not a bad day

D

daveca

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20170130_001449.jpg20170130_001515.jpg20170130_010642.jpg20170130_010704.jpg20170130_010714.jpg20170130_010725_3.jpghad a few hours today, didnt find much. was on a new field which has a lot of history going back a few hundred years. found a nice coin which i believe to be william 111 year 1689 and a nice small spoon which was broken about halfway down the handle but its a really nice find and a couple of trade tokens which are difficult to id. ill try to post some pics if i can manage to do it lol. regards dave
 
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All very good finds , congrats Dave and thanks for sharing the pictures with us !:clapping:
 
Nice finds. Crazy a William III can look like that when the ones I seen pulled around CT/RI are almost unrecognizable.
 
hi mangoave im thinking about cleaning this up, I know that some say you ruin coins by cleaning but I like to see the details as much as I can. its not worth anything money wise so I think ill do it.
 
daveca said:
hi mangoave im thinking about cleaning this up, I know that some say you ruin coins by cleaning but I like to see the details as much as I can. its not worth anything money wise so I think ill do it.
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Yes and no. It depends on how you clean it whether or not it hurts the value. It can't hurt if you remove only dirt, and sometimes how could you even grade a coin if you can't even ID it? I think it has to do a lot with condition the coin was dropped and the soil conditions throughout the years. Looks good as is, but what are you thinking? If anything, I'd personally only try the mineral oil soak and toothpick. I wouldn't suggest it on a coin worth some $, but there is electrolysis. I have not invested, but have heard of this stuff they use on roman coins. Idr the site. It might have been promoted on another forum. Weird I did stumble on this site.

https://www.crustyromans.com/cleaning/
 
MangoAve said:
Yes and no. It depends on how you clean it whether or not it hurts the value. It can't hurt if you remove only dirt, and sometimes how could you even grade a coin if you can't even ID it? I think it has to do a lot with condition the coin was dropped and the soil conditions throughout the years. Looks good as is, but what are you thinking? If anything, I'd personally only try the mineral oil soak and toothpick. I wouldn't suggest it on a coin worth some $, but there is electrolysis. I have not invested, but have heard of this stuff they use on roman coins. Idr the site. It might have been promoted on another forum. Weird I did stumble on this site.

https://www.crustyromans.com/cleaning/
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hi MangoAve thanks for the advise. there is no grime on the coin just mainly green. its not worth any money so I may try the electrolysis as I would just like to see all the details, hopefully I wont ruin it and then if I find more coins like this I will have a good idea as to what they look like fully cleaned. thanks and regards dave
 
A bit of advice regarding cleaning copper coins. First off, there are two types of "green" on copper coins. Verdigris is the powdery looking buildup that obscures detsils. It can sometimes be difficult to remove, and there is no guarantee the coin will be any better because it's from the coin decaying (oxidizing) and material is lost.
The second is like a green "skin" which is the patina. It actually protects and preserves the coin quite well. Removal of this will certainly reduce the detail and lower value by exposing porosity in the copper. Your coin looks to have a bit of this patina and actually looks pretty good.
As for cleaning copper, it can be touchy. Ultrasonic cleaners may work on on a solid coin without porosity, and on coins with a solid patina if run only very briefly.
Electralysis is typically a big no no! It removes everything from the surface of the coin: patina, verdigris, dirt, and even good copper. On a really toasty unidentifiable coin it could be tried as a last ditch effort to get a bit of detail.
The best way to clean copper in my experience is to do as Dan does, soak in oil or hot peroxide to loosen the crud and then pick it with wooden picks. Hot peroxide will actually remove some verdigris making it easier. In case of extreme verdigris, the coin can be soaked in lye for short cycles then washed to monitor progress. It won't remove the patina, but where the copper is exposed the lye will dry out the metal giving it a rusty bland tone.
The easiest way in most cases? Wash the dirt off with water and a fine brush. Let it dry, then seal it with Renaissance wax.
 
Digger_O'Dell said:
Electralysis is typically a big no no! It removes everything from the surface of the coin: patina, verdigris, dirt, and even good copper. On a really toasty unidentifiable coin it could be tried as a last ditch effort to get a bit of detail.
The best way to clean copper in my experience is to do as Dan does, soak in oil or hot peroxide to loosen the crud and then pick it with wooden picks. Hot peroxide will actually remove some verdigris making it easier.
.....
The easiest way in most cases? Wash the dirt off with water and a fine brush. Let it dry, then seal it with Renaissance wax.
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Lol, Chris. You didn't know that the hot peroxide also reacts with the coin's surface? It is minimal, but does occur. That's why my 1859 IH and 1856 LC came out with a blackish hue.

I do stress that I am not suggesting you do anything, Dave, I only give the options you can do at your own discretion. As Chris said, the electrolysis will remove a thin layer of material from the entire coin. I think Chris is a little worried cuz we def don't get many coins from the 1600s in the US, and almost certainly not where he is from. I did have a detecting club member use it on a Nova constellatio (the same year I got one). His had really great detail out of the ground, so I was biting my nails hearing he did it to his coin. It was a coin worth $350-500. But it looked good when he did it. It looked like bare copper after.
I already told you what I personal would do. Maybe try first the hot peroxide and pick at any green spots that remain with a toothpick using something like a jeweler's loop or microscope. That way you can see if it is acceptable, or you feel the electrolysis is something you want to continue. Almost like the carpenter's measure twice and cut once... start with something that isn't drastic.
I don't think plain water is all that good. It sure makes brass look spotty after trying to clean things like spoons under running water and a toothbrush. Those are prob more porous items, tho. Renwax should be the final step, cuz you can't do any cleaning after that. Vinegar/lemon juice wont touch it. Oil wont touch it. Peroxide won't. And electrolysis wont work after sealing it.
 
wow thanks for all the info guys i think i may just leave it as it is. as you say i may just ruin it. as i said before if anyone wants any old coins just pm me with your address and ill sent you one. regards dave
 
hi all i found this musket ball in a field near where the pilgrim fathers were supposedly caught. it is flat on one side so maybe { ouch that hurt lol} you never know20170203_175739.jpg
 
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