Hello everyone,
Even though I really value
toning, two of my
Alexander the Great tetradrachms
had developed a rather undesirable colorful look over the years. I know
toning occurs naturally and that it enhances the look of the coin, by making details stand out and adding depth, but with these two coins it no longer was the case. So, I took them to someone who cleans coins, only to find out afterwards that, unfortunately, they used
electrolysis to clean them… The two coins no longer have the unpleasant colorful
toning, but now they look somewhat ‘dull’ because they have lost their lustre and their appealing original black
toning. I should have asked what method they would use before I handed them the coins, I regret not having been more careful.
I truly
hope not all is lost. I have read here that it is possible to re-tone silver coins naturally (not artificially). I would only want to use a completely natural way to re-tone them, however long that might take. I would like to know what the best method is to do that. I have read about the following methods to re-tone silver coins naturally:
- Using sulfurated potash (flower of sulfur): Either by soaking the coin in a weak solution of sulfurated potash, or by putting the coin in the middle of a thin ring of the sulfur, without any of it touching the coin.
- Using eggs: By putting the coin into a sealed bag or container with crushed boiled or raw eggs.
I have read you can also use sunlight, however this isn’t really an option for me, since I don’t have an appropriate place to safely expose the coins to sunlight. And another method is storing the coin in abafil trays exposing them to air, although this is how they developed the unpleasant colorful
toning.
I would really like to know your opinions and experiences, which you consider to be the best method, and to know about the details of the procedures, concentrations of the sulfur, how to prepare the eggs, duration of the treatment, whether there is any rinsing required after the treatment, etc. I would really appreciate your comments.
Also, I was wondering if there any harmless methods for bringing back the lustre they have lost, before doing the re-toning.
Thanks everyone for their
help.