Good news & Bad news -Need CU coin cleaning advicey

[coinshooter]

Well, the good news is, I found a coin that we all look for,
a 1909-S VDB.
The bad news, is that a coin dealer told me that corrosion on a
coin cannot be conserved. I have seen some really nice jobs
done on cleaning up copper coins on here. If you have advice that will help, please post. He said NCS is glad to take your $, but in the long run, they can't do much.

 

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[coinshooter]

I can get the dirt off, but the greenies is what I want to remove
with as little damage to the coin as possible. I have not had
much luck with soaking in the past, but I will take any
suggestions where someone has had success.
Want to here from the guys who conserve
Colonials.

 

[Silverseeker]

The detail is amazing on that coin, but the corrosion is gonna be a problem. Any cleaning you do can lower the value. I'd have other suggestions for a non key date, but your coin is too rare to take that chance. Be patient and wait for good advice here... there is lots of experience to pull from.

Congrats on such a rare coin. Now Good luck on getting a proper cleaning and value.

 

[Loco-Digger]

i have been advised to put the copper coin in boiling peroxide for a while, maybe a few times in between take a soft bristle toothbrush, baking soda, and water and do a gentle scrub. Make sure the coin is rinsed completely befor you give it an another boiling peroxide bath.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

That is a wish list find nice! Somebody can probably help you with it.

 

[Dirtslinger]

What about a small ultrasonic cleaning? Remember, this is just a question for the more seasoned experts, I have never used one.

 

[coinshooter]

Funny you should ask. I was doing some experiments tonight before I even attempt to do anything with this coin.
I tried Ultrasonic with distilled H2O, Ultrasonic with Hydrogen Peroxide, Catsup, and a plain H2O2 soaking, varying the times, taking photos as I went.
I will also give a go at White Vinegar and Apple Cider Vinegar and anything else that I can find before doing anything with this coin.
So far, the winner has been about 10 minute at a time soaks in an ultrasonic cleaner with just distilled water in it.
Been using 4 or five beat up green Wheaties to see how clean and greenie free I can get them without ruining any patina.
Ketchup with a 5 minute soak is pretty intense. Try it with a Wheaties sometime. Amazing how much it cleans in such a short time!

 

[bzbadger]

There's a way to restore the patina to a coin its easy. Our concern is how to get that remaining crud off the coin. The ultra sonic cleaner is a good way and safest. There is cleaning solution that's used in the US cleaners have you any of it? If not id look for some. I've cleaned countless items via a US cleaner and it breaks off the nasty stuff. I'd continue with that, safest way.

 

[pepperj]

Copper coinage seems to do pretty well with HP 3%-35% and having done the process on many in different ways from ultra sonic, to boiling, cold-warm-hot, sitting it in the sun, microwave. The method I really liked was just putting the coin in an inch of HP in a covered yogurt container and set it in the sun for the day. Passive type of doing it and the results were great. Now the kicker these were on my coins and from LC's to small coinage semi-key dates and I figure that it was my choice. I noticed that HP left the patina and any original toning that was remaining on the coinage. Boiling the HP was a little too aggressive (for me) and what the heck it sat in the ground for a hundred years why not wait for one more day for the soaking process. I'm sure there's lots of great methods, but a soft brush better be soft, but it's the microscopic grains of sand that is in the dirt that will mark the face (so I was told). Good luck on the method that you use, and CONGRATS on the find!

 

[coinshooter]

Thanks all. Will continue with more experiments before going further
with this coin.

 

[coinshooter]

OK, I decided to dive in with the least invasive method, I couldn't wait any longer!

Sonication and distilled water. No chemicals.

Here are the results as far as I want to take it for now. I think if I could find someone with a more heavy duty sonicator, I could get the rest of the greenies off without too much damage. No dirt left, that's for sure.

I put the "as found" pics under it from before I messed with it so you can see what it did to run it through a bit of sonication 10 mins at a time. Sorry, no matter what I have tried I can't get the obverse to rotate straight up and down and stay.

Give me your opinions of grade.
Does it knock it down a grade or two with the greenies on here?

 

[cw0909]

wow, looks great. which sonic bath machine do you use
i see this one, if i was finding more old coins than tabs
it would be worth the 500+$

Digital Ultrasonic Cleaner - Qsonica

even cheaper at amazon, i might get one
http://www.amazon.com/Sonic-Wave-Professional-Ultrasonic-Cleaner/sim/B002A8IDQI/2

 

[coinshooter]

Any will work. The ones from Walmart will also work. I use one from Fischer scientific. I used to work in a lab and when they closed down the place I ended up buying a few things from them. They are known as "Ultrasonic cleaners" in most scientific catalogs. I would buy the most aggressive one you can find. I believe it is the wave strength that matters. Still, none of these will hurt a coin. If you clean with one of these, you should only used distilled water unless you want to remove patina too. Then use the ultrasonic cleaning detergent as well. I have left it here and am still trying to see if anyone can go further with it without destroying the coin. Thanks all!