Copper cleaning

[MangoAve]

I missed this post, Dan. Wow. I need you to teach me how to do this. I have only had a few coins come out good after toothpick-ing. Maybe I need to invest in a Jeweler's loop for this. I was thinking at some point I should get a magnifier with better magnification than the current one I have. And with LED instead of incandescent.. Daylight LED shows a true color vs a yellow light. Great job on those.

 

[del]

Silver can be dirty or stained with rust or other and be stubborn to come clean . This seated quarter looks pretty good right out of the ground but soapy water only removed the loose dirt but wouldn't remove the dark stain from the upper shoulders , head and stars area of lady liberty and that same stain was on the extreme lower portion below the eagle's talons from olive branch to arrows on the reverse. The diluted CLR with water removes the stain almost completely yet retains the coin's natural "aged silvery grey". I'f I kept using the CLR I probably could of completely removed the stain all together but it is much less noticeable .

 

[del]

This copper was unrecognizable when I first dug it and after I got it home I had to wet it with water to see an image (that's when the first picture was taken) , I saw just a very brownish crud that seemed very thick and stubborn (more so than usual) when I used the tooth pick . The tooth pick took very little off and I saw no reddish exposed rough copper areas so I put it some cold peroxide to soak for about half hour . At which time I again tooth picked it and some of the crud came loose , then some more soaking. Another half hour and I had the crud off and I could see how worn smooth it truly was , then dried it off good and applied a coating of Ren-Wax . Then when the wax was dried I buffed it with a soft bristle brush .

 

[geodehunter]

By chance do you happen to have a picture of the dental tools you use when cleaning your copper coins? Thanks

 

[del]

By chance do you happen to have a picture of the dental tools you use when cleaning your copper coins? Thanks

Hi geodehunter , the dental picks are only used as a last resort to remove the most stubborn and hardest of cruddy verdigris . Here are a few that I have used at those times and I prefer them to be a bit dull and not sharp . Thanks

Dan

 

[Full Metal Digger]

Wow Del, you are a master restorer for sure. If I find any largies or coppers on my trip I would definitely want to see your technique first hand.

 

[geodehunter]

Thank you for the picture and the info del I really appreciate it.

 

[groundhog53946]

Spectacular job with those coins! Too bad that we don't hardly have any of those in the ground here in Wisconsin that I could try that out on but great job


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[del]

A matron head large cent recently found before , partially cleaned and then initial cleaning complete ! now onto the "smoothing out the rough areas and then to waxing and preservation .

 

[Full Metal Digger]

I remember this thread Del, it's probably the most informative post ever on this forum. Thanks for bringing it up again. HH, Dave.

 

[del]

I remember this thread Del, it's probably the most informative post ever on this forum. Thanks for bringing it up again. HH, Dave.

Thanks Dave , I'll be adding more examples of coins as I find and clean them . This matron head was just found yesterday and once I have waxed or preserve it I'll follow up with a final picture.

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[Cooper]

You sir are an artist

 

[Seabornescout]

Great info for a new detectorist. Thank you for an informative postings.

 

[del]

I'm a late bloomer when it comes to using a tumbler , but i have been doing a lot lately and have had some amazing results . here are two military and patriotic/political button( left to right scripted "LA" artillery , a "Jacksonian era" patriotic eagle and an enlisted Navy reversed eagle with shield and anchor button ) all of these were so crusty and dirty to identify until some hours in the tumbler .

These fancy buttons were nice finds but their looks were something to be desired until again some hours in a tumbler brought out their real beauty now they are really appealing !


shield nickels and even some two cent coins are just so rough and dirty but some gentle massaging with some small gravel and dish soap and they show off much nicer. I wouldn't recommend all your finds to go into a tumbler but try some of your rougher items and you might be surprised with the results .

Dan

 

[Donnie B]

Great post. That bumblebee button may actually be something very special. It could be something political. I didn't know you had a reversed Navy button. It has the shank too. Not a commonly found button either.

 

[del]

Great post. That bumblebee button may actually be something very special. It could be something political. I didn't know you had a reversed Navy button. It has the shank too. Not a commonly found button either.

many of those buttons were just to dirty to see designs on them , yeah i like the bubble bee one too. my backmark button to non backmark ratio is about 5 to 1 , i never thought so many more had backmarks to them

 

[OxShoeDrew]

many of those buttons were just to dirty to see designs on them , yeah i like the bubble bee one too. my backmark button to non backmark ratio is about 5 to 1 , i never thought so many more had backmarks to them

Dan, is it safe for the shanks?

 

[del]

Dan, is it safe for the shanks?

Drew if the shank looks delicate then i would avoid tumbling the button , but loading the tumbler with a lot of buttons and gravel can cause some shanks to break from the shear the weight . I would use your best judgement on with some items and how much at a time to do.

 

[del]

here is a very badly worn copper , it was found in a continuous wet area in front of an old cellar site near the old road , you can clearly see the ruddy reddish areas around the edges of exposed copper metal. the coin was also noticeably thinner on one side of the edge than the other and I knew it wasn't in great shape so i made the decision to tumble the coin .

 

[Tony Two-Cent]

Very unexpected and impressive results, Dan! It looks like the date is 1831? Did you use any kind of aggregate when you tumbled it?