Draped Bust Large Cent: pre-and-post hydrogen peroxide

[Dave2000]

I tested hydrogen peroxide before I felt comfortable enough to try it on one of the Large Cents I found last week. I was really surprised at the level of detail that emerged (rim, hair, facial features, leaves on the reverse, etc). This appears to be the "small date, small fraction" variety of the 1803 cent.

 

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[steveo40]

Very nice. I have used peroxide too with success. Congrats

 

[Davers]

Turned out well IMO.

 

[Dave2000]

Turned out well IMO.

Thanks-- there were three other Large Cents and the other 1803 and the 1802 turned out just about as good as this one. The 1798 was much more worn than the other three, so the process turned out well but it was just in worse underlying shape to begin with.

 

[Goose MKII]

I tested hydrogen peroxide before I felt comfortable enough to try it on one of the Large Cents I found last week. I was really surprised at the level of detail that emerged (rim, hair, facial features, leaves on the reverse, etc). This appears to be the "small date, small fraction" variety of the 1803 cent.

For those of us new to this, would you care to detail the process involved?
Thanks!

 

[Darrenjay]

Looks great ! Please share the process

 

[Dave2000]

First of all, I'm super conservative with cleaning finds, so this was a big step for me-- but I'm glad I did it! I think the big question is to try to determine the level of detail under the crust-- if it looks excessively worn or toasted underneath the crud (given your best guess) then I wouldn't attempt this. If you look at my pre-pic, you can read some of the writing and see that the detail is there, but hidden.

I experimented with copper coins (dug uncleaned Lincolns) before attempting this on the Draped Bust coins. You may want to do that as well.

Some of the specifics may be overkill (i.e. distilled water), but I wanted as few variables as possible. I used information from multiple peroxide threads/discussions (from multiple forums and input from other hobbyists) before feeling comfortable enough to do this to a dug coin that I wanted to clean. Here's what I used and what I did:

3% hydrogen peroxide
Distilled water
Petroleum jelly
Cotton swabs
Wooden matches
Flat-bottom glass bowl
Pyrex measuring cup

Fill measuring cup with peroxide about a half inch to an inch deep.

Heat peroxide in a microwave (careful, do this at your own risk as microwave specs vary). I used a smaller wattage unit for a minute twenty-five seconds. I don't specifically know how hot it is when it's removed from the microwave, but there's a mist coming from it (needless to say, be careful and don't breathe this).

Remove heated peroxide and take outside (fresh air!) and drop the coin in so whatever side you want to clean faces up. It will start bubbling. Leave for 15 minutes or until the liquid cools and the bubbling slows.

Remove coin (I used a plastic fork to pick it up) and place in glass bowl of distilled water. Use wooden matches (break off the tip) to scratch away grime from the coin underwater. Water will start to get dirty.

Rinse measuring cup, refill with fresh peroxide and repeat (use clean peroxide and clean distilled water for each cycle). This particular coin took 4 or 5 cycles.

Last Step:
When the distilled water stops getting dirty, put petroleum jelly (a big glob of it) on a cotton swab and rub it on both sides of the coin after immediatelly removing it from the bowl of water (don't dry it first). More gunk will come off on the swab as you rub the petroleum jelly on the coin. Use a dry swab to wipe the coin clean. Repeat a few times until the swab is clean and the coin is dry.

Here's a pic of the bubbling coin-- the specks in the measuring cup are pieces of crud loosening from the coin.

 

[LI Tom]

That is a really nice condition copper,really nice detail,better detail than any copper I've dug on LI.WTG!

 

[Dave2000]

That is a really nice condition copper,really nice detail,better detail than any copper I've dug on LI.WTG!

Thanks! Yeah, I was really surprised at the detail that emerged from the 1802 and the two 1803 coins. The 1798 was much more worn than the other three. I'm thinking that all 4 coins were a fairly "fresh drop" from the early 1800's, and the 1798 coin just had a lot more mileage on it when it went into the ground. I'm assuming that the 1798 coin was dropped at the same time as the other 3 (it was found a few feet away from the group, downhill).

 

[Ahab8]

Great job. Given the right coin this technique is very effective. I've had some great results with it as well

 

[Pa_Dirtfisher]

I use a little mini potpourri pot I picked up at a 2nd hand store for peroxide cleaning. it keeps it warm and you don't have to keep reheating it. I use it for long soaks 2 to 3 hours. A coffee cup warming pad might also work well too, I haven't tried that tho.

 

[Ahab8]

Guys be careful how long you leave the peroxide in the microwave. 28 seconds is the longest I go. It can be dangerous if you get it too hot