Has anyone ever tried using aluminum jelly on dug LC's? I did a little experimet

[cam9457]

I was just wondering if anyone had ever tried using aluminum jelly on an LC? I was out today and found a bunch of clad and was wondering what effect aluminum jelly would have on different types of coins so I gave it a shot. The clad quarter, dime and nickel all came out with much better detail but the AJ turned them a reddish color. The 64" penny faired a little better, no red, just much better detail. So I'm wondering if since the 64" penny is mostly copper and LC's as far as I know are mostly copper, would AJ be a bad or good thing for an LC? Has anyone tried it? I'm thinking about it, I've got an 1802 that is just barely readable and I might just try it. Any help or if you have tried aluminum jelly on an LC I'd love to hear about it

[l.cutler]

There was a posting on this a while back, as I recall it was really rough on the coins.

[cam9457]

I thought I saw one a while ago but couldn't find it. It seemed to really bring out the detail on the copper Linc memorial, I was just thinking copper is copper?

[Don in SJ]

There is a reason relic hunters use Aluminum Jelly on Gilt buttons only, the components that make up Aluminum Jelly are great at cleaning gold gilt(gold is inert) but copper it will destroy. Reason: ACID

Here are some of the Hazardous components in store bought Aluminum Jelly:

PHOSPHORIC ACID 10-30%

SULFURIC ACID .1-1%

ETHER 1-5%

Don

[cam9457]

Wow, thanks for the info Don. I'll keep it away from my LC's

[Michigan Badger]

I've tried everything in the book on LC's and the only thing that has worked has been the rock tumbler with gravel and water.

If the LC has a nice patina and most details are visible, don't clean it.

Ir it's really ugly and you hate it then run it in the tumbler for about 5 minutes and check. Repeat as needed until you have what you want.

Hint: LC's look much better with a layer of dug corrosion still on them. Take that all off and they looked pitted and nasty.

To gain a "wet look" simply heat the coin with a hair blower and seal it with Renaissance Wax (sold online). Buff with soft cloth.

I clean all my common modern coins this way.

Badger

[Don in SJ]

In my Opinion:

I think it is a mistake for the most part not to clean a ground found copper/brass coins/relics for many reasons.

First off to identify the item you found, most cannot be positively identified coming fresh out of the ground, especially for coins in trying to identify a variety, and to identify a variety on some coins you really need to see as much detail that is left to do so.

Second, the corrosive elements must be removed/neutralized to stop further corrosion occurring while in your collection.

Third, most do not sell their finds, and display what they find for THEIR collection and I am sure most want their collection to look as good as possible.

Now it is true that depending where you live, what soil conditions are that the artifacts may be severely damaged, so take photos of before and after like I do, if the artifact comes out worst after even a PROPER cleaning, than that is just the way it is, the artifact was destroyed already by the forces of nature and it most likely was not so great looking to begin with.

I recommend for cleaning copper/brass ground found items, that practicing on old finds, like buttons and other relics and always being careful during the cleaning, regardless of what method you try. Become proficient in cleaning known non valuable items and then start doing what you might consider your valuable finds. Don't try your first cleaning, using a new method on something that might be valuable, know what you are doing first.


Even NCS says on its website that it cannot do magic on heavily corroded coins, if you look at their site you will see that most of their conserving is on non ground found coins that have blemishes. There are not too many magic answers to bring a coin back to life if the metal has already been eaten by corrosion.

Practice, Practice Practice, but do clean if the item needs to be. There has been enough info posted on this forum on different cleaning practices and it is up to the individual to decide which he likes best.

My definition of cleaning is just as the word says, clean the dirt off the coin, cleaning does not mean polishing. (CLEAN-NEUTRALIZE-DRY-PRESERVE)

I attached some before and after cleaning pics, some good, some not so good, but all better than before.

The last photo shows one that is damaged quite a bit and I stopped the cleaning, since more detail (exfoliated type corrosion) was coming off, thus the pitting, so I soaked it in warm distilled water for a few hours, then dried thoroughly and coated with wax.
Not all coins come out better, just the way it is...........

Don

[cam9457]

Hey Don, what type of wax do you use to preserve your LC's?

[BuckleBoy]

Hey Don, what type of wax do you use to preserve your LC's?

Since it has been a while without a reply from Don...

I *think* he uses Renaissance Wax or Blue Ribbon Coin Conditioner... I forget.


Regards,


Buckleboy

[cam9457]

Cool, thank you for the info Buckles. I do have another stupid question, can you use regular old WD-40 to preserve them?

[BuckleBoy]

Cool, thank you for the info Buckles. I do have another stupid question, can you use regular old WD-40 to preserve them?

I wouldn't use anything other than peroxide on a Large Cent. I've tried many things, but that is the only thing that has worked well for me.


Regards,


Buckleboy

[cam9457]

Thank God I asked before I destroyed an LC. Always curious about the many ways of cleaning different finds and the different uses of aluminum jelly. Thank you everybody for the help!