cleaning. By the time you get to the 1600s, people often prefer a coin to look as if it's been sat in a cabinet for years and expect some toning. But toning is what some call tarnish. Look at German coins and you'll see folk expect them shiny. Germans don't seem to appreciate toning like us Brits. If a coin is rare and it's (carefully) cleaned, so be it. Won't change that many will prefer it not to have been, but .. The only real issue is that with copper or bronze, you never will return to that original lustre look that people (ideally) look for.

All I'd say is, if you are cleaning, go gentle. The least intervention (such as olive oil) probably the better. And if it's silver and has some verd (because copper was included in the mix) I'd leave it.

[Peter]

Collections of hoard coins will probably be professionally cleaned.

This doesn't mean barrelling silver hammered,scrubbing with pastes or generally removing metal.They may be picked over with softened cocktail sticks and the like.

A lot of hammered gold and silver come out of the ground bent by the plough.By an expert these can be strightened and restored.

The "good metal detectorist" boys will advise on this(not the purely treasure hunters).

I and a few forum regulars here are members of "The Federation of Independant Detectorist" They have a good forum with further links.

You will see their members quite happily displaying a post 1800 coin barely identifiable...not for collectors...but they work wonders on the hammered and ancients...there are some amazing before and afters.

I've had success on Roman grots by soaking in olive oil and forgetting about them.The last batch I found was a about a 50% success

rate into turning them to keepers

Well these sold nicely on the Bay

[Gollum]

Collections of hoard coins will probably be professionally cleaned.

This doesn't mean barrelling silver hammered,scrubbing with pastes or generally removing metal.They may be picked over with softened cocktail sticks and the like.

A lot of hammered gold and silver come out of the ground bent by the plough.By an expert these can be strightened and restored.

The "good metal detectorist" boys will advise on this(not the purely treasure hunters).

I and a few forum regulars here are members of "The Federation of Independant Detectorist" They have a good forum with further links.

You will see their members quite happily displaying a post 1800 coin barely identifiable...not for collectors...but they work wonders on the hammered and ancients...there are some amazing before and afters.

I've had success on Roman grots by soaking in olive oil and forgetting about them.The last batch I found was a about a 50% success

rate into turning them to keepers

Well these sold nicely on the Bay

Funny how many Numismatists have metal detectors too .

[Peckris]

Ok returning to this again !.

Hypothetical question.

If I have a rare penny that is covered in verdigris, I have 2 options for it, one being the bin, the other is I clean it and polish it and it looks nice and shiny afterward, surely that is better than throwing it in the bin, surely saving any coin is better than throwing it away, what if one day it becomes the only example left, is everyone going to moan that it was saved by cleaning it. Answers on the back of a penny black please.

Hypothetically - if it's not a high value or rare coin, then don't think about either binning, or cleaning and polishing (which won't get rid of verdigris anyway). You can EITHER soak the coin for many months in olive oil and hope the verdigris goes dark, OR you can soak it overnight in balsamic vinegar which will turn the green to dark brown and stop it spreading, but will also make the rest of the coin much lighter in tone.

Either way, don't forget to remove all traces of olive oil / vinegar, as they are acids. (Though the oil is so mild you could leave it with a thin fresh coating, and renew it every few months).

[Boomstick]

Collections of hoard coins will probably be professionally cleaned.

This doesn't mean barrelling silver hammered,scrubbing with pastes or generally removing metal.They may be picked over with softened cocktail sticks and the like.

A lot of hammered gold and silver come out of the ground bent by the plough.By an expert these can be strightened and restored.

The "good metal detectorist" boys will advise on this(not the purely treasure hunters).

I and a few forum regulars here are members of "The Federation of Independant Detectorist" They have a good forum with further links.

You will see their members quite happily displaying a post 1800 coin barely identifiable...not for collectors...but they work wonders on the hammered and ancients...there are some amazing before and afters.

I've had success on Roman grots by soaking in olive oil and forgetting about them.The last batch I found was a about a 50% success

rate into turning them to keepers

Well these sold nicely on the Bay

[bagerap]

I've just seen a new seller on fleabay (12 feedbacks) with a good number of Victorian pennies. Not only cleaned, but polished to a mirror shine.

[Gollum]

I can say that the following happened today.

My brown / pink 1950 shilling I cleaned with a dremel and a soft pad using aluminum cleaner, it came up silver ... interesting.

My dark green and ugly 1946 Halfpenny ditto above but I used jewelers rouge on it and it looks rather shiny and nice if not "authentic" for others.

My other 1953 Halfpenny also dark green got dumped in some caustic soda and came out rather the worse for wear, although I think the pits in it are from the Verdigris being eaten.

My Farthings are sitting here looking rather ugly and one is indecipherable apart from its date. So I may try those next.

All the above apart from the first one were scrappers according to many. So no harm done. It's my 1907 halfpenny and all them Pennies I am looking at that worry me... Still.