My first US 2 Cent coin!

[DukeOBass]

Dug my very first US 2 cent coin and a Large Cent with a hole drilled through that was once worn as a necklace. The 2 Cent coin is in awesome shape! I have it soaking in olive oil to try to get the corroded crude to come off. Any idea how long to let it soak and how to clean it off afterward?

 

[CZconnoisseur]

Never have tried the olive oil trick I'd be interested to know how long to soak as well. Great finds!

 

[martygene]

months.... check it in a couple of weeks... I use a toothpick to help get the loosened crud off... sometimes when the crud comes off so does some of the surface of the coin laving behind pitting.... but sometimes the original surface of the coin comes out very nice... you will just have to wait and see.. GL

 

[Jeff in Pa]

Good for you Duke!!

Congrats!!

 

[DukeOBass]

Looking froward to hunting with you again!

 

[Andy Sabisch]

A few years back I was hunting with a team of archaeologists in Spain with my kids and they showed me a trick to clean crud off of coins - and we were using 2,000 year old Roman bronze coins.

When we got back to the condo at night, they would soak the coins in DI water (the stuff you get at the shopping center) for an hour or two and then pop them in the freezer overnight. What happened was that the water penetrated the crud - not the coin - and when the water froze, it expanded and cracked the crud off the coin. It took several times to get most of it off but the neat thing was that the water did not get into the coin and hence could not damage the coin.

I have tried it on coins here and it works pretty darn well.

You can always soak them in olive oil at the end to give it some patina again

Just another trick to try.

 

[DukeOBass]

So you basically wet the coin with distilled water a then stick it in the freezer overnight?

 

[Andy Sabisch]

Exactly . . . . . the water freezes and the ice crystals crack a little of the crud off the coin . . . . . repeat several times and it is amazing at what comes off.

Another trick they used was to put the coin on a sheet of wax paper and cover it with Elmer's white glue. When it dries, peel it off and it pulls a layer of crud off - again, leaving the coin untouched.

Andy

 

[Sleepyjim]

2 good tricks, thanks Andy!

Jim

PS I wish you would just ramble on and post post post.....Man what we could learn!