Scooby-Doo’s large cent after electrolysis

[tnt-hunter]

I don’t normally do much if any cleaning to the few old coppers I find because I am afraid of ruining them. But this one was so toasty I figured I didn’t have anything to loose. I use an older battery charger that you can set for 2, 10, or 50 amps. (The new battery chargers have an auto cutoff that shuts them down when you try to use them in electrolysis.) For a coin I figured I should go slow and easy so 2 amps for 15 minute sessions with a light rub with a flat piece of wood in between to see how it is going. I used the wood because of the chunky condition of the coin. I wanted something that would help remove the chunks, but not damage the copper underneath.

​

After 4 sessions you really can’t see much improvement. So I upped the time to 30 minutes and got some improvement.

​

After a second 30 minute session I was satisfied with the results. I can see enough detail to know what I have and going further might do more harm than good.

The acid soil has really eaten away at the poor thing, but the back is good enough to tell that it is ONE CENT with no line under the cent. The front is in worse shape, but you can make out the shape of the bust and see the hair bun on the back. So this is a braided hair cent (1839-1857).

Here are before and after pictures side by side.

​

Front

​

Back

It did turn out better than I thought it would but after this I am convinced that electrolysis is a last resort when the coin is really crusty. Doing this on the average copper would remove a lot of the material that accentuates the details and makes the coin easy to identify. I hope this will help anyone considering how to clean their coppers and if nothing else show what NOT to do unless the coin is hopeless.

Thanks for looking and may your coil lead you to good things.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

How to Research for Treasure Hunting and Metal Detecting From Lead Generation to Vetting - Grab it through Amazon!

[Treasureman25]

Very interesting! How do you make your brine? Can you provide more detailed instruction or point me in the correct direction?

 

[tnt-hunter]

Very interesting! How do you make your brine? Can you provide more detailed instruction or point me in the correct direction?

The solution is simple water and baking soda. Just enough soda to encourage the process, but it would work with just water alone (it would be slower without the soda but it works just the same).

Attach the positive lead (red) to a piece of stainless (bolt, old silverware that I find plenty of) and the negative to the artifact to be cleaned. Be sure you keep the stainless and the artifact separated. I try and leave as much distance as the tank allows. Be sure to use a nonconductive tank. I use an old gallon ice cream bucket for the coin. For my cannon ball I used a 15 x 24 plastic tub. It really is a fairly simple process. I don’t do it a lot so I am sure some others on here will have additional info to give. Good luck and keep swingin.

 

[Digger RJ]

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[djackson7348]

Thanks for sharing what you have learned.

 

[tnt-hunter]

Thanks for sharing what you have learned.

I’m a retired educator. I guess I will always try and give information when I can. Keep swingin.

 

[Tuberale]

Thanks for showing your results. And sharing with us poor misbegotten western type people.

 

[tnt-hunter]

Thanks for showing your results. And sharing with us poor misbegotten western type people.

Your welcome. I’m not sure what you mean by poor misbegotten western type people though. Keep swingin.

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

Thanks for sharing the results. I think you made a good decision and uncovered more detail.

 

[xcopperstax]

Thanks for the post I definitely think you made an improvement on this coin and had some great results!

 

[smallfoot]

You can add a touch of salt to make the solution a little more conductive!

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Nice job!

 

[tnt-hunter]

You can add a touch of salt to make the solution a little more conductive!

Thanks for the hint. Keep swingin.

 

[tnt-hunter]

Thanks for sharing the results. I think you made a good decision and uncovered more detail.

This time it did work out. Thanks and keep swingin.

 

[tnt-hunter]

Thanks for the post I definitely think you made an improvement on this coin and had some great results!

Thanks, it is much better, but I don’t like the fact that it is shiny. Keep swingin.

 

[A2coins]

Good job I think I would want it clean also instead of a disc where you cant see anything. Very well done I tried electrolysis once it didnt go well lol. Thanks for sharing your info. Tommy

 

[tnt-hunter]

Good job I think I would want it clean also instead of a disc where you cant see anything. Very well done I tried electrolysis once it didnt yo well lol. Thanks for sharing your info. Tommy

Sorry it didn’t work well for you. You do take a chance whenever you attempt to clean up your finds. This time it was the right choice next time might not be so good. As always thanks Tommy and keep swingin.