Question on "restoring" an 1855 GB 1/2 penny

Rhack

First off, I know cleaning is a no no and it is not something I have done before or plan on making a habit of. I purchased this 1855 British 1/2 penny off of ebay. With shipping I have a whopping $7.00 into the coin. When I received it I was disapointed to see that the coin had been whizzed, and very badly at that; I could not tell from the photgraphs that the coin was so bright. The coin itself has IMO EF to AU details. Coin would have been beautiful had someone not screwed it up. There was a return privelge but for the little amount of money invested I decided to keep it. I love the Victorian copper and would like to give Vicky some of her dignity back, and make her look halfway presentable. Currently the coin is very shiny from the whizzing. On the reverse in particular you could see it was a rush job as there are many traces of the original color. The traces take the form of thin lines. Any suggestions on first removing the original trace patina and then treating the coin to remove the blazing bright appearance? I would greatly appreciate it. If I can get some good ideas, I'll do some before/after photos.

Thank you!

Rhack

The scratch on the face is not on the coin.

Heres the coin

AuldFartte

There's not really anything you can do to eliminate the effects of the cleaning/whizzing. About the only thing that might make it look better would be to dip it and recolor it. I don't advise it, but if you're just going to keep it for yourself, well why not?

ajaan

There are certain agents to darken the coin. This may be worth looking into. I don't know how to do it myself.

JamminJ

Deller's Darkener

MacCrimmon

What jammin said on Deller's.

Short of inducing more actual wear to the coin to "Smooth" it out, there's no real way to "undo" the hairlines.

Rhack

Thanks for the advice. I'll check the Dellers out.

satootoko

<< <i>Deller's Darkener >>

Brent-Kreuger just lost it's place on my list of preferred supply sources.

NJMark1

I just take any polished copper or brass coins to work put em on the shelf and in a couple of weeks you would never know they got cleaned. Lots of hydrogen sulfide in the air at work.

Mark

wybrit

It doesn't seem worth the effort to me to do any "restoration."

I do like the honest description of the coin by the seller.

Rhack

Yes, he was upfront about it being cleaned so I was not disapointed in him, I left positive feedback. The guy shipped the thing super fast btw. I was just surprised at how bright and shiny it was. Knowing its not worth anything I still want to make it look nice. I keep a binder of British coins and I don't want this to stand out like a sore thumb from the othe half pennies.

Steve27

" I just take any polished copper or brass coins to work put em on the shelf and in a couple of weeks you would never know they got cleaned. Lots of hydrogen sulfide in the air at work. "

If that's true, I think you should move out of Jersey.





The coin doesn't look wizzed, just cleaned. I would contact Rob (lordmarcovan) and ask about his results using sulfur mixed with Vaseline (I think that's what he uses).