New Collector - Help cleaning Crusty Romans

[david z]

Hi All,

I'm a brand new member and brand new ancient roman coin collector/Cleaner.

I recently purchased 10 uncleaned bronze romans and am having trouble cleaning them.
Was recommended to clean them using a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice.
Most of the coins are covered in a think green layer which I believe may mean they were found in England somewhere.
The Olive oil and lemon juice combination seems to be taking off the majority of the green crust but I'm worried that it will strip off everything leaving bare pitted metal.
I can see down to bare metal on some of them(and they appear to be attributable) but the metal appears pitted(if that is the right term)

Not sure if i should continue with the olive oil and lemon juice or try something else?

To be honest even with the heavy green encrustation some of the coins are still probably attributable.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Molinari]

Welcome to Forvm.  After a few more posts you'll be able to post photos, which will help folks give you advice.  Usually soaks in distilled water and light brushing are the first recommendation.

[ickster]

Having been down the road you're on, I recommend skipping the olive oil approach. It's messy and I didn't see any better results than I did with distilled water.

As for the lemon juice, I'd avoid that until truly desperate, and that shouldn't be for a while.

Spend some time researching the various articles out there on cleaning coins. At the home page of FORVM you'll see a link to articles and resources. In there is this article:

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Uncleaned%20Ancient%20Coins

As well, have a look through this section, as there is a lot of advice in here.

Good luck, and don't get frustrated!

[johnny676767]

I just started last year and I would say the same thing that you'll probably hear a lot of: patience. When I started, I wanted to clean 'em up and get to identification. This resulted in experiments with chemicals and power tools, none really successful. However, if you need to get it out of your system, try the gentler methods (DW, dish sop, toothbrush) first.

My only successful use of lemon juice was on a silver coin. The bronze ones were just stripped.

I have found that long term soaks in DW with brushing and picking under a microscope work best for me. Some coins just won't clean up.

I am still learning, but so far this is what I have learned.

[david z]

Thanks all for the prompt replies. Much appreciated.
So I guess Ill stick with Distilled water for now and see how it goes.

[david z]

Quick follow up questions,and sorry to be a bother, but how long would it normally take (ball park figure) to clean a heavily encrusted coin using distilled water and a tooth brush?
Are we talking half a year or longer? I know it would probably depend on the coin and each coin is different but just trying to get an understanding of at which point I should try a more destructive cleaning method.
Last question, have looked through the Forum shop and cant seem to find any cleaning related products. Am looking for a bass brush I have read about in the cleaning section and maybe a dental pick to help remove some of the crust.

Thanks again!

[SC]

David,

You really have to post photos.  Every coin is different, even crusties, though they will usually fall into certain categories.  Good photos will help.

DW will rarely clean a crusty.  However it is safe (unlike acids) and it might make it possible to use other options to clean the coin.

Some crusty coins might be able to be cleaned with other techniques now, others after DW soakings, while others might never react to anything but risky techniques - like acid on a copper coin or electrolysis which can have good results but also destroy the coin.

Shawn

[david z]

Hi Shawn,
Thanks for that. Have taken some front and back photos with my camera phone.
If the quality isn't good enough I can get my hands on a decent camera and try again.

[SC]

David,

The photos show that much of the patina has been striped but that some stuff remains.  Unfortunately the photos are not good enough to be able to tell what exactly it is that remains and therefore to provide advice.  Though for now leaving them in DW and changing it daily to remove any acid residue would be good.

Shawn

[david z]

Some better quality photos attached

[Joe Sermarini]

There is no DIRT on those coins. There is nothing to clean. They have already been OVER-CLEANED and STRIPPED of most of their patina.

If you want to remove the partial patinas remaining, distilled water and a toothbrush will probably take about 20 years, probably give or take 10 years.

[david z]

Hi Joe,
Will get them out of Distilled water, dry them off then leave it it that.
Thanks for the advice. As a new cleaner/collector is hard to know when to stop cleaning a coin.
As a novice one would think that cleaning to bare metal would the a good a idea but im starting to understand the patina is what truly makes ancient coins special

Thanks again

[Mayadigger]

Ave David Z!

There is no DIRT on those coins. There is nothing to clean. They have already been OVER-CLEANED and STRIPPED of most of their patina.

If you want to remove the partial patinas remaining, distilled water and a toothbrush will probably take about 20 years, probably give or take 10 years.

Ain't that the truth? But all is not lost. 

As your coins still have lots of legends and details showing beneath the encrustations they still can be salvaged.

Begin with 3-4 hour soaks in Mint State Restoration (MSR) solution, cut 50/50 with DW, tooth brushing or soft brass brushing under running water. Repeat the soaks until all of the encrustations have been removed. This will be a lengthy process but well worth your time. Go easy. Once all have been removed you'll have a much better idea as to the tools you'll need to smooth and re-patinate your coins.

Just saying,

Kevin