JamminJ, Hoot, Shiroh: Any Update on Olive Oil Cleaned Ancients?

[gmarguli]

Just wondering how the olive oil cleaning is going with your coins.

 

I changed the oil yesterday. It had turned a florescent green cloudy color and just looked plain nasty. When I opened the container, it smelled awful.

 

Quite a bit of dirt was present at the bottom of the container. I had washed off the coins before putting them in their original olive oil bath, so this was dirt that was hardened on the coins. I also washed the coins off again this time before giving them a new bath. Quite a bit more dirt was coming off them.

 

I saw quite a bit of detail on lots of coins that was not visible before their bath.

[Hoot]

Damn! No change what-so-ever! Maybe the cheap olive oil I got wasn't so cheap after all. Should I go get some Albertson's brand?

 

Hoot

[shirohniichan]

Damn! No change what-so-ever! Maybe the cheap olive oil I got wasn't so cheap after all. Should I go get some Albertson's brand?

 

Hoot

 

The Albertsons brand olive oil hasn't done squat. Maybe I need to take a toothpick to the coins.

[gmarguli]

I don't know what brand I'm using, but it was $4.99 for a 1.75L bottle at Trader Joe's. It was the cheapest non-extra virgin olive oil there, so it can't be hard to find.

 

So far, it appears to be working great!

[Hoot]

That was cheaper than mine, and I got mine at WalMart! Maybe I should take my litmus paper to the store and crack the lids before buying!

 

Hoot

[JamminJ]

My oil is a little cloudy but that's about it. When I change it out in a few weeks I'll brish a few and switch them to a shakable jug.

 

-JamminJ

[shirohniichan]

The olive oil has changed the green death from dark to bright green. The toothpick only removed one grain of sand from a heavily encrusted coin.

 

Has anyone ever used ammonia to remove green death from ancient copper coins?

[JamminJ]

Has anyone ever used ammonia to remove green death from ancient copper coins?

 

Someone's gettin impatient!!

 

-JamminJ

[gmarguli]

Has anyone ever used ammonia to remove green death from ancient copper coins?

 

Someone's gettin impatient!!

 

-JamminJ

 

Hey, it's OK. He's teaching his daughter the importance of being impatient!

[PovertyRow]

Damn! No change what-so-ever! Maybe the cheap olive oil I got wasn't so cheap after all. Should I go get some Albertson's brand?

 

Hoot

 

Just make sure it is neither extra virgin nor virgin olive oil. Neither have enough acidity for the job. You want the bottom like "pure" olive oil or even less.

[Hoot]

Damn! No change what-so-ever! Maybe the cheap olive oil I got wasn't so cheap after all. Should I go get some Albertson's brand?

 

Hoot

 

Just make sure it is neither extra virgin nor virgin olive oil. Neither have enough acidity for the job. You want the bottom like "pure" olive oil or even less.

 

Definitely no virginity in my olive oil. I'll just have to forget about them for a good long while.

 

Hoot

[shirohniichan]

I can't even find experienced olive oil in my area. "Virgin" is the best I can do. Maybe I need to go by Food 4 Less.

[shirohniichan]

A few of my coins have developed bright bluish-white spots on them. I'll see if a toothpick will take them off.

[gmarguli]

I switched the oil a few days ago and gave the coins a light brush with a toothbrush. The detail is starting to show. However, it appears many are slugs.

 

The dirt that remained on many was much harder than I expected and couldn't be picked or hard brushed off.

[shirohniichan]

I switched the oil a few days ago and gave the coins a light brush with a toothbrush. The detail is starting to show. However, it appears many are slugs.

 

The dirt that remained on many was much harder than I expected and couldn't be picked or hard brushed off.

 

Yea, verily.

 

The dirt is still clinging to my copper slugs, too.

 

Does anyone have any good news on their ancients?

[JamminJ]

Does anyone have any good news on their ancients?

 

They were safely delivered from the United Arab Emirates and accurately described as "uncleaned".

[shirohniichan]

So it's time to use the sudsy ammonia?

[TJ]

So it's time to use the sudsy ammonia?

Perhaps maybe the CLR? An overnight in that will either please you greatly or not. Heavily encrusted stuff responds well. A home-made electrolysis is pretty risk-free too. Send them to me for La Restoration Brutale.

[gmarguli]

Mine are looking better, but still have a long way to go. Lots of dirt on the bottom of my jug and the oil is funky. Time to change it again.

[Hoot]

Mine don't want to change no matter what I do. Time to start whizzing.

 

Hoot

[gmarguli]

Mine don't want to change no matter what I do. Time to start whizzing.

 

Hoot

 

I don't think peeing on them is going to help, but you can try.

[shirohniichan]

Mine don't want to change no matter what I do. Time to start whizzing.

 

Hoot

 

I don't think peeing on them is going to help, but you can try.

 

Maybe if he eats lots of asparagus first...

[Hoot]

Mine don't want to change no matter what I do. Time to start whizzing.

 

Hoot

 

I don't think peeing on them is going to help, but you can try.

 

Maybe if he eats lots of asparagus first...

 

 

Now, can we stop this whizzing match?

 

[TJ]

So I'm reading this French website about cleaning coins and this guy says he uses "paille de fer 000" to clean his crusty coins. Paille de fer? WTF? Translates as "Iron Straw" (or hay). Turns out it's Steel Wool. Interesting, huh? Steel Wool to some is Iron Hay to others.

[shirohniichan]

So I'm reading this French website about cleaning coins and this guy says he uses "paille de fer 000" to clean his crusty coins. Paille de fer? WTF? Translates as "Iron Straw" (or hay). Turns out it's Steel Wool. Interesting, huh? Steel Wool to some is Iron Hay to others.

 

Those wacky frogs. Quel horreur!

 

Note to self: Never buy ancient coins that were processed in France.

[the_Thing ®]

Hot soapy water and a toothbrush, and then put them back in the oil for about another month.

[1jester]

I have always used extra virgin olive oil, with good results, but not on ancients, rather medieval to modern. And it doesn't work on the heavily encrusted verdigris (old deposits). New soft verdigris will come off with no problem with a toothbrush after bathing in oil for a while. I use a rose thorn instead of a toothpick for better scratch-free results. It's just a bit harder to hold and maneuver. Yes, changing the olive oil is necessary after a couple weeks as it turns funky and bright green and sometimes smelly. I've never used electrolysis but it sounds like an attractive solution to encrusted verdigris. Is anyone trying this?

[shirohniichan]

I just did my most recent oil change on the coins. They still look like lumps of dirt, though some of the grittiest dirt is coming off of one of them.

 

Has anyone found anything interesting yet?

[gmarguli]

I've got to change my oil again. I'll do that tonight. Last I looked, lots of clumps of dirt, but there was quite a bit of dirt on the bottom of the container. A lot of dirt has come off the coins, but they are still slug-like.

[JamminJ]

Same here. The ones that had the least encrusted dirt on them will soon be as good as their going to get.