Cleaning Success On An 1838 Large Cent

[SwiftSword]

Found in Eastern Mass. This coin had no circulation wear, you can even see the grooves on top of the stars. It probably went from the mint straight into the ground, where it proceeded to rot.
There was plenty of corrosion above and below the original surface of the coin. I used my fossil prep skills and tools to expose the black patina without going through it. It's very brittle and as thin as the skin of your teeth. It was gone in many places, though, with a gritty, rusty layer of corrosion on top of a spongy layer of verdigris.
The colors effectively camouflaged the coin's features, so at the end I used some watercolor lamp black in alcohol to tint the surface. Once dry, I applied a sealant similar to Renaissance Wax and called it good enough. Total time was about three hours, and I haven't done the reverse yet. There is, of course, no numismatic value to this find, but I don't find largies that often, so at least I'd like them to look their best 😄

Starting point

mechanical cleaning finished

After tinting and sealing. 

 

[JCR]

Excellent.  I still need to improve my patience level to approach your results. The absence of circulation wear is really something.  Thanks for posting the step by step.

[Doc Bach]

Outsanding work SS very meticulous.From the mint and straight into the ground? That's very possible judging by the condition of your coin...Very nice!

[SwiftSword]

@JCR - I couldn't do hours of this on end, nor would my wife let me 😄 ten minutes here, fifteen minutes there, steady does it! 
 

@Doc Bach it is indeed something special. You can even see the grooves on top of some of the stars! 

[CPT_GhostLight]

Beautiful coin and an awesome find SwiftSword, well done!

I would like to know more about how you get that crud layer off. I've recently been finding old silver coins in dump sites and it seems like that crud is impossible to remove, specially if I try to use soap and water, it just blackens and hardens. what tools do you use?

[TexHunter]

185 years of being beautiful. That's a lot of patience, but well paid off...

[UT Dave]

That's a really impressive restoration on a really neat find!

- Dave

[rvpopeye]

Amazing difference after you finished. You have skills. 🧐

[Valens Legacy]

Great find , but a better restoration job.

I have a couple of IH's that my grandfather had found and was going to try to clean up before he passed away. Some day I hope to find someone that can clean them up so I can have them put in a frame.

Good luck on your next hunt and hope that the backside turns out just as good as the front.

[jim tn]

Nice coin and great restoration. HH jim tn