Big Pennies Bath

[George Kinsey]

9 hours ago, Badger-NH said:

I've never tried motor oil. I would think it would turn them black, especially used motor oil. Twenty years ago, everyone used olive oil which I finally concluded doesn't work at all and just leaves them dirty and stinky. These days, I just scrub them under the faucet with stainless steel wool and some soap and I'm happy with that.

Out of hundreds of Large Cents found I've only dug two in good condition. They had almost zero corrosion with just a light surface coating of green oxidation. I put them through electrolysis which made them look shiny new. After a few years or so, they toned to a beautiful caramel brown. When they reached the tone I was happy with, I coated them with Ren Wax.

 

 

 

 

Never had one turn black.

[Tom_in_CA]

I can't believe how many LC's and colonial coppers you east coast guys get !   Sickening.   We get reales here in CA, but rarely ever a large cent.  Heck, it's more likely to get gold coins here before you get a large cent.

[Badger-NH]

1 hour ago, George Kinsey said:

Never had one turn black.

Do you clean the oil off with a solvent or leave them oily?

[Muddydogz]

1 hour ago, Tom_in_CA said:

I can't believe how many LC's and colonial coppers you east coast guys get !   Sickening.   We get reales here in CA, but rarely ever a large cent.  Heck, it's more likely to get gold coins here before you get a large cent.

Alright, I'll step up and trade you some crunchy coppers for some of them yucky gold coins. 

 On the cleaning, if they're toasted coming out of the soil they only seem to get worse with any cleaning I've tried.

[Scanman]

What about vinegar and salt?

[Rick N. MI]

Vinegar and salt will damage coins. I like hydrogen peroxide.

[JCR]

The motor oil soak will soften the hard accretion coating. I often use kerosene, or just distilled water. If you get it soft there is less chance to damage the coin and hydrogen peroxide can get to the surface better.

[George Kinsey]

10 hours ago, Badger-NH said:

Do you clean the oil off with a solvent or leave them oily?

I will simply wipe of the oil.

 

9 hours ago, Muddydogz said:

Alright, I'll step up and trade you some crunchy coppers for some of them yucky gold coins. 

 On the cleaning, if they're toasted coming out of the soil they only seem to get worse with any cleaning I've tried.

 

9 hours ago, Muddydogz said:

Alright, I'll step up and trade you some crunchy coppers for some of them yucky gold coins. 

 On the cleaning, if they're toasted coming out of the soil they only seem to get worse with any cleaning I've tried.

Maybe on my altered mental status day.

 

[George Kinsey]

9 hours ago, Muddydogz said:

Alright, I'll step up and trade you some crunchy coppers for some of them yucky gold coins. 

 On the cleaning, if they're toasted coming out of the soil they only seem to get worse with any cleaning I've tried.

Some are just beyond trying to remove crud. 

[George Kinsey]

8 hours ago, Scanman said:

What about vinegar and salt?

Nooooooooooooooooo!