Very Old Wheatie

[dale3fan28]

Found a very old wheatie today bout 8" down. Whats the best way to get the green off so i can check the date? Will it get pitted with vinegar/ peroxide? Or is that pitting just on salted pennies?

 

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[GatorBoy]

Personally I'd stay away from anything acidic on old copper.
Olive oil works but is very slow.
What I do with old copper coins is separate the wires of a cellphone charger and do electrolysis.
That's a nice low current and works in a few minutes.

 

[dholland02]

I use hot peroxide method. Get it boiling hot in the microwave and the coin in it let sit till it stops bubbling. Works great for me.

 

[dale3fan28]

Personally I'd stay away from anything acidic on old copper. Olive oil works but is very slow. What I do with old copper coins is separate the wires of a cellphone charger and do electrolysis. That's a nice low current and works in a few minutes.

How is this done?

 

[dale3fan28]

I use hot peroxide method. Get it boiling hot in the microwave and the coin in it let sit till it stops bubbling. Works great for me.

How long does it take to get boiling in a cup?

 

[GatorBoy]

By the time you tear apart a charger and set the whole thing up you'd already be done with the peroxide method... it works good on pennies.
How long?.. depends .. probably only 1-2 min

 

[dholland02]

How long does it take to get boiling in a cup?

I usally put it in for a few minutes

 

[dale3fan28]

I tried it for a few, its very green, gonna try a few more mins

 

[65chevy]

Personally I'd stay away from anything acidic on old copper.
Olive oil works but is very slow.
What I do with old copper coins is separate the wires of a cellphone charger and do electrolysis.
That's a nice low current and works in a few minutes.

GatorBoy can you tell us how to do the cell phone charger electrolysis ?? Would like to set one up. Thanks

GOD BLESS!!!

 

[GatorBoy]

Sure.. everything is exactly the same as any other electrolysis.
As for the charger.. just separate and strip a couple inches off the end of the wires ..I put stainless steel alligator clips on the ends... and connect the positive wire to the anode.(stainless steel is best) and the negative to the coin.
It works great on silver coins too.
I just did a half reale like this a few weeks ago.
Zero chemicals this way...so it won't effect how the coin ages down the road..patina...ect.
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[cudamark]

That's a bit incomplete on the instructions! I suggest you go to the "cleaning and preserving your finds" section here on Tnet. There are all kinds of cleaning methods mentioned and how/when to use them.

 

[Johnnoh]

You shouldn't be using ANY stainless steel with electrolysis - the by products can be extremely toxic.

 

[GatorBoy]

Haha.. you folks are funny.
You ask about things you don't know..then critique the answers you get.
..... I gave plenty of instructions..
I wasn't going to do it for him.
As far as stainless steel... go tell the folks at the Mel Fisher organization to change what they do.
I suppose you expected me to suggest titanium?
I tried to help...
I have probably alot more experience in this than you.



You can use any metal that is more noble than the item to be cleaned.

This post is about a penny

 

[dale3fan28]

Gatorboy..........it worked like a charm!!..... Thank you for your input... I used a 6v/ 12v batt charger 1 amp on the 6v setting.... I placed it in the bath connected to the neg for 2 mins then rubbed with baking soda, the ones that werent pitted already look great, once again thanks!

 

[GatorBoy]

Good job.. thanks for the update.
I'm glad you took the time to make one..they come in handy for sure.
"What's the date?"

 

[dale3fan28]

The ones I have are 35,41,40,52,57.... The one that was really corroded shined up but the writing left with the corrosion.......

 

[GatorBoy]

Ahhh..that happens.
At least you know your in a good spot.

 

[Normsel]

Use vinegar and salt, it won't hurt your penny, some guys tumble them in dawn dish soap. I cleaned over $10 in pennies with vinegar and salt with no problems.

Just never put clad with pennies or the clad will turn green

 

[GatorBoy]

Acid/vinigar.. will most definitely change the future patina.
And will harm their future collectability.

 

[Johnnoh]

From Wikipedia - For what it worth . . .

The use of stainless steel(SS) as an anode should be approached with great caution or best yet, avoided altogether. SS contains chromium. No matter what misinformation you may have read on the internet, SS anodes ARE INDEED consumed. During consumption highly toxic chromates are released into the electrolyte. Hexavalent chromium is extremely toxic and highly carcinogenic. Disposal of this electrolyte into the ground or down the drain is illegal and poses risks of contaminating ground water and city water supplies. Touching this chromate-containing electrolyte must also be avoided by all means.

I'm not so sure about nobility - I've been using mild steel as an anode for over a year with good results on most metals. I have found that once you destroy the patina, most of the detail is lost.