Well... I wrecked my beautiful find

asmerri · May 30, 2013

So I received a ton of feedback from my fellow t-Netters regarding how to restore my recently find 2 cent piece. After running a couple tests on some copper pennies with similar thick green patina on them I was certain that the lemon juice/extra fine steel wool method would work wonderfully on my coin. Boy was I wrong! I am now left with a shiny barely unrecognizable coin

. I figured I was doing the right thing even against the advice of many seasoned detectorists on this forum due to the result of my test coins (pictures below). I am very upset with what I have done but I guess it was a hard lesson learned.
It's probably a lost cause at this point but any tips on how to darken the coin in order to restore some of what I have ignorantly taken off? I am a very new "serious" hunter and need to accept the fact that crusty is many times better than destroyed.
I sincerely thank you all for your tips and I am truly regretting not following your methods!

The final product

yaxthri · May 30, 2013

Cheer up and look for the next one... And this time leave it as found :tongue3:

Back-of-the-boat · May 30, 2013

Everyone probably does it once and then learns from their mistake.I know I myself did it to a roman coin 30+ yrs ago.So lesson learned.Cheer up.And go find more.People actually like the coins with the patina.I still have my mistake as a reminder.

Silver Searcher · May 30, 2013

Thick Green Patina....sounds like it was just right before any cleaning :icon_scratch:

SS

Iron Patch · May 30, 2013

The difference is one had corrosion covering good detail, and the other had patina with good detail, but not much covering it. So what you did was clean a coin that didn't really have much to clean, and any time you strip patina down to the surface you're almost always going to have a coin that looks much worse. You did get the same result as your test coins, it's just a lesson to learn that patina has eye appeal and shouldn't be messed with.

PS: Even if you felt you got the same result as the small cent that would still be worse, so you were destined to fail just making the choice to clean.

vpnavy · May 30, 2013

Bummer asmerri - but thank you very much for sharing your experience with the rest of us. You probably helped many member's from having the same outcome - thank you.

wkrp43 · May 30, 2013

vpnavy said:
Bummer asmerri - but thank you very much for sharing your experience with the rest of us. You probably helped many member's from having the same outcome - thank you.

Been there, done that

cjon455 · May 30, 2013

This is how my 1864 2 center looked coming out of the ground and I only rinsed it with water after that. That thing is as green as can be and Im glad I left it be. Like the others said, cheer up and find another, and oh yeah, dont get too aggressive cleaning your future finds often coins that old cant handle harsh cleaning. I totally cleaned away any detail of a draped bust large cent I found in a desperate attempt to find a date. All that remains is a silhouette facing right on a dark black disk :icon_scratch:

joesdigs · May 30, 2013

As most have already said.... Get out there and find another and put this in the lesson learned filing cabinet..

on another point.. I salute you for posting this error you made.. Not only as it will help others but the fact that you admitted doing it as I have done the same thing and would have been way too embarrassed to post... So here's hoping for many more great finds for you and and high five for admitting your mistake... I bet nearly every person has made a similar error starting out

mjc_lakedweller · May 30, 2013

I think many of us here have gone through similar events. When I first started hunting, I would always "clean" my coins using peroxide, toothpick, whatever. Now I am very careful and think twice before cleaning. 9 times out of ten if the coin is really solid with patina I will soak in olive oil for a few weeks or longer which usually does the trick. I think having the natural patina left on the coin is preferred, unless, however it is so thick that it impedes the recognition of the coin. Good luck out there!

Iron Patch · May 30, 2013

It was ok before, but certainly not a thing of beauty. You'll find much better than that if you keep at it... so in a way this might have been a good lesson.

Sandman · May 30, 2013

Iron Patch is right of course. You made a mistake we all have made and it is time to move on and find another. Save the ruined coin as a reminder.

JohnnyMac · May 30, 2013

Been there/done that..I won't do it again..lol......I just drop those dirty suckers in olive oil and gently toothpick and soft toothbrush them every other day until I'm satisfied,sometimes it takes weeks..gotta have patience with copper..HH

CoilyGirl · May 30, 2013

Bummer but I do hope you find another one. Before I found this site I might have done the same thing.

wheatfinder13 · May 30, 2013

Oh, it doesn't look so bad. I'd take that any day. You've found a coin that most people don't find and you should be proud of that find, anyway. lol

granthansen · May 30, 2013

D'oh! Well, I'm happy that I didn't suggest the lemon juice and tried to stray you from it! They make coin darkener solutions (when I get home I'll give you the name). Depending on who you ask on this forum, some will say clean, some will say don't clean. To each his own. I like to clean as best I can, but I always go slow and carefully. Peroxide is mild, and toothpicking always does well too. Sometimes I'll try a light rub of baking soda paste, but that's about it. That being said, I want to enjoy a recognizable coin, so I'll clean as best as I'm comfortable doing.

screwynewy · May 30, 2013

It's hard to resist the urge to try and make a dug coin look fresh and new again. I struggle with this with most coins I find. The good news is that it wasn't really worth much to start with so other than it looking a mess it is still a great find and one that you can be proud of.

OneWetKnee · May 30, 2013

don't over soak in lemon juice, just a 10 second bath for me works, then a nice layer of olive oil. If you soak that for 20 mins in olive oil you may get some detail back.

WHADIFIND · May 30, 2013

Not cleaning is generally a good rule of thumb. BUT, that said, it's not a catch all.

One thing I've found after many, many years experience in dealing with finds is that one tends to develop an "eye" for recognizing items that will lend themselves to a bit of cleaning. Some, just plain will NOT improve! But, some, can and do. Telling the difference is an art, at best!

Ok, so with all that said, how does one obtain this knack for telling? By mistakes. Now you've had one. Just learn from it and move on.

There is one thing I've often wondered though. I wonder if coins like this might lend itself to a painting, plating, or some such? I mean after the coin is already trashed, not much to lose, right? I wonder if one could take a coin like this to be restored? It's already fried and would never be worth anything. (Unless, maybe, it was gold plated?

)

Whatcha think experts? Might a piece of history be somewhat preserved by something like this?

The knowledge of finding a coin like that is quite a bit the reward. Especially since you can still tell what it is, still readable. Maybe an enhanced tarnish campaign would help?

Nice save!
HH!

Iron Patch · May 30, 2013

WHADIFIND said:
Not cleaning is generally a good rule of thumb. BUT, that said, it's not a catch all.

One thing I've found after many, many years experience in dealing with finds is that one tends to develop an "eye" for recognizing items that will lend themselves to a bit of cleaning. Some, just plain will NOT improve! But, some, can and do. Telling the difference is an art, at best!

Ok, so with all that said, how does one obtain this knack for telling? By mistakes. Now you've had one. Just learn from it and move on.

There is one thing I've often wondered though. I wonder if coins like this might lend itself to a painting, plating, or some such? I mean after the coin is already trashed, not much to lose, right? I wonder if one could take a coin like this to be restored? It's already fried and would never be worth anything. (Unless, maybe, it was gold plated? )

Whatcha think experts? Might a piece of history be somewhat preserved by something like this?

The knowledge of finding a coin like that is quite a bit the reward. Especially since you can still tell what it is, still readable. Maybe an enhanced tarnish campaign would help?

Nice save!
HH!