Questions from a Beginner... and Cleaning with Aluminium Foil

[multirony]

Salvete.

I have about nine or so AE4-sized uncleaned coins. They're what's left from a lot of about twenty that I got for my birthday a few years ago... uh... the others got thrown away... >_< with my permission, even... Yeah, I know... >_< I feel pretty bad about it now...

Anyways, I started writing this with intentions of asking for advice concerning my coins. Eh, the survivors, so to speak. -__-
Question one: I know of the infamous olive oil soak, but my mother seems to have transitioned to grape seed oil... Is using grape seed oil okay for coins too, or does it have to be olive oil?
Question two: I also know about using aluminium foil and baking soda to clean coins. Apparently, you wrap the coins somewhat loosely in foil and then let them sit in a baking soda and water solution for a while until the foil is eaten away, or something of that nature. Also apparently, this method is recommended for silver. However, lately, on this forum and on other sites as well, I've seen things that lead me to believe that this method can also be used on bronze. I read that it's okay for bronze, but it doesn't work as quickly as it would on silver... I don't know though; I would hate to ruin potentially great coins... so is it really okay for bronze and other metals too, or is this method strictly reserved for silver? I think I also read that it's basically an ultra-mild form of electrolysis. Interesting...
Question three: I'm soaking them right now in water and dish soap... I think that's okay, as I've read of people soaking coins in soapy water. Is this effective, or should I try distilled water, an oil, etc..... I also sometimes try to brush with a slightly cut-down toothbrush... It doesn't seem to be too effective, however... I just wish I could find a quicker way to clean my coins without turning them into horrifically defaced chunks of metal >_<

I would appreciate any advice I get, and I'm most definitely willing to learn, of course. I know the basics about distilled water soaks, using toothpicks and other wooden implements, using penetrating oils, brushing, etc. but if there's any information you have that you feel I should know, by all means, do tell me. I feel super bad for basically throwing out those tiny pieces of history and I'm going to try to atone by doing as best I can on these coins...

Thanks!!

[areich]

(>^_^)>

You'll just ruin the coins with electrolysis and olive oil doesn't really work though it will destroy coins much more slowly. There are no 'magic bullets'.

@(*-*)@

[SC]

Multirony,

Just some personal thoughts:

Stick to the soaks and then cleaning with brushes and wooden implements for now.

Water and soap is ok but distilled water is both better and safer and can be bought for cheap at drug stores and hardware stores. 

Many people soak with baking soda in the water instead of soap.

Change your water frequently.

Try to cut a toothbrush down so the bristles are shorter and thus firmer.

Try using bamboo skewers to pick stuff off between soaks.

Have good lighting and if you can, some form of magnification.

Spend a few hours reading through the threads in this section you will learn heaps.

Once you have some practice move on to harder tools - steel pins, scalpels or x-acto blades, soft brass brushes, etc - if you feel comfortable and if you have a steady and gentle hand.

Most of all have patience and if in doubt just pop the coin back into the soak and return to it another day.

Shawn

[marrk]

Tran does a good job.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleditsia
aluminum foil and lemon juice. only silver coins. with mill-cake plumbum

[multirony]

Thanks guys. I will try to keep your guys' advice in mind...

The olive oil thing doesn't work?? I've seen it recommended almost everywhere. If you say olive oil doesn't work, I'm assuming that applies to grape seed oil too, then.  ._. 

Thanks for the information and advice; I think I'm already starting to learn a bit... but gosh, ouch. I don't think I'm going to do that foil trick then...

That's a bit disappointing to hear though; I think I've seen a thread on this forum with some guy who used basic olive oil soaks and periodic brushing and got a really nice coin to show for it. Oh well, I'll just keep trying! I have some baking soda, so I'll try using that too.

I'm not exactly sure with what was meant by the Gleditsia thing... Should I try to find some of those spines to use on my coins? O_o

Thanks again. If there are any other people on here with information to share, that would be great.

[SRukke]

I think olive oil works great. As with anything else too much of a good thing isn't always a good thing. Olive oil will loosen up some crud and make it easier to remove. I heard someone the other day say they use vaseline. Works faster than olive oil. I don't know on that one though but I have used olive oil with good results.

The best thing you can have when cleaning ancients is patience and lots of it. Coins can be ruined by being impatient and wanting faster results. What took 2,000 years to build doesn't come off in an hour of cleaning. A stripped coin is bad, patina is good.

 

[multirony]

Wow, thanks! I definitely have some Vaseline here. I'll try that. In fact, I did try that a few days ago. What I did was, I coated the coins in Vaseline, left them to dry somewhat overnight, then I used rubbing alcohol to get the greasiness off... then I boiled them... Yeah, I know now >_< I probably shouldn't be using alcohol on these coins, or so I've read. >_< I'm assuming you mean I should "soak" them in the Vaseline for longer periods of time, right? I've also tried putting glue on the coins and letting them dry to peel the glue off later. I did it with Elmer's glue plus some tacky glue... I ended up peeling off a layer of glue along with a small layer of dirt from each of the coins, but now I'm thinking it may have been more effective if I'd have just used tacky glue. I think that stuff's stronger, yet not as harsh as a permanent glue like that from a glue gun or something like Krazy glue would be. Do you think using tacky glue is okay?

[marrk]

no glue. clean coins slowly. see how they damage them

[multirony]

Does it really damage them? I thought that rule only applied to super glue or stuff like glue guns and Krazy glue. I actually saw the Elmer's trick on an ancient coin website... and when I actually did it, like I said, it seemed rather mild as only a small layer of dirt particles was pulled off. I suppose I'll stop though, if even that's not recommendable... >_<

[areich]

Alcohol shouldn't harm a coin though I don't think it's very useful for cleaning, except to clean up some fake patinas etc. But for all that acetone is better.

[casata137ec]

All of the methods mentioned will work to one degree or another.

The foil electolosys works, but will strip the patina from your coin and usually reveals a much uglier coin than you started with.

The glue method will work as well, but you run the very real risk of pulling the patina from looser spots and ending up with junk (see: foil electolosys).

Olive oil has its place, I am told it is the only way to go with the chalky green british dug coins, but it is ignorantly slow and messy. Olive oil has an even better place in a pan with some fresh herbs and a lamb chop!

Distilled water (my choice of soak fluids) is just a good as olive oil and cheaper and much less messy.

I prefer mechanical cleaning to chemicals any day. Gives you much more leeway if you are careful. Basic tools, nothing fancier than a diamond dusted dental pick...exacto or scalpel, plain dental pick, cut down nylon brush, soft brass brush (and a super soft silver brush, that is optional, but I like mine), magnification, decent lighting, and the most important tool of all: patience. I cannot stress enough how important patience is. Patience! 

Remember, no two coins are alike when it comes to cleaning (different soil types, different levels of moisture or air exposed to, etc). What one responds to another will shrug off like a bad habit. don't get married to one method or you will end up dropping the hobby in frustration! (Patience!)

Chris

[multirony]

Oh, even more. ^_^ Thanks everyone. I'm going to see if I can get distilled water any time soon, and if I can, I'll try that as soon as possible. I also heard of brushing the coins while dry... is that effective? I'm wanting a bit quicker progress here because my coins don't seem to be moving along quickly enough... I'll definitely need a lot of patience. Also, some of those tools you listed as basic aren't so basic to me. I don't know how I'll ever be able to get something like a dental tool... I think that's a bit more advanced though, for beginners like me to be using metal tools. I can only begin to imagine what I'd do with something sharp, pointy, and metal... I would probably end up decapitating something, chopping off limbs, inscriptions and whatnot...

[casata137ec]

SUPB. Stainless Steel Dental Pick and Nic-A-Brush, one of each, useful for cleaning coins, types may vary from the photo; $5.50 (€4.07) https://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?vpar=869&pos=0#Uncleaned Coins

Joe sells some of the basics here (and pretty cheap to boot). Follow the link above and scroll down towards the bottom. The hardware store a few blocks away from me has a plastic tub full of various sized dental tools, matter of fact, both of the hardware stores by me have a tub of them! lol Exacto's can be found at hardware stores and hobby shops alike. These tools are not the only things that can be used, they are just the tools I am most comfortable with. Be creative...but PATIENT! lol

Chris

[DirtyBronze]

I only use olive oil in the most difficult cases and half the time it works... to a degree

most everything I have is in distilled water

although I have had some recent success trying longer soaks in soapy water

and I use several different kinds of toothbrushes - the bristles have varying degrees of 'toughness' and I would highly recommened a very soft brush for silver and a "tufted" brush for bronze

there are several decent boil methods


patience is KEY - some of my best work was done on coins that soaked for nearly forever and all the sudden the gunk broke down and revealed an ancient masterpiece