Cleaning Large Cents

[Don in SJ]

This is the easiest way, just peel the dirt off!

OK, this is a Peroxide cleaned copper, took a whole half hour to clean up.......

http://home.comcast.net/~slospokes2/1820beforeafter.gif

Don in SJ

 

[Farmercal]

Don, Do you mean soak the coin in peroxide?

 

[Don in SJ]

I posted this last year on the forum, not sure if Jeff saved it or not, but anyway here is my procedure again. I must stress, I have been doing it for several years now and started on a lot of buttons first, but what convinced me it was good when my son did it on his super rare 1785 Vermont Immune Columbia coin which we thought was toast and it came out more recognizable once cleaned with the Peroxide.

Some Coppers just cannot be cleaned and not lose detail for the simple fact the corrosion has already damaged the coin beyond hope and for those who say the cleaning lost the detail are correct, except it was the deterioration of the coin from corrosion that did it, the cleaning just took away that corrorsion.

OK, nuf said on that, here are the procedures:

Directions for the Cleaning of Artifacts/Coins using Hydrogen PeroxideRequired items:

1 - Disposable plastic bowl – I use an empty margarine container
ADDED: - I now use a harder plastic container that can go into the microwave

1 - Bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide which is 3% H2O2


1 - Heat Source – I have a gooseneck lamp with a halogen bulb in it.


1 - Box of Cotton Swabs – Q Tips are the best – others fall apart too easily

Make sure the artifact/coin is free of any oil coating like olive oil if you previously had soaked this object. The oil coating prevents the Hydrogen Peroxide from working on the dirt.
Put object to be cleaned in disposable plastic bowl and then pour Hydrogen Peroxide on top until it is at least a half an inch above the object to be cleaned.

Using the lamp as a heater, I position the lamp to within 2-4 inches of the bowl. This heats up the solution. Be careful not to cause anything to melt from too much heat, use common sense for this part. A Heat Source is NOT necessary, but it does speed up the cleaning significantly...

ADDED: YOU CAN USE A MICROWAVE TO HEAT THE PEROXIDE UP FIRST, BUT BE CAREFULL AND PLEASE USE A SAFE CONTAINER WITH NO METAL IN IT, PUT THE RELIC/COIN IN AFTER THE HEAT UP IN THE MICROWAVE!!!!!
If the solution is hot enough the boiling of the Peroxide should be very evident to you and should remind you of a geyser. Once it is cooking it sprays the bubbles and smokes a little also. This should continue for anywhere from one hour to two or three.

Periodically remove the object if you want to check on the progress. I usually then lay it on a napkin and take a cotton swab and start to gently rub and see how much crud is coming off the object. It might take several hours or more to get real clean. You might even have to repeat the entire process if the object has a lot of stubborn crud on it.

When the bubbling of the Peroxide stops the cleaning also is done. If it needs more cleaning start over again with fresh fluid.

Keep your cotton swabs wet with the Peroxide while gently rubbing, this will prevent scratches.

When done with your cleaning, rinse the object well with water.

The first coin I did with this method did not require any rubbing whatsoever. I believe each artifact/coin is unique in how it is cleaned. Some did not clean up hardly at all. If it is a corroded object, like a pitted, green Indian Head, I don’t think anything you do will help that.

My best advice is to experiment on non-valuable objects first and then move on to your better finds once you build confidence in what you are doing.

The objects may appear dried out after cleaning, if you want you can coat with a coin preservative like Blue Ribbon Coin Conditioner and Preservative or a similar product or even a light coating of Vaseline.

Don in South Jersey

 

[stringfrenzy]

Interesting method, I'll have to keep that in mind if i happen to find another large cent. Last one i found was an 1829 that i doubt there was much hope for.

 

[Don in SJ]

Neil, I don't think it is overly done, but it does look like maybe too hard of possible rubbing on some of the high spots. Put it in one more time, make sure the peroxide is relatively hot before you place the coin in and see how much bubbling you get, if it bubbles alot then there is more dirt to remove. Also, take the coin out and lightly rub with a wet q-tip, and I mean lightly, and see how dark the q-tip gets.

It is possible the patina of the coin is rough and it may not get much better, again, hard to tell by a photo, but to me it looks like it still has a way to go.

I hope you never soaked it in olive oil first, if you did, that would prevent the peroxide from working properly.
The bad side of olive oil is it leaches in and then eventually out again over time when a coin has any porosity.

If you did have olive oil on it, the best thing to try is soaking in a mild detergent in hopes of removing that stuff.

When done with the peroxide cleaning, put a thin coat of Vaseline on it and wipe dry or if you buy Blue Ribbon Conditioner, then apply that after coin is thoroughly dry......

 

[Rogerm069]

I have found if you use a candle warmer instead of the light it does a better job. Got to use a glass container which handles the heat. I use one of those shot looking glasses that hold small candles.
HH

 

[Mainedigger]

Don...very cool program on your before and after photos..

 

[lordmarcovan]

A friend told me about the peroxide method but I haven't tried it yet. Thanks for the info, and that peelaway gif animation is very cool.

 

[EDDE]

i nuke my peroxide
for a minute
then leave till it stops bubbling
worked great on a 1872 sheild i dug

 

[Eddy1H]

Wow that is a really cool and safe way to do some serious cleaning,
thanks for the info

Eddy

 

[Rich]

ADDED: YOU CAN USE A MICROWAVE TO HEAT THE PEROXIDE UP FIRST, BUT BE CAREFULL AND PLEASE USE A SAFE CONTAINER WITH NO METAL IN IT, PUT THE RELIC/COIN IN AFTER THE HEAT UP IN THE MICROWAVE!!!!!

WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NEVER HEAT UP PEROXIDE,REGUARDLESS OF WATER CONTENT!!!!!
In ww1 and ww2 torpedo's contained Hydro Peroxide,aswell as other explosives!!!!!!!!!
when heated to a certin temp it becomes A BIG RISK!!!!!

I know this thread was a attempt to help others about cleaning,and im not knocking that in anyway..
But alittle reading would help those who donot know about harmful chemicals,
Just like you would NEVER MIX BRAKE FLUID WITH CLORINE Pool TABLETS!!!!-you wont be usin your detector anymore if you do,ill just say that.....
remember to all+++++ ALWAYS RESEARCH CHEMICALS.SUCH AS FLASH POINT,ACIDITY,AND SO ON....

just my 2 cents on the subject....

Try just a little hydro and baking soda mix,let the coin sit in it "depends on type of metal though",let it sit for 1 or 2 hours and gently remove the baking soda!dont use a brush/whhatever ,cause that will cause scratching,just dip and dip and dip.....no easy way around it..
Thx,for reading

 

[Don in SJ]

In ww1 and ww2 torpedo's contained Hydro Peroxide,aswell as other explosives!!!!!!!!!
when heated to a certain temp it becomes A BIG RISK!!!!!

The warnings that Rich stated I did state in my post about using the microwave and putting the objects in afterwards, which is common sense, since microwaves have been around for decades and most should know by now you do not put metal in a microwave.

The statement about torpedo's was not needed, that is comparing apples and oranges. We are using 3% household peroxide that is stabilized and women use up to 10% peroxide for hair colorings, but industrial strength Peroxide is 30% and higher and I am sure Rocket Fuel is way up there on the percentage scale.

I did do a lot of googling on Hydrogen Peroxide before I ever tried the microwave, many others took my original way of doing it, by just putting under a lamp and they tried the microwave and after hearing many reports of how it speeds up cleaning time, I finally tried it and I actually think it is safer than sitting under a hot lamp. The hot lamp is probably more dangerous that anything else, you all might burn yourself on it while looking at your finds!

Seriously, common sense must prevail and do as you wish on cleaning, but again, if 3% peroxide was explosive danger, I don't think it would be considered household strength, and I saw nothing in googling indicating it is. As with any chemical there are always warnings.

Don

 

[CraigT]

thanks Don.....works great

 

[whitesid]

does this work on nickels?

 

[Don in SJ]

I do not recommend it on nickels, but I hardly ever find any to try it on. I did use peroxide on the nickel I found on April 20th that is in my post, but it was toast before I did it anyway, just did it to remove the dirt which I could have done with a toothbrush and water if I wanted to........

Don

 

[Silver Dollar]

Thanks Don I'll give it a try and let you know.
Jim

 

[keithinvestigations]

What about silver using this method?

 

[Don in SJ]

What about silver using this method?

NO, If silver is so bad that the dirt is encrusted, than maybe electroylsis is the way to go, usually silver just requires warm water, dirt just does not adhere to silver as easily as it does to copper.

I guess you can try it, but make sure no copper coins are in the mixture, you never mix, copper, nickel or silver together, regardless of method of cleaning.

 

[COUNTRY GIRL]

I've tried it and it works wonders. Obviously you don't want anything TOO hot, just heat the peroxide for a minute, minute and a half depending on you microwave. Try heating the peroxide a few times. Do it like Don says, when there is no dirt rubbing off with the q-tip you're done. Treat..... and vol la!

 

[Gilligan]

Awesome posts, I will try this method also, BP