UPDATED...MORE before &after electrolysis silver coins/jewelry

HannibalNectar · Nov 19, 2018

I spent the weekend cleaning some of my coins with my electrolysis machine. Most came out really nice one of the really crusty ones(1886) came clean with alot of work. You can see the silver is damaged from the fields fertilizer. It gives it a look like it's been sand blasted. But it still has better detail than some of the others.
Im really happy with the half dime and quarter. They look great. The half reale was the first one I did. I couldn't even see the date before. The only issue is that where there was severe tarnish now they have that sand blasted look. I still think they look WAY better all one color, then splotchy colored.
Right now I have a 1894 half dollar bubbling away.

I use a car battery charger in a fish bowl with borax in the water. I use a steel rod about 3/16" thick and bend it so it circles the tank. Then I put the coins in the middle.
Black tarnish and dirt bubble right off. The hazey white chalky crust (I usually get from fertilizer heavy fields) takes more time. I let em go for an hour or more. After that I use a toothbrush and water. Sometimes I go back and forth between the toothbrush and electrolysis.
If im not getting anywhere with that I will use bakingsoda tooth paste And target the bad spots. Then go back and forth between that and the tank.

I only do this on coins that aren't worth a bunch.
And I know people are going to burn me at the stake for touching them but whatever. You can find your own and leave them crusty. I still think its better to have a cleaned coin you can show people and look at then a crusty one you can only see wet or under a light.

UPDATE.
I JUST FINISHED A COUPLE MORE ITEMS.
A 1894-s BARBER HALF
And A VERY OLD RELIGIOUS PENDANT.
I found both of these together in a corn field. The cornfield has been family owned since the early 1800's

The barber half looks better in the before pictures than it really looked in person. It had a whitish patina that is chalky when dry.
Know the coin looks great

cellrdwellr · Nov 19, 2018

Wow the fertilizer ate those coins right up. They look better than before for sure...shame what a little bit of poop can do to silver after decades :shock:

great digs! You get hammered with snow? Congrats!

HannibalNectar · Nov 19, 2018

cellrdwellr said:
Wow the fertilizer ate those coins right up. They look better than before for sure...shame what a little bit of poop can do to silver after decades great digs! You get hammered with snow? Congrats!

Ya. It sux. Im done for the year. Its snowing right now. Wait til u see my year wrap up. I dug more Indians than wheats and the earliest silver I dug was the 1923 peace dollar. Only one merc. The whole year was ALL seated and barber's.

cellrdwellr · Nov 19, 2018

HannibalNectar said:
Ya. It sux. Im done for the year. Its snowing right now. Wait til u see my year wrap up. I dug more Indians than wheats and the earliest silver I dug was the 1923 peace dollar. Only one merc. The whole year was ALL seated and barber's.

Yea ive been locked out for a week now, but im seeing some green grass in spots, its all rain down here right now. I'll be looking forward to your 2018 wrap up thread. Excellent year man, congrats again!

coin whisperer · Nov 19, 2018

Me personally I like the patina of dug coins. I only rinse them with water

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

jack&jill · Nov 19, 2018

The cleaning may have hurt the value but like you said Hannibal the eye value for show and tell is very much improved. With my old eyes, I really like what you did. Trapper

CJ319 · Nov 19, 2018

jack&jill said:
The cleaning may have hurt the value but like you said Hannibal the eye value for show and tell is very much improved. With my old eyes, I really like what you did. Trapper

Does electrolysis do something to the coin a grader would see?

BottleCapKing · Nov 19, 2018

CJ319 said:
Does electrolysis do something to the coin a grader would see?

Cleaning coins beyond simple water always lowers their value. There are very, very few things you can do to clean a coin that the graders won't notice. And, they will reflect the coins was cleaned on the grading they place on the tag.

T-Man · Nov 19, 2018

I thnk they came out looking great. That said what are the odds of anything we pull out of the ground being graded as anything other than enviromental damage anyway.

Jamflicker · Nov 19, 2018

Nice clean up. They look good!

TerryEastTexas · Nov 19, 2018

Those look really good but I've found with a little too much umph in juice you can smooth them out.

jbrow · Nov 20, 2018

Nice looking coins; i also clean some of my coins that are heavily messed up by being in the ground... Nothing wrong with it. My wife even says, "They're for your enjoyment"

WyoTom · Nov 20, 2018

Looks pretty good! I hope I have the chance to dig a half dime some day!

Usa · Nov 20, 2018

HannibalNectar said:
I spent the weekend cleaning some of my coins with my electrolysis machine. Most came out really nice one of the really crusty ones(1886) came clean with alot of work. You can see the silver is damaged from the fields fertilizer. It gives it a look like it's been sand blasted. But it still has better detail than some of the others.
Im really happy with the half dime and quarter. They look great. The half reale was the first one I did. I couldn't even see the date before. The only issue is that where there was severe tarnish now they have that sand blasted look. I still think they look WAY better all one color, then splotchy colored.
Right now I have a 1894 half dollar bubbling away.

I use a car battery charger in a fish bowl with borax in the water. I use a steel rod about 3/16" thick and bend it so it circles the tank. Then I put the coins in the middle.
Black tarnish and dirt bubble right off. The hazey white chalky crust (I usually get from fertilizer heavy fields) takes more time. I let em go for an hour or more. After that I use a toothbrush and water. Sometimes I go back and forth between the toothbrush and electrolysis.
If im not getting anywhere with that I will use bakingsoda tooth paste And target the bad spots. Then go back and forth between that and the tank.

I only do this on coins that aren't worth a bunch.
And I know people are going to burn me at the stake for touching them but whatever. You can find your own and leave them crusty. I still think its better to have a cleaned coin you can show people and look at then a crusty one you can only see wet or under a light.

NICE JOB. I love electrolysis. I used it on my first IHP and it cleaned it up real nice.

remmy · Nov 21, 2018

The process of electrolysis can cause that sand blasted look as well. I had a few that had smooth areas where there was no crust and after the crust was removed and I removed them from the tank the smooth areas looked bumpy like they had been sand blasted. Electrolysis WILL move metal from the item you are cleaning to your sacrificial piece. I noticed this and began playing with it, used a modern nickel hooked to negative and a toasty v nickel on positive. The v nickel became shiny nickel color. I no longer use electrolysis on coins.

Wolf-Dog · Nov 21, 2018

They sure cleaned up nice! :hi5:

HannibalNectar · Nov 25, 2018

Wolf-Dog said:
They sure cleaned up nice!

The electrolysis REALLY takes the stuff off well.

cellrdwellr · Nov 25, 2018

Nice work! They look great, thanks for the update. Have you tried a baking soda and toothpaste mixture yet? I did it on my last seated dime, which had some black crust in areas and it came out REALLY nice. Just another cleaning method to consider, less invasive.

HannibalNectar · Nov 26, 2018

cellrdwellr said:
Nice work! They look great, thanks for the update. Have you tried a baking soda and toothpaste mixture yet? I did it on my last seated dime, which had some black crust in areas and it came out REALLY nice. Just another cleaning method to consider, less invasive.

Ya I use a soft toothbrush and baking soda toothpaste. I will only do that on really crusty spots And only after I loosen it with electrolysis. That is my last option.

metaladdict · Nov 26, 2018

Your coins look good after cleaning, mine from the ocean are toast.

UPDATED...MORE before &after electrolysis silver coins/jewelry

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