Ave Molinari!
Yikes, what a sad coin. I'll give it a go, but remember, this is from the photo alone.
1) GGTTs BD Killer soaks with very light SBBBing URW to insure that any incipient
bronze disease is cured - I may see a few small patches on the Rx. The BD Killer will, of course, remove your coin's the false
patina, but that's no never mind.
2) Once all the general muck has been removed, you'll need to look close at the deep pit below the grasshopper. I'd probe it with a common DP, just bearing down enough to determine whether the metal is
intact or crumbly and the same for beneath the bull's
hind hooves. Use a scalpel or DDDP to gently address the corrosions without touching any of the pits, small or large. All you're doing now is just seeing what the coin will give you at this point, savvy? DO NOT mess with the grasshopper. We'll deal with that issue later.
3) Again, just guessing, I suggest you then soak your coin in MSR (cut 50/50 with DW) for multiple one hour soaks, with tooth brushing and mechanical cleaning between each soak and repeat as necessary. You'll have to use your eye for this; you'll know when it's done, trust me.
4) At this point, after all of the above, you should have a shiny
pitted coin with clean Obv legends and
portrait...opposite the
reverse, with the grasshopper
intact. To smooth out the lesser
pitting, use Dremel DD rubber
tools, in varying grits from
fine to coarse, positioned horizontally against the coin's
face, always URW, until satisfied. A 1200 grit
sharp point DD will serve you well for 'popping' your grasshopper. Do Not use these
tools to 'smooth' any of the deep Rx pits. They are what they are so leave them alone.
5) Re-patinating Greek issues is problematic, as they rarely respond as expected via Deller's Darkener, JAX solutions, etc. VS
Roman issues. You'll have to experiment a
bit with the above, or even more, but once you find which works best, your eye will tell you.
Best regards,
Kevin
