Adding a patina to pennies

[Silverseeker]

I decided to experiment a little on copper coins, so I started with this 1910s wheat. It's a semi-key date, and its patina was uneven and just ugly. It was the perfect canditate for my mad scientist experiment.

Here's the condition it was when I dug it.



Knowing that the patina was toast, I didn't have much to lose with removing it. I chose to completely remove the patina with 0000 steel wool. This is a harsh thing to do to a coin, and I was fully aware of that. Here's what it looked like clean of a patina.



Now came the fun part. After searching the web and asking lots of questions on forums, I settled on two methods for adding a patina. The first was to form a paste with baking soda and water and coat the coin. I had to reapply this solution several times for about half a day, trying to keep the coin damp the whole time. This method caused the darker spots in the coin. It still didn't look completely right, so I used method #2. This was reverse electolysis, which changed the color of the entire coin. I made sure I rotated the coin every few seconds, and gave a gentle thumb rub to the areas that darkened too quickly. Here's the final results.




I'm really pleased with the results, and I feel that it's a vast improvement on the dug condition. I'm sure an experienced eye can tell it has been cleaned, but it's for my personal collection anyways. Do not try this on key dates! It will only lower the value of your coin. But it's a fun option for improving common copper.

[buscadero]

[Michigan Badger]

It looks good. Cleaning and toning modern coins isn't easy. It's much easier to clean ancient coins.

When I dig a nasty copper I try water soak first but then move on to something more drastic.

Have you ever tried Dellers Darkener?

It takes a longer time to do modern coins with Dellers. Sometimes I heat the coin in an oven at 500 degrees for a few hours before using Dellers. The heat re-patinates the coin and the Dellers evens out the tone. Then coat the coin with Renaissance Wax and buff.

Badger

[Farmercal]

Conservator that book costs $50. Is it really worth the money?