Lincoln cent soaked in Olive Oil. Now what?

Oldgrump · November 5, 2005 6:15PM

Hello Everyone,
I have a 1970 small date soaking in olive oil (4 days now) that really has taken on a new and improved look. I'm ready to rescue it from the oil bath but now I don't recall anyone saying what to do next. What are /is the safest chemical rinses to use on copper without ruining it. Also, if there is a something to take off the oil film then do I rinse it in distilled H2o. Inquiring minds need to know. Thanks in advance
Steve
p.s. I think it will grade PR 67 when its all said and done

nwcs · November 5, 2005 10:08PM

Myself, I would rinse in distilled water and do a final rinse in pure acetone.

Conder101 · November 5, 2005 11:50PM

You're probably going to have to do an acetone bath now to remove all of the olive oil.

CarlWohlforth · November 6, 2005 12:12AM

I am no expert on this process. I did try it though. A coin with chunky pieces of green verdigris started giving up some of the verdigris after a few days. I took the coin out of the oil and patted it dry with a paper towel. I just left it out and it was dry by the following day. I still have two more coins in olive oil now, they have been there for about a week.

Oldgrump · November 6, 2005 4:54AM

Thanks everyone . I'll try your recommendations

1jester · November 6, 2005 5:38AM

Do a search for "acetone" on this forum and you'll find many excellent threads.

LastExitInNY · November 6, 2005 6:03AM

will the olive oil remove must gunk?

Craton · November 6, 2005 6:09AM

<< will the olive oil remove must gunk? >>

I'm no expert so get more advice. My belief is that olive oil will SLOOOWLY remove gunk. Depending on what kind of gunk it is, acetone should work without having to oil that baby up.

carl · November 6, 2005 7:02AM

I would suggest just moving the coin into a bath of distilled water with a little baking soda dissolved in it. Then move to pure distilled water, blot dry with cotton swabs.
You may try to just cotton swab it dry as is and let it set for a while to see if it even needs to be de oiled.
Another idea is to further dip it into battery acid. This will absolutely remove the Olive Oil.
What was the original purpose of soaking it in Olive Oil?

Oldgrump · November 6, 2005 7:36AM

The cent had a lot of haze on it along with what looked like rub on the cheeks even though it had been in the proof set for 35 yrs. But that is all gone now and the coin really looks great. Thats why I asked about getting the oil off as I don't want to "undo" what the olive oil did. I must say that this was the first time I tried this after hearing other people having done this and I am very impressed.
I'm not advocating that this will work all the time but I didn't really have anything to loose and I think I surely increased the value of the coin as long as the next step of getting the oil off doesn't have or cause any long term afeects.
I think I'll pass on the battery acid

Steve

CarlWohlforth · November 6, 2005 8:05AM

If you have a proof cent be very carefull you don't hairline the coin drying it!

I have been trying on old, very circulated copper...

BlindedByEgo · November 6, 2005 9:59AM

Soak in olive oil for as long as it takes to lift the dirt/crud/corrosion/tar. Sometimes, a light swirling of the olive oil immediately above the coin helps. The repeated swirling and soaking may take weeks. IMPORTANT: I NEVER touch the coin with the cotton swab if I can help it. I'd rather take the time, painstaking as it is, with the swirl/ soak routine.

Both acetone and MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) dissolve fats. Olive oil is a fat. I use a 2 cup method - using tongs, swirl the coin in the first cup of acetone. When it appears that all of the residual olive oil has been removed, swirl it in the next clean cup of acetone. This will remove any of the first cups' residual olive oil/ acetone mixture. Finally, if you have a syringe, squirt the coin with a stream of fresh acetone, paying particular attention to recessed areas of the coin. Finally, you can soak the coin in a last bath of clean acetone.

Baking soda/water solution is only necessary in cases of dipping in an acidic bath, in order to neutralize the acidity. Olive oil is not particularly acidic.

If you haven't figured it out already, removing ALL residual oil is really important.

Acetone evaporates very redily - I NEVER wipe coins, even with the softest cloth. A final waving of the coin in the air to evaporate the clean acetone.

Look closely at the final result - if you see any oily spots, soak in acetone until gone.

Let me know your results. I've been pretty successful using this method, but this will not remove residual staining of the metal if the contact with the foreign substance has attacked the underlying metal - and you never know if it has until the end...

TwoSides2aCoin · November 6, 2005 10:02AM

I have this method using a bench vice and a power washer but nobody takes me serious

BlindedByEgo · November 6, 2005 10:19AM

<< I have this method using a bench vice and a power washer but nobody takes me serious

>>

You forgot the belt sander. Always with the belt sander, oy.

anablep · November 6, 2005 10:25AM

I always thought olive oil takes weeks to remove dirt and debris.

LastExitInNY · November 6, 2005 10:27AM

My brother was going to Vegas and I told him to bring me back some rolls of pennies so I could look for some D MM that I need. He brought some today and on the end of one is a nice red wheatie reverse, some pretty luster too. I'm shocked at how good it looks. I'm scared to open the roll lol Maybe Ill get a scan of it.

LincolnCentMan · November 6, 2005 10:31AM

Distilled water is best. If you dont get all of the oil off, you risk it developing unattractive spots over time.

David

BlindedByEgo · November 6, 2005 10:42AM

<< Distilled water is best. If you dont get all of the oil off, you risk it developing unattractive spots over time.

David >>

My point exactly. Get all the oil off. And yes, Anablep, it can take weeks. Patience is a virtue... And revenge is a dish best served cold.

Where did that come from?

Oldgrump · November 6, 2005 11:30AM

Thanks everyone for all the helpfull inputs. I'll try to post a scan as soon as I can get this young whippersnapper that I work with show me how to work my new scanner. It's he!! being old fashion and out of touch with reality, But I'm trying to learn

. Just like I have been doing here for the last year

.
Yall have been a lot of help. Steve

BlindedByEgo · November 6, 2005 11:45AM

<< Thanks everyone for all the helpfull inputs. I'll try to post a scan as soon as I can get this young whippersnapper that I work with show me how to work my new scanner. It's he!! being old fashion and out of touch with reality, But I'm trying to learn

. Just like I have been doing here for the last year

.
Yall have been a lot of help. Steve >>

"Dude!" He said in his best young whippersnapper voice, tinges of valleyspeak coming through the cracked and aged vocal chords, "buy a friggin' digital camera and ditch that clumsy old scanner." Having had the misfortune of scanning coins with a flatbed, futzing around with beta, brightness, and everything else, he added "Nothing beats a Canon Digital Rebel with a Macro lens, should set you back only a grand or so."

"After all, why have you worked so hard all of your life?" He added, "Hell, live a little. Spend some of those ungrateful brats' inheritance!"

Conder101 · November 6, 2005 10:57PM

<< Olive oil is not particularly acidic. >>

But it IS slightly acidic which makes me wonder about the wisdom of soaking a PROOF copper coin in it for a long period. He may find once he has the oil removed that the fields are now more hazed than before.

LanLord · November 7, 2005 12:02AM

" And revenge is a dish best served cold.

Where did that come from?"

That would be Star Trek - The Wrath of Khan.

Freak1c · November 7, 2005 12:22AM

Hello,
Is this method best for Cents (copper) or will this be the method for all coins ?

Freak

Conder101 · November 7, 2005 2:26AM

<< " And revenge is a dish best served cold.

Where did that come from?"

That would be Star Trek - The Wrath of Khan. >>

But it isn't original to that. Kahn was quoting a much older writer, Pierre Ambroise Francois Choderios de LaClos (1741-1803). The line is from his 1782 book Les Liasons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liasons)

oreville · November 7, 2005 2:48AM

Oldgrump:

Who told you to use olive oil? Olive oil has been discredited years ago since (1) olive oil can turn rancid on you (2) has impurities in it that can ruin the copper coin (3) is more difficult to rinse away.

You should have used clear odorless mineral oil instead.

Soaking can often take months as long as you change the oil at least once a month.

Soaking proof copper coins is MUCH more difficult than business strike copper coins in that the surfaces are easily damaged in trying to remove the oil after soaking.

Frankly, I do not reccomend soaking proof copper coins in oils except in extreme circumstances.

Now that you are here and now; this is what you should do.

Get the coin OUT of the olive oil into a mineral oil bath. When the coin after weeks, months even years has finally approached a "no change" look in which further soaking has no more beneficial benefit, then take the coin out and give it a acetone bath. Distilled water doesn't work since oil repels water. Anyone knows that! Even acetone does not rinse oils all that well in the recessed areas either.

Once you do repeated acetone baths which will get much of the oil off but not all, then you have a decision to make:

(1) Use a hair dryer on low setting to blow dry the oil off the coin as much as you can.

(2) SQUEEZE clamp (with your thumb and index finger the coin onto the softest non lint soft cotton cloth or very soft tissue paper coveing both sides of the coin. Be careful that the coin does NOT slide in your fingers! Repeat onto another area of the dry cloth/paper. 95% of the oil will be gone this way. It is VERY tricky with proof coins which is why I do not like to do this proof coins. .................The other way is to place the coin on top of a soft dry cloth/tissue which is on a steady table and then press down on the doin with another cloth/tissue. This method does work.

Some have had success with method (1) only and (2) only. But doing them together works even better. I prefer using the acetone baths followed by method (2) and if needed, followed by method (1).

Is there a reason you need to take the copper coin out of its bath now? I have had bright red mint state copper coins sitting in mineral oil baths for over 35 years straight now!!!!!!!!!!!

BlindedByEgo · November 7, 2005 3:01AM

1) Olive oil is readily available. I personally wouldn't use it on copper, esp. a proof, but I was recommending the best options based on what he was currently doing. Mineral oil is superior, as it is less reactive. I've also used diesel oil (WD-40). Other clear solvents can be used as well, but acetone is the most redily available. Fats are very soluble in acetone, I believe the issue is repetition to remove all of the residual oil possible.

2) My personal belief is that NOTHING will ever restore a coin to total originality once it has been introduced to contact with foreign matter. The best we can do is to mitigate future damage by prolonging that contact any longer than necessary. I'm not a metallurgist, but one has to believe that microscopic changes to the metal surface will occur regardless of the methods used. Some are just harsher and more obvious than others.

oreville · November 7, 2005 3:14AM

blindedbyego: You said:

<< Fats are very soluble in acetone, I believe the issue is repetition to remove all of the residual oil possible. >>

Quite true. However, recessed areas are troublesome as the oil hangs onto the metal as hard as it can and without the agitation/scrubbing of the acetone into the recessed areas simply will not give up!! The problem is particularly with proof coins no scrubbing of the acetone can be tolerated.

Real tricky working with proof coins.

As an aside, using olive oil for a couple of weeks only does minimal even no harm vis a vis mineral oil unless it is not removed completely at which point any remaining olive oil can darken the coin over time even more than if left alone.

By the way, some members of the EAC put a light film of mineral oil on their early circulated copper coins and leave it on the coins forever!!

cladking · November 7, 2005 3:26AM

<< Hello,
Is this method best for Cents (copper) or will this be the method for all coins ?

Freak >>

It is normally reserved for circulated coppers but can work on other coins. The oil
removes encrustations and dirt using a mechanical method rather than chemical.
The oil gets under the contaminants and lessens their ability to adhere to the coin.

BlindedByEgo · November 7, 2005 3:31AM

<< By the way, some members of the EAC put a light film of mineral oil on their early circulated copper coins and leave it on the coins forever!! >>

I had heard that before - in fact, I think that some contemporary collectors in the 1800 did that. Imagine, collecting 150+ year -old mineral oil?

oreville · November 7, 2005 3:45AM

cladking: Well said.

I also use mineral oil as a way to keep bad air out of my raw red copper coins and keep them in a permanent mineral oil bath. All the oil does is act as a air vacuum. Lock out all of the air. Have been doing this since 1968/1969.

Freak1c · November 7, 2005 3:50AM

cladking,

It is normally reserved for circulated coppers but can work on other coins. The oil
removes encrustations and dirt using a mechanical method rather than chemical.
The oil gets under the contaminants and lessens their ability to adhere to the coin.

Thank you !
Freak

Lincoln cent soaked in Olive Oil. Now what?

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