I found some old pennies by an old spring this weekend. One is a 1917S
wheat penny. The ground they came out of was highly mineralized. On their
surfaces, the pennies have black oxidation.

Is there a way to take off this corrosion? I really don't want to use any
chemicals, as it may eat at what copper is left.

I have seen programs on TV where old coins found in shipwrecks are cleaned
electrolytically by passing a small current through them.

Does anyone know how to do this, or can steer me in the right direction?

Steve

Coin collectors use olive oil or mineral oil to clean up dirty coins.
If you want to try reverse plating, use a copper sheet anode in a
plastic bucket. A 12 V battery charger and a tbsp of sodium carbonate
[washing soda], or sodium bicarbonate/ gallon for electrolyte.As I
remember, the positive goes to the copper anode, but I could be wrong.
I've had limited success on rusted steel tools using an iron anode.
bugs

"SteveB" wrote in message
news:EO30e.1005$AN1.287@fed1read03...
I found some old pennies by an old spring this weekend. One is a 1917S
wheat penny. The ground they came out of was highly mineralized. On
their
surfaces, the pennies have black oxidation.

Is there a way to take off this corrosion? I really don't want to use any
chemicals, as it may eat at what copper is left.

I have seen programs on TV where old coins found in shipwrecks are cleaned
electrolytically by passing a small current through them.

Does anyone know how to do this, or can steer me in the right direction?

Steve

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/a...503200316/1002

Just remember - most coin collectors will tell you that cleaning destroys a
coin's appeal.
Don't worry, though. Your wheaties are worth less than a buck, anyway:
http://www.pcgs.com/prices/frame.cht...e=lincoln_cent

HTH
--
Jeff R.

On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 17:40:52 -0800, SteveB wrote:
I found some old pennies by an old spring this weekend. One is a 1917S
wheat penny. The ground they came out of was highly mineralized. On their
surfaces, the pennies have black oxidation.

Is there a way to take off this corrosion? I really don't want to use any
chemicals, as it may eat at what copper is left.

Nope.

I have seen programs on TV where old coins found in shipwrecks are cleaned
electrolytically by passing a small current through them.

Does anyone know how to do this, or can steer me in the right direction?

Keep 'em as is. Any attempt to clean them will make them worthless.
The surface is part of the history of the coin. A 1917S isn't a key date,
but it's still not something you'd want to damage by cleaning.

Dave Hinz

SteveB wrote:
I found some old pennies by an old spring this weekend. One is a
1917S
wheat penny. The ground they came out of was highly mineralized. On
their
surfaces, the pennies have black oxidation.

Is there a way to take off this corrosion? I really don't want to
use any
chemicals, as it may eat at what copper is left.

...

Does anyone know how to do this, or can steer me in the right
direction?


rec.collecting.coins would be the right direction I should think.

--

FF

SteveB wrote:
I found some old pennies by an old spring this weekend. One is a 1917S
wheat penny. The ground they came out of was highly mineralized. On their
surfaces, the pennies have black oxidation.

Is there a way to take off this corrosion? I really don't want to use any
chemicals, as it may eat at what copper is left.

I have seen programs on TV where old coins found in shipwrecks are cleaned
electrolytically by passing a small current through them.

Does anyone know how to do this, or can steer me in the right direction?

Noting the advice to not clean them, if you decide to do it anyway,
here's how I'd do it.

http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/...es/E-CLEAN.TXT
http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/...s/E-CLEAN2.TXT

Ted