HELP - CLEANING HEAVY GRIT BAR KOKHBA YEAR 2 - NEW PICTURES

[Richard K]

I just got a Bronze Bar Kokhba Year2 in great shape from a reputable auction dealer who told me it had never been cleaned.  The coins is great and all lettering legible.  However, it has heavy white grit incrustation in the areas of the gape leaf and palm tree.  How can I safely clean it?

So far I soaked it for only a couple of hours in olive oil and then brushed it and blew some debris using a waterpix with distilled water.  It cleaned a little bit, but still has a lot.  Dealer recommended not to clean and to keep as is.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.  The white crud is kind of unsightly under the 10x microscope.  Thanks.

[BiancasDad]

To have any meaningful input we'll need to see a picture of the coin.

[Richard K]

Will do.  It is sitting in Olive Oil now.  Thanks,

[Jay GT4]

We'd need to see the pics but, If the dealer tells you to leave it as is, I'd believe him. 

[Virgil H]

I agree with what Jay says. If a reputable dealer tells you to leave it alone, he is almost always right. Otherwise perhaps he would have cleaned it before selling it to make it look better and increase the price. Also, depending on what exactly the "crud" is and what it looks like , some things are just part of the coin's history and are not necessarily bad.

[Richard K]

Here are the pictures of the coin.  The area I would have liked to clean is the white areas which look like calcium or lime deposits.

[Josiah Y]

Personally I wouldn't touch it, MAAAAYBE some of the tan area under high magnification. What ever you do end up doing do not touch those red areas. They won't clean, that is corrosion and the detail that is there is best it'll be.

[Richard K]

Thank you.  The area of concern is the white/tan area on top of the leaf which looks like lime/calcium incrustation/grime.  Can it be removed without damage to the patina?  Any help is appreciated.

[Richard K]

Here are new pictures showing the affected areas.  Dealer told me to leave as is.  Should they be cleaned and what are the white areas?  Thanks

[Josiah Y]

If you don't have a binocular microscope and some good needles then leave it be. If you have a lot of experience with a SBBB then use that under running water.  Otherwise, leave it be. Its identifiable, in good shape and looks good. If you're still dead set on getting that off then stick to the classic distilled water soak and toothpicks. Its a slower but much safer method that will work on lime/calcium... I'd personally avoid the olive oil, stick to distilled water changing the water every 3 days and less than 10 minutes of tooth picking between changes. It'll take months to work but without the proper tools thats the safe way to do it.

[Richard K]

Thank you for the wise advice.  I have a bino microscope but no tools since I have never cleaned one.

[Joe Sermarini]

That type of encrustation is extremely hard to clean. I have only cleaned one coin with that type of encrustation and I did it because it was extremely rare and desirable. Cleaning it increased the value enough that it was worth my time. For this coin, I think it is just fine as it is. If you want a cleaner one, you would be better off just buying a cleaner coin.

[Richard K]

i Joe.  That is the reason for my concern.  This one is a very scarce early year 2 large Bar Kokhba, which was very expensive.  I purchased from a well  known ancient collections expert, author and dealer/auctioneer.  He told me to keep it as is and not clean it.  I have been trying to speculate in how it would be graded as is vs trying to clean it or having an expert clean it.

[Jay GT4]

Sounds like you got it from the guy who wrote the book on these.  Believe him when he tells you to leave it as is.

[Nathaniel N2]

 You could always clean it tomorrow. No need to rush into doing it now. Nothing will change on a stable bronze coin.

[Ken W2]

As already stated, that kind of white encrustation can be mechanically cleaned. I have worked on that stuff with an exacto no. 11 and diamond encrusted bits. BUT there is almost always a kind of white film left and if you go beyond that you’ll be into the corrosion layer below and possibly the metal. To me, it looks like those areas may have been cleaned to that extent already. It’s nice as is— I wouldn’t risk the damage.