Update on My Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) Experiment and Heavily Encrusted 1864 IH Cent

[Erik in NJ]

Some one you have have been following the recent long thread on ACV. I read an article on the use of vinegar with relics and have had success with it. The large livery button with griffin that I dug in England looked pretty toasted--someone even said it looked like it had been burned. I think it was just the soil conditions at the field where it was dug (thick heavy clay). I tried putting it in boiling peroxide and that removed the dirt, but the oxidized encrustations remained. Having little to lose I put it in a small pyrex bowl with some white vinegar for a couple of days. This worked wonders and finally revealed the full griffin on the button in splendid detail as well as the full backmark!

OK, on Saturday I dug one of my most heavily encrusted 1864 IH cents (bronze, not the copper/nickel variety). It was encrusted with a matrix of green oxidation and tiny pebbles I guess that it had been lying next to. Boiling peroxide did little to clean it up. Last night I decided to soak it in ACV for a few hours and a couple more today. Almost all of the encrustation dissolved, but it also removed the patina (which was expected) and left the coin a very dull light brown color. In addition the ACV also dissolved the oxidation on the coin's surface leaving it pitted, which is kind of a drawback.

So, how to get some patina back? I have heard people not wanting to use boiling peroxide because they claim that it darkens copper. I had no proof of this, so I thought I would try putting the coin in some of this. Sure enough it darkened the dull light brown color to almost a chocolate color which is nice, but there is still some oxidation on the reverse of the coin, leaving it a bit blotchy. I decided to give it another bath in the ACV to remove all of the oxidation. Once this is done I will darken it again with the peroxide.

I'll post a pic of the coin when I am done...I should have posted some before/during/after pics but I've been a bit under the weather last few days and couldn't get motivated to set my scanner up.

So even though I now have a coin without the heavy encrustation, it's still not a terribly presentable coin, though the 1864 is nicely visible. When I'm done I will rub a light coat of bees wax on it and call it a day.

Would be nice to find a way to remove the encrustation with out leaving the pitting on the coin. Any ideas?

 

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[Valley Ranger]

No ideas, but looking forward to seeing the pictures.

 

[granthansen]

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to the progress.

 

[bill from lachine]

If you have the patience....some people soak the heavily encrusted coppers in olive oil and take it out from time to time and chip off the crust with a toothpick...Ive see some before and after photos and it appears to work quite well.

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[Chuck In Oregon]

I have been following your posts regarding ACV. Because of them, a couple days ago I started soaking an old rusty ax head that I found earlier this year. It is pretty pitted and ugly, so there wasn't much to lose. I have it, and some small things, in a clean plastic paint jug with the lid on. I'll check it out in three weeks or so and let you know how it turned out.

Thanks for the tip.

Chuck