Digger's D-cell electrolysis........

[Digger]

I made a post earlier today, showing the "before and after" pics of an old Seated dime I found last month, and had cleaned with a process I thought should work. After proving to myself that my cleaning process didn't harm the silver, I decided to try it on my 3-cent silver coin. If you recall, when I posted this coin last weekend, all that was visible was part of the star on the face and part of the date. I didn't want to rub it while out in the field for fear of damaging the surface. When I got it home and rinsed it off, I found what I believe to be iron oxide "stuck" to both the face and reverse. And it was much more corroded than I first thought. Some of the corrosion was as thick as a paper match. For the past several days, I've been trying to decide whether or not I wanted to attempt to remove the corrosion. And if so, what to use? With that in mind, I decided to give it a shot, using some form of electrolysis. I figured if I went slow, I might not damage the coin as could happen if I used chemicals or abrasive pressure. To take it slow, I needed to use a minimal voltage supply. So I went to the workbench to find my old AC/DC converter, figuring I'd set it on 3 volts. As with most things I put away in a "safe place", I couldn't find it. So I decided to improvise and actually came up with a process that beats anything I've used before.

Here is the condition as it came from the field:

[attachment 96187 threecentsilver.jpg]


and here is the rerverse:

[attachment 96188 dirty3centsilver.jpg]

I took a glass coffee cup and filled it halfway with warm water. I poured in 2 tablespoons of salt and stirred it until it desolved. I layed the coin in the bottom of the cup and stood a D cell battery on top of the coin, with the positive terminal pointing up. Then I filled the cup with just enough warm water to cover the positive terminal. I waited about 3 minutes, removed the battery from the electrolite, and checked the condition of the coin. Just as with the Seated Dime I had "practiced on" earlier, the crud was starting to loosen up. I placed the battery back in the solution and waited another 3 mintues. By this time the solution was showing signs of discoloration. I removed the D cell and again checked the coin. More crud was loosening up and it was starting to look promising. I kept reminding myself it would be a slow process as this coin was far worse than the dime I had cleaned earlier. I changed the solution and repeated the process several times.

[attachment 96189 3centcorrosionhalfgoneface.jpg]



I continued (lather, rinse, repeat) for the next hour, changing water about every other time. I got a bit impatient and used a wooden toothpick to "get in between" some of the crevices. However, I did monitor my "picking" with a magnifying glass to make sure I wasn't doing any harm to the coin's detail.

[attachment 96190 3centreversecorrosionaboutgone.jpg]


There is still some discoloration on the spots where the corrosion was the worst. But I don't think it came out half bad! Especially considering the condition it was in to start with. And the fact that all I used was a common D cell battery, a glass coffee cup, warm water, salt and a couple toothpicks.

[attachment 96193 finished3centback.jpg]

[attachment 96194 finished3centsilver.jpg]



As I posted earlier, I do not recommend anyone clean their coins. Especially if they are extraordinarily valuable. However, if you are considering cleaning your silver coins, you might want to try this inexpensive process. I will warn you to take it slow, and exercise caution handling the battery in water. The first one I used had an apparent leak in the seam, causing the case to become real hot after about two baths. I replaced it to complete the process. I didn't try this on nickel or copper. So I won't comment on how it will perform. I would recommend that you do some investigation into what you might want to use as an electrolite before dunking something you are not willing to risk.

If you try it, let me know how it works for you. HH Randy

 

[I a thr]

n/t

 

[Cliff KS]

Digger, that is very interesting. The night before last I found a trade token that was a 40 on the ID. It has quite a bit of crude and corrosion on it. It is the size of a quarter, thin, and lightweight --- perhaps aluminum? It is for 2 1/2 cent in trade at a billiards parlor. I have been trying to figure out how to clean it without damaging it. Do you think your method would be appropriate? Or do you think it would be too strong a method for that type of metal?

 

[Digger]

I don't know if the salt water solution would create a mess for you or not. It might clean it and it might turn it black. I suppose a guy could always test the method on a small piece of aluminum foil first, just to see what happens. I have dug a few old Palmolive tokens over the years and put them away in a box somewhere. (probably with that darn AC/DC converter) If I can find one of them, I will give it a try and let you know what I find out. HH Randy

 

[Beale]

Hey Digger thanks for the write up. I like that very much. Nice and cheap, and works. I may juat have to try this myself, Beale.

 

[Goes4ever]

very nice, I am impressed!

 

[JW]

n/t

 

[Digger]

I found the box of old aluminum tokens this morning. I did not try this method on the old Palmolive tokens, due to their size. The metallic battery case of the D cell is electrically insulated from both the positive and negative terminals. And if I were to place a large token under the negative terminal, it appears that it might "short out" to the casing. I doubt it would hurt anything. But having such a large anode, it would require much longer for the process to take place. I did, however, use a small aluminum token, similar in size to a US penny. It was really crusty and blackened in spots. Although I didn't stick with it long enough to complete a cleaning process, it did clean up quite a bit. And, it does not appear to have been damaged by the two soaks I put it through. So, based on my 7 minutes of testing the small aluminum token, I would not hesitate to continue the process until the token is clean. Again, the token I used was smaller diameter than the base of the D cell. I won't guess what will happen if your token touches the sides of the battery case. (I suppose you could wrap the casing with electrical tape?) Again, depending on the metallic composition and condition of the item being cleaned, results may vary. But based on what I've seen so far, I will be cleaning some aluminum tokens over the next few days. Hope this helps. HH Randy

 

[TomB]

Need is the reason for Invention. Think you got something going here. I have a 1903 IH and I think I'm gonna give it a try on copper. Lol I will first start with a Yankee (Lincoln) penny.

TomB

 

[Elton]

n/t

 

[Cliff KS]

Thanks, Digger!

Maybe I could put another piece of metal of a smaller diameter between the end of the battery and the token so that the token is not able to touch the case. Perhaps I should use aluminum for the spacer so that it would be the same type of metal as the token and react the same? Maybe there would possibly be a bad or in consistent result (area of the token covered by the spacer vs. area of the token not covered by the spacer) if two different types of metal were involved? Just guessing.

I'm out of D cells in the house at the moment, but I'll pick some up when I'm in town this weekend and give it a whirl, then post about the result.

 

[Digger]

I got a call from my brother over the noon hour. He had been working on some tokens last night, and ran into the same situation. They were bigger than the bottom of the battery. My suggestion was exactly as you said, if the object you are cleaning is aluminum, fold up a piece of aluminum foil and use it as a spacer. Make it only as thick as you need to separate the token from the battery case. Don't use two different metals as the current flow may create a chemical reaction. But it sounds like you are on the right track. Let me know how they come out. HH Randy

 

[history hunter]

Spit and tinfoil is how we clean our coins in the UK, smells like rotten eggs..... a rinse under the cold tap afterwads and dry off.....

 

[KurtB]

n/t

 

[kansas]

n/t

 

[Cliff KS]

On Sunday, I cleaned my trade token using Digger's electrolysis method and it turned out pretty well. Digger, I found out that the negative end of Duracell D cells stick out beyond the case more than on some other brands, so I used a Duracell and no spacer was required. I could not get 2 tablespoons of salt to all dissolve in that small amount of water, so I only used 1 tablespoon and just used longer times.

I took some "before and after" photos of both sides of the token that I had hoped I could post here. However, I had never taken extreme (macro) close-ups with my camera before, so it was a learning process. First I was getting too much flash reflection whiting out part of the image of the token even though I was using a black background, so I had to whip out my manual and figure out how to turn the flash off and just use room light. But although the token is silver in color, it came out looking kind of goldish. I also found out that depth of field in macro is extremely short and make it hard to get focused and keep focused, so my photos are probably not as sharp as they should be (couldn't find my tripod to remedy the situation). Then I couldn't get my computer to "recognize" my camera although I have downloaded photos from that camera before. I think possibly my USB cable may be damaged, so I think I will either have to get a new cable or a card reader to get the photos onto my computer, and I won't have time to pick either of those up until after the 4th of July. I have never posted pics before, but Digger sent me some pointers and I think I can get 'r done once I got them in my computer.

So I will try to post the results, but it may be a week or so in coming.

 

[AuzeeSheila]

I have found that I can get a very good photo of things in the dark with my phone/camera by using a L.E.D. torch. The L.E.D.s have a blue white light similar to the flash of a camera, so they allow you to take a photo from just about any angle. You can focus the torch light from left, right, north or south of the subject, close to it or further away to highlight different aspects of it. Just a thought, Cliff.
Sheila.

 

[Cliff KS]

Sheila,

Thanks for the lighting technique. I don't have one of those little L.E.D. penlighs, but I might pick one up and try that the next time I have a coin or token that I want to take pics of.

Another thought: I noticed that GE light bulbs come in the soft white and a new, more expensive bulb called the Reveal. The Reveal bulb is suppose to give off a spectrum of light that is more like natural light, while the soft white is said to be more yellow that natural light.