Pros and Cons of Peroxide.

PhotoRob06

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Here's a coin I dug yesterday, and after photographing it, I think it's a pretty good example of what peroxide can do.

Note: this coin had no verdigris, only dirt that was adhered like concrete. No amount of brushing with soap and water would remove it, so I had to resort to the peroxide bath.

Pros: It got the dirt off! :grin: (that and my poking with a toothpic, and some of those lines may or may not be from my poking)

Cons: It got the dirt off. :shock: Now you can see the lack of metal where some of the dirt was hiding - and I don't think there's really any way around that. Peroxide and electrolysis will take the crud off. If you can't handle what might lie beneath, then don't take it off.

Personally, I'm happier with it now than I was before the peroxide. We aren't talking about a key date here - just the oldest wheat I've dug that will be a filler date for my collection. :grin:
 

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I had these 3 coins that were so packed with hard dirt that I could not tell what they were and I did not suspect they were old so I just threw them in my tumbler with the rest of my clad for a couple of hours.
They came out looking pretty good, patina and everything intact so I am happy.
 

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I had these 3 coins that were so packed with hard dirt that I could not tell what they were and I did not suspect they were old so I just threw them in my tumbler with the rest of my clad for a couple of hours.
They came out looking pretty good, patina and everything intact so I am happy.

I would like to get a tumbler, those look really good. What do you use in it - just other coins? I've heard of using aquarium gravel...

There was one thread, where a wheat got really messed up in a tumbler, but I don't know what was being used as an abrasive. It came out of the tumbler with lots of dents, like it had been run over on pavement or something. :?:
 
I would like to get a tumbler, those look really good. What do you use in it - just other coins? I've heard of using aquarium gravel...

There was one thread, where a wheat got really messed up in a tumbler, but I don't know what was being used as an abrasive. It came out of the tumbler with lots of dents, like it had been run over on pavement or something. :?:

Some use aquarium gravel. Lake Superior beach gravel works for me, with water and a little dish soap.
 
i use boiling peroxide on some of my old coppers and that was about the only way i could get a date off some of them, no regrets
 
The problem with peroxide, at least for me, is that it leaves the coins looking really dried out. I guess it is better than nothing, but I certainly wasn't overly satisfied.
 
The problem with peroxide, at least for me, is that it leaves the coins looking really dried out. I guess it is better than nothing, but I certainly wasn't overly satisfied.

Yeah, it doesn't always do wonders (hence the cons) it's actually quite risky, and my results have been about 50/50 so I only do it for filler dates. From what I've seen, tumbling is better in most cases - I just don't have a tumbler.
 
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