alexbq2 Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Got a small set of coins on eBay. Very happy with the purchase. Two rarities in one set! But the condition is unfortunate. Here's a Georgian Puli of king Irakli: Question is could/should I do anything with the green stuff? I was nce told to boil such coins in soda and/or olive oil. I tried the soda (not on this coin) but the result was not great. Here's the other coin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gxseries Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Alex, I have experience with the nasty green verdigris. You must be VERY VERY patient with it and use extra virgin oil. I'm sure the oil is a lot cheaper than the coin you paid for. Note, this can take over several months if you are prepared for it. This is one coin that I did recently: P.S. you wouldn't want to see what it was like initially. You would have wept as all the corroded bits were heavily covered with verdigris. I reckon with a few more months, I can do a better job but I've just packed most of my stuff as I'm prepared to move. What I did is to dip the coin in olive oil and depending on how heavy the verdigris is, the oil can become green from two to four weeks. When it has become green, you know it's doing it's job. Note that olive oil is mildly acidic but slow enough for you to interfere and stop it if you aren't happy with it. Each time when you are prepared to remove the oil, be prepared to remove the green verdigris with a toothpick as gently as possible. Rinse the coin. Be prepared to repeat this step for several months. Nice coins btw. I'm still looking for a 20 kopek for my type set. Looks like that's going to take a few more years for me to get one in a decent condition like yours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexbq2 Posted October 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Alex, I have experience with the nasty green verdigris. You must be VERY VERY patient with it and use extra virgin oil. I'm sure the oil is a lot cheaper than the coin you paid for. Note, this can take over several months if you are prepared for it. This is one coin that I did recently: P.S. you wouldn't want to see what it was like initially. You would have wept as all the corroded bits were heavily covered with verdigris. I reckon with a few more months, I can do a better job but I've just packed most of my stuff as I'm prepared to move. What I did is to dip the coin in olive oil and depending on how heavy the verdigris is, the oil can become green from two to four weeks. When it has become green, you know it's doing it's job. Note that olive oil is mildly acidic but slow enough for you to interfere and stop it if you aren't happy with it. Each time when you are prepared to remove the oil, be prepared to remove the green verdigris with a toothpick as gently as possible. Rinse the coin. Be prepared to repeat this step for several months. Nice coins btw. I'm still looking for a 20 kopek for my type set. Looks like that's going to take a few more years for me to get one in a decent condition like yours Thank You Gxseries! So you just soak it in oil for months? Not sure I have the patience Do you need to flip it over while it is soaking? Coin looks good by the way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gxseries Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Alex, I'm sure the coin is worth a lot more than a few months of your patience I mean, sure your time is valuable but if you consider how much time and money you spent to find this coin, I'm sure preserving it is a small investment of your time. After all, all you need to do is to check out the coin every week or so and if you feel like you need to change the oil, it takes another 10 mins of your time. Doesn't really hurt a lot of your time. You can flip the coin after you rinsed it and added oil. P.S. I don't recommend leaving in olive oil for too long, i.e. like several months as it can get redeposited on other surfaces of the coin, which is not what you really want! Agreed, most people would want a quick and fast solution but it usually leaves nasty cleaned surface which is not desirable. I would recommend practicing on cheaper coins to get an idea of how it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BKB Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 That green stuff on Georgia is pretty deep. If or when removed, will leave ugly deep caverns. I do not know if you will like it better. Soda will definitely work, but will wash away all patina. I think soda should only be used when the surface is perfect and not yet penetrated by that green stuff. Not much successful personal experience, though. Olive oil sounds like a milder solution which would hopefully leave the patina intact... or not? No personal experience with olive oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexbq2 Posted October 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Alex, I'm sure the coin is worth a lot more than a few months of your patience I mean, sure your time is valuable but if you consider how much time and money you spent to find this coin, I'm sure preserving it is a small investment of your time. After all, all you need to do is to check out the coin every week or so and if you feel like you need to change the oil, it takes another 10 mins of your time. Doesn't really hurt a lot of your time. You can flip the coin after you rinsed it and added oil. P.S. I don't recommend leaving in olive oil for too long, i.e. like several months as it can get redeposited on other surfaces of the coin, which is not what you really want! Agreed, most people would want a quick and fast solution but it usually leaves nasty cleaned surface which is not desirable. I would recommend practicing on cheaper coins to get an idea of how it works. Already dumped it into some olive oil (not sure how virgin it is). The patience issue is that I keep taking it out every 5 minutes and trying to see if there's any change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyal Citizen Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Already dumped it into some olive oil (not sure how virgin it is). The patience issue is that I keep taking it out every 5 minutes and trying to see if there's any change With this pace, I do not think you will live to see the results Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJB Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 First off, nice find on that Georgian piece. It is indeed a rare find. Second, as far as cleaning, I hesitate when it comes to cleaning my coins any more (if ever). I figure unless the coin is in serious danger of being damaged or destroyed from certain elements, I leave them as is. When I was a kid (being young and foolish is a volatile combination) I cleaned a few of my coins, some of them quite rare, and I regret it to this day. I don't know how seriously I devalued them, but I never cleaned my coins since. Personally, I would not do anything further, but this just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drusus Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 If your coin has verdigris then it is, indeed, in serious danger...one thing you might want to look into is Biox...that will remove verdigris very effectively. http://www.dirtyoldcoins.com/shop/supplies/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 If your coin has verdigris then it is, indeed, in serious danger...one thing you might want to look into is Biox...that will remove verdigris very effectively. http://www.dirtyoldcoins.com/shop/supplies/index.html Interesting. Do you have any before/after images showing how it works on verdigris? Does it leave a black area where the verdigris was removed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexbq2 Posted November 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 I got the Biox fluid. And tried it out on the Georgian coin. Here are the 'after' images. Most of the green is gone, but so is most of the patina. Does anyone know how to restore that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drusus Posted November 17, 2008 Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 Biox worked well. I wouldnt put a fake patina on if you ask me, patina will return in due time, just dont lock it away, carry it in your hand (sweat will make it tone) or keep it exposed to air. I would rather buy a stripped coin that one that has a fake tone. If you simply MUST tone it (because you are flipping it or something) just drop an egg in a glass then drop your coin in the egg...Or you can spend money on something called 'dellers darkener' Dellers darkener is sulfer mixed with something like petroleum jelly. You can achieve the same results with egg or with petroleum jelly mixed with some sulfer....or slower way would be to carry the coin in hand for a bit or let is slowly form a real patina by leaving it exposed to sulfer in the air. all this will give it a darker tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexbq2 Posted November 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Biox worked well. I wouldnt put a fake patina on if you ask me, patina will return in due time, just dont lock it away, carry it in your hand (sweat will make it tone) or keep it exposed to air. I would rather buy a stripped coin that one that has a fake tone. If you simply MUST tone it (because you are flipping it or something) just drop an egg in a glass then drop your coin in the egg...Or you can spend money on something called 'dellers darkener' Dellers darkener is sulfer mixed with something like petroleum jelly. You can achieve the same results with egg or with petroleum jelly mixed with some sulfer....or slower way would be to carry the coin in hand for a bit or let is slowly form a real patina by leaving it exposed to sulfer in the air. all this will give it a darker tone. Thank you Drusus. I've nether heard of the egg method. Since I already have some I'll try it. Should I add any milk or salt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janneen Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 I've toned some silver coins with smashed boiled (still hot) egg. Just put the coin with the egg (not touching) to a sealed (sealing is important) plastic bag (transparent) and see what happens in a minute or two. Just take the coin from the bag when there's is enough toning. Better result is obtained when the coin is washed with soap and dryed before toning (to get rid of grease, fingerprints etc.). With this method results are sometimes good and sometimes not. Janne P.S Experimeltal toning only... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altyn Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 Various methods for torturing coins are described here: http://metaldetectingworld.com/cleaning_co...atination.shtml I have only experimented with the permanganate method (and using inexpensive coins as victims). Did not like the results, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexbq2 Posted November 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2008 I've got egg on my coin! I sort off followed the directions, here are the results: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altyn Posted November 21, 2008 Report Share Posted November 21, 2008 I've got egg on my coin! I sort off followed the directions, here are the results: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.