DISCLAIMER: I am NOT encouraging anyone to clean their metal detecting finds. Whether you clean it or not is entirely up to you. Keep in mind, if it has a collector's value, you will likely diminish that value if you attempt to clean it.
With that said, I've spent the better part of this week contemplating how (or even IF) I should attempt to clean the crud from that 1852 Silver 3-cent piece I found over the weekend. I keep all my old coins. So diminishing the value on this piece isn't something that concerns me. But if I do clean it, I don't want to use chemicals and I don't want to polish it. I remember dabbling with some various types of electolysis back in the 70's. But was never very impressed with the results. Most of the Shield and V Nickels turned pink when I used salt as the electrolitic solution, old copper coins ended up with crusty pits when I used lemon juice. And silver, well around these parts, I've never had to clean my silver. I take that back. I did find an old silver half in a lake bed one time that was black with oxidation. If I recall, I "erased" the gunk off with one of my kids rubber erasers. Like I said, I've been trying to come up with an inexpensive process that would remove the corrosion and not harm the 3-cent silver coin. It isn't just dirty or blackened. The crud on this thing looks more like corrosion than simply years of grime and crud. Looking at it through the magnifying glass, it looks like iron oxide. I know the area I found it in was littered with nails and iron implements. Maybe this thing layed beside one so long it developed a relationship!
Anyway, after carefully testing several "procedures" in my kitchen, I came up with one that surprised even me. Before I tried my "new process" on the 3-cent silver piece, I figured I'd better try it on a less valuable coin. Since beauty (and value) is in the eye's of the beholder, I chose an 1877 Seated Liberty dime that I found a couple weeks ago. Although it is not nearly as corroded as the 3-cent silver, it does have it's share of black crud. Here is what it looked like before I began "cleaning" it this afternoon.
[attachment 96175 1877dimebefore.jpg]
And here is how it looked literally 10 minutes later.
[attachment 96174 1877dimeafter.jpg]
I won't go into the details of what is entailed in this process. Not until I get the 3-cent piece cleaned. But I will give you some hints...... there are no harsh chemicals involved. All of the supplies are located in your home. It doesn't involve alligator clips, wires or any type of plug in power supply. Oh, one more hint..... it was not peroxide.
I am still working on the 3-cent piece and will post some pics when I get it done. HH Randy
With that said, I've spent the better part of this week contemplating how (or even IF) I should attempt to clean the crud from that 1852 Silver 3-cent piece I found over the weekend. I keep all my old coins. So diminishing the value on this piece isn't something that concerns me. But if I do clean it, I don't want to use chemicals and I don't want to polish it. I remember dabbling with some various types of electolysis back in the 70's. But was never very impressed with the results. Most of the Shield and V Nickels turned pink when I used salt as the electrolitic solution, old copper coins ended up with crusty pits when I used lemon juice. And silver, well around these parts, I've never had to clean my silver. I take that back. I did find an old silver half in a lake bed one time that was black with oxidation. If I recall, I "erased" the gunk off with one of my kids rubber erasers. Like I said, I've been trying to come up with an inexpensive process that would remove the corrosion and not harm the 3-cent silver coin. It isn't just dirty or blackened. The crud on this thing looks more like corrosion than simply years of grime and crud. Looking at it through the magnifying glass, it looks like iron oxide. I know the area I found it in was littered with nails and iron implements. Maybe this thing layed beside one so long it developed a relationship!
Anyway, after carefully testing several "procedures" in my kitchen, I came up with one that surprised even me. Before I tried my "new process" on the 3-cent silver piece, I figured I'd better try it on a less valuable coin. Since beauty (and value) is in the eye's of the beholder, I chose an 1877 Seated Liberty dime that I found a couple weeks ago. Although it is not nearly as corroded as the 3-cent silver, it does have it's share of black crud. Here is what it looked like before I began "cleaning" it this afternoon.
[attachment 96175 1877dimebefore.jpg]
And here is how it looked literally 10 minutes later.
[attachment 96174 1877dimeafter.jpg]
I won't go into the details of what is entailed in this process. Not until I get the 3-cent piece cleaned. But I will give you some hints...... there are no harsh chemicals involved. All of the supplies are located in your home. It doesn't involve alligator clips, wires or any type of plug in power supply. Oh, one more hint..... it was not peroxide.
I am still working on the 3-cent piece and will post some pics when I get it done. HH Randy
