FORVM`s Classical Numismatics Discussion Board
Numismatic and History Discussion Forums => Uncleaned Ancient Coin Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Celticaire on August 29, 2019, 10:02:08 am
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Hi All,
I recently got a couple of uncleaned coins that turned out to be silvered, so I have been soaking them in soapy distilled water and working on them gently with my picks. However, the dirt is weirdly greasy. I feel like I'm smearing it around more than removing it, even with the soap in the water. Because some of the core is exposed, I haven't tried lemon juice out of fear of making things worse. Should I try it carefully? As of right now, I think both coins look pretty bad, so I'd hate to leave them as they are.
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silver?
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These are silvered bronze and lemon juice would not be a good idea. Only mechanical cleaning will really help. You will see more details if you look under the cleaning silvered coins sticky in this topic.
If the dirt is soft you can use a knife to carve small wooden or plastic chisels from bamboo skewers, popsicle sticks or plastic knifes. You can then use these to scrape the dirt off. If greasy you may need to clean the "chisel" on a paper towel each time.
If the dirt is harder you may have to use a scalpel.
SC
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Yes, I did read the silvered coins sticky. These coins have just been very difficult to clean using those methods. Nothing scrapes them clean, just moves the dirt around. It’s weird.
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i tried caustic potash
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If you are "moving the dirt around" it sounds like you don't have a typical cleaning problem - i.e. how to remove hard material - but a de-greasing problem.
Try something non-acidic (i.e. avoid vinegar) and non-caustic. Soap or maybe a special mechanic's de-greasing soap.
SC