Anybody have a technique for cleaning Cupro-nickel?

creskol · Jul 20, 2018

I found an 1885 Swiss 5 Rappen coin today, but it is cruddy. It is made out of Cupro-nickel (copper nickel )

Any ideas on how to clean it?

Hawks88 · Jul 20, 2018

Nice coin find. Congrats

creskol · Jul 20, 2018

Hawks88 said:
Nice coin find. Congrats

Thanks!

DeepseekerADS · Jul 20, 2018

I've been playing with my ultrasonic cleaner now for about 6 months. It helps on finds like this, but isn't the final answer

creskol · Jul 21, 2018

DeepseekerADS said:
I've been playing with my ultrasonic cleaner now for about 6 months. It helps on finds like this, but isn't the final answer

Thanks ..I will give it a try.

cudamark · Jul 21, 2018

When they get that bad, the more you clean off the "crud", the less detail you will have. Andre's pencils will probably be your best bet.

creskol · Jul 21, 2018

cudamark said:
When they get that bad, the more you clean off the "crud", the less detail you will have. Andre's pencils will probably be your best bet.

Thanks. I need to get one of those pencils.

ANTIQUARIAN · Jul 22, 2018

cudamark said:
When they get that bad, the more you clean off the "crud", the less detail you will have. Andre's pencils will probably be your best bet.

I agree with what you're saying here Mark. :thumbsup:

When there's this much environmental damage to the surface, it's unlikely that any type of restoration will make this coin presentable.

I'll also be the first to admit... the reality is that some of the finds we make just can't be restored. :dontknow:

Dave

Rookster · Jul 22, 2018

Nice find.

cudamark · Jul 22, 2018

If you want to get rid of the green clumps, I'd soak it in olive oil for about a month and then use a toothpick to pop those off. It's not a particularly rare coin, so, even if you could improve the condition somewhat, it won't do much to it's value. I'm sure it's valuable to you though, as it's your "Treasure"! :icon_thumleft:

creskol · Jul 22, 2018

cudamark said:
If you want to get rid of the green clumps, I'd soak it in olive oil for about a month and then use a toothpick to pop those off. It's not a particularly rare coin, so, even if you could improve the condition somewhat, it won't do much to it's value. I'm sure it's valuable to you though, as it's your "Treasure"!

Nah .. not real valuable, but a fun find since it's the only one I have found in my 50 years of metal detecting.