First IHP. Did I ruin it?

ryno509 · May 8, 2017

Hi all!
I kinda wish I posted this before, but I'm sure I would have gotten same results. I am new and just like detecting I presume you get better at cleaning finds as well as finding them.

I tried cleaning my first IHP I found this weekend. But I fear that I took too much off, the rest of the brown area seems to be copper and not dirt.
Should I have just took some of the dirt off and left the patina behind it?
I only used a tooth pick...
What should have I done? Is there anything else I can do?
So did I ruin it or was this beyond salvageable?

copper head · May 8, 2017

Keep going with the toothpick , keep scraping off the crusty dirt your getting down to the nice green protective patina .

ryno509 · May 8, 2017

copper head said:
Keep going with the toothpick , keep scraping off the crusty dirt your getting down to the nice green protective patina .

I'm not sure the rest will come off. Like the Rest of it on the head dress it seems like that area is still copper? Or it feels like copper it's smooth and shiny, I can't get it off....

Tpmetal · May 8, 2017

soak it in distilled water changing the water daily(distilled only no tap). When changing water give it a very soft brush with a soft bristled tooth brush.

stinger · May 9, 2017

I'm like n it .Some pennies are just to far gone

amc rulz · May 9, 2017

Looks like a nice greenie under that brown.

DIGGER27 · May 9, 2017

Nothing better than the green ones...my favorites.
Soil types have a lot to do with how they come out of the ground.
If that is as far as you can go just enjoy it as it is.
Future ones may get even greener.

Tpmetal · May 9, 2017

Don't give up that coin can still come out beautiful, seriously give the distilled water a shot, then go back to tooth picking. it will loosed it all up.

ryno509 · May 9, 2017

Tpmetal said:
soak it in distilled water changing the water daily(distilled only no tap). When changing water give it a very soft brush with a soft bristled tooth brush.

Tpmetal said:
Don't give up that coin can still come out beautiful, seriously give the distilled water a shot, then go back to tooth picking. it will loosed it all up.

Sorry, saw your 2nd post after I posted this.

Thanks for the response! I will definitely get it a try.

I guess my question still stands...
Will that take off the remaining copper material? Or just clean it?

Your first post said to do the distilled water then soft brush it, Second post says to distilled water and tooth pick it. Is that safe?

And after I'm done, I saw people use olive oil? I believe. I heard this darkens It, but will it bring out more defiant edges in the design?

Any insight is welcome.

Thanks guys!

Cherry Picker · May 9, 2017

Grats! ryno509. Looks like a keeper to me.

Tpmetal · May 9, 2017

ryno509 said:
Sorry, saw your 2nd post after I posted this.

Thanks for the response! I will definitely get it a try.

I guess my question still stands...
Will that take off the remaining copper material? Or just clean it?

Your first post said to do the distilled water then soft brush it, Second post says to distilled water and tooth pick it. Is that safe?

And after I'm done, I saw people use olive oil? I believe. I heard this darkens It, but will it bring out more defiant edges in the design?

Any insight is welcome.

Thanks guys!

Both are fine, the distilled soak will not harm the patina(green layer on this coin). its basically dissolving the mineralization thats creating that hard cement like crust layer over top the patina. What will ruin the patina is the tools, sticking to wooden tooth pick(detail) and very soft tooth brush(general cleaning) usually is pretty safe on patina unless its in bad shape. Keep in mind the distilled water process can take up to a couple weeks to really get after this stuff sometimes, and requires changing the water frequently. It makes it so much easier to clean though so its worth the wait for the final outcome.

amc rulz · May 9, 2017

ryno509 said:
Sorry, saw your 2nd post after I posted this.

Thanks for the response! I will definitely get it a try.

I guess my question still stands...
Will that take off the remaining copper material? Or just clean it?

Your first post said to do the distilled water then soft brush it, Second post says to distilled water and tooth pick it. Is that safe?

And after I'm done, I saw people use olive oil? I believe. I heard this darkens It, but will it bring out more defiant edges in the design?

Any insight is welcome.

Thanks guys!

Olive oil will darken the coin. Over time, the acid in the oil will eat and pit the metal.

https://finds.org.uk/counties/merseyside/the-dangers-of-olive-oil/

Tpmetal · May 9, 2017

yes olive oil is a big no no. Unless the coin is absolutely fubar and unidentifiable by corrosion ,you can try it then and occasionally get enough to id it, but not much more. like mentioned later in its life it will suffer more problems.

Tpmetal · May 9, 2017

just go get some distilled water already, i promise you wont be disappointed in the end.

Tpmetal · May 9, 2017

if you want to seal it use renaissance wax or other quality micro crystalline wax

ryno509 · May 9, 2017

Tpmetal said:
just go get some distilled water already, i promise you wont be disappointed in the end.

Thanks for the detailed info!
I will start the process tonight! I will repost when it's done lol.
Hopefully it will be looking like DIGGER27's nice Injun.

Thanks to the others for the info as well. Also the good feedback! It's not a great IH, but it's my first and my oldest coin to date. So I want it to look marvelous of course. Haha

Cheers!

ryno509 · May 9, 2017

One more thing...

My friend is giving me his ultrasonic jewelry cleaner... By any chance would that work? I don't think it would, but I've never seen the thing in action.
Just dirt would come off right?

Anyone advise against this?

Crackerjack · May 9, 2017

KirkS · May 9, 2017

Those ultrasonics don't really do much, so I would pass on that. And the chemical cleaner used in them may do more harm then good.

What you want the final outcome to be should determine your plan of action. If you want a shiny copper penny, there are tons of chemicals you can use along with toothpicks or toothbrushes, to get it back to 'original' color.

However, if you want to retain any numismatic value, the distilled water and gentle toothpick to remove any gunk would be best.

You can also do a 100% acetone soak, which will remove any organics from the coin, and will not damage it. Let it soak in the acetone for a day, swish it around, rinse in clean acetone, and let it dry (about 10 seconds). This is one of the only methods of 'conserving' a coin without having it be considered/graded a 'cleaned' or 'improperly cleaned' coin.

Great find by the way! :yes:

ryno509 · May 12, 2017

One soak... Wow!

Tpmetal said:
just go get some distilled water already, i promise you wont be disappointed in the end.

All I can say is wow! Thanks for the great advice!
Just wanted to give an update. I did one soak for 24 hours and it worked wonders!
Here is a before and after.

I will definitely be using your reccomendation on the wax as well!

Thanks again!

*Have to remember to take pics on my phone in landscape mode

!

*

First IHP. Did I ruin it?

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