7/2/18 Report - Cleaning the Roughest of Coins: Acid and Electrolysis Comparison. Easy to Build Electrolysis Tank.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeacesreport.blogspot.com.

1935 Buffalo Nickle

I noticed a couple of old coin finds that were heavily encrusted.  They were the size of nickles, but that is about all I could tell from the green crust, attached sand etc.  I decided to see what they were.  

I couldn't find my electrolysis equipment so I started cleaning the first coin (below) with acid.  Then I decided to throw together an electrolysis tank, which I used on the other coin. 

1935 Buffalo Nickle.

They say never clean coins, but when they are badly damaged and you know the surface will never be good, there is no harm in it.  That was the situation in this case.

The key to using either acid or electrolysis is to watch it carefully and not over do it.  You can easily remove too much material.  In this case I just wanted to see what the coins were.

I remember that the first coin I ever used electrolysis was on a Buffalo nickle and I did over do it.  I learned to watch the process carefully as it proceeds so you can stop before it goes too far.

I couldn't find the electrolysis equipment that I've used the last thirty or forty years, so I quickly grabbed what I had and made a new kit.  Here is what I used.

AC Adaptor From An Old Book Light.

I found the AC adaptor you see in the photo above, cut the cord and stripped the wires and attached alligator clips.  Got an old ice cream container, filled it with water and mixed in a spoon full of salt.  One clip was attached to a bolt and the other to the coin.  I taped the wires to the container so the items were in the water, but not the alligator clips.  Then just plug it in and check every once in a while to see how it is going.

You can see it better in person than in the photo, but the date "1935" appeared on the coin.  Also notice the clear high relief of "FIVE CENTS." The coin was evidently lost while in nice new condition, but the years in the ocean took its toll.  You can see there is still encrustation on the coin, which could easily be removed if desired.  And there is a big glob of rust under his tail.

It only took a couple hours, which I was very pleased with.   This adaptor is only 500 mAmp, which I thought might be slow, but it worked fine.

The coin that I cleaned with acid turned out to be a 1944 silver war nickle (below).

1944 Silver War Nickle.

I've given directions for cleaning coins with acid before, so I won't repeat all of that.  I use the smallest container and as little acid/water as will do the job - just enough to immerse the coin.  A plastic cap, such as a cap from a spray paint can will do.

Reverse of Acid Cleaned Silver War Nickle.

 Notice that there is still corrosion that could be removed.  Also note the P mint mark above Monticello.

It wouldn't take long to clean this one up a little better.

When I started, I didn't intend to do a comparison, and I should have taken photos of the coins before they were cleaned, but what I found out is that the the acid and electrolysis treatments were both similarly effective in about the same amount of time.

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a treasure diver?  Not many people have done that.  I'm not talking about an occasional recreational dive, but committing to an entire season of full time work on a treasure boat, putting everything else aside for the long shot chance of making the big discovery that most people only dream of.  I'm going to be able to tell you what that is like.

Most of us metal detect recreationally.  We metal detect when we feel like it.  We walk out on the beach and hope to find something, but we don't take the risk of committing a full season to the quest.  You never know if it will be a good season or a poor one.  It is a real gamble.

I'm going to be able to tell you how one fellow not only became a treasure diver, but also became a part of one of the biggest and most historic treasure finds of all time - the 2015 1715 Fleet 300-Year Anniversary find worth 4.5 million dollars.

I plan to do that in the near future in one form or another.

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Also, for another time, I have a summary of the courts ruling on what is thought to be the Trinite shipwreck near Cape Canaveral.

For now,
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net