electroysis cleaning

[Thorne]

just wondering if anyone has ever had luck with this method of cleaning coins. I know that it takes away all numismatic value. I just wanted to try to restore some old coins that are junk due to the damage they have sustained from the green that has formed on the coins. heres the link Building an electrolysis kit to clean ancient coins

 

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[vetarun]

My wifes grandmother had a bad housefire in TX a few years ago. Safe was not very fire proof. Many mint sets and plastic chared to silver coins. They were just a few degrees from melting. Black soot, plastic and mylar. Full wittman books melted together with the plastic slides fuzed. I had to break the books apart in little squares.
The electrolysis worked well for me. What did I have to loose? Acetone melted a lot of the plastic but not all.
I used a five gallon plastic bucket with a old metal paint can sunk under the water. Water level was about 3/4 full. Mixed baking soda in water. Used a car battery charger for power source. 10 amp works best. 2 amp takes longer. Negative lead to coins. positive lead connected to paint can. Don't let them touch. Keep them a few inched apart. I had a bunch of red and black clips like those on the battery charger connected on a daisy chain on the negative lead so I could do more than one coin at a time. I used a jumper wire with a clip connected to the actual battery charger so that the original leads would not get destroyed.
Turn it on and watch for fizzing around the coins. Closely monitor the progress. Turn power off and check. If you have it on to long it could stain the coin. I would only do this as a last resort. It made the plastic film on the coins slide off easily with my fingernail. I didn't have much of a choice in my situation. Much better than scrubbing.
Electrolysis works great for rusty dug up items or a part with many small crevasses before painting. The metal item such as the bucket is a sacrificial item and will be destroyed..
Hope this gave you more ideas. Didn't mean to ramble on. Good day

 

[Diver_Down]

I conserve coins in particularly treasure coins. I prefer graphite rods as my sacrificial anode. Copper rods will stain the coin's surface. I prefer the old barbecue purist's adage: Low and slow. Depending on the target and degree of encrustation, I use 1.5 amps to 3 amps. If you are going to use higher amperage, you must watch the coin's progress. You can cook the coin and damage them. I deal with a few treasure wholesalers and conserve clump coins. I get paid in treasure with my choice.

 

[LooseChange]

I want a job where I get paid in treasure of my choice.