Light toning removal?

[Stacktastic]

Light toning removal?

I have received an Aztec coin with some toning on the front.
The front of the coin was not in the listing photos (taken as a group),
so i assume it was there before it was sent to me as it arrived like that. 

It's largely a personal item, but I would sell it if the silver price spikes.

I have three options I guess 

a: Leave it
b: try and remove it
c.tone it further and make a piece of art (a popular piece on Youtube to do this)

Would a @BackyardBullion rubber work on this? 

[Pete]

I reckon this is just a regular silver round so not numismatic or valuable.
If mistaken leave it alone.

e-Zest removes toning immediately.
This is an acid dip that you need to be careful using.
Light toning will be removed in literally 5 seconds but you need to read the instructions.
Unfortunately in the UK it is relatively expensive - cheap as chips in the USA.

NEVER use anything that rubs on a coin or you will change its finish and will look worse plus you may introduce fine scratches.
If it was mine and I wanted it shiny and restored to looking fresh, and didn't want to buy e-Zest, I would use cotton wool balls and metal polish but rub lightly.
 

[Wampum]

You can use a dip as Pete has said ,however this removes the very top layer of the coin, so you remove "the mint finish" ,try the foil method, but don't use salt as it can become a problem if not washed correctly.

Almost 100% this coin will turn out perfect with just a scalding hot dip----but wash off with acetone.

Below is a couple of picture's of damage "removed" ,However this is only eye level or eye clean. This was done with bicarb and foil.

[Wampum]

There is a chance, with looking at the coin closer, that you will remove the yellow colour however the mark itself will remain, albeit harder to see, the jagged edge looks to be Mint made.

Which might suggest Milking ,however the colour can be removed.     

[Bruce06]

I will choose to leave it, as the mint bloom or cartwheel effect will be lost once it's cleaned.  

 

[Stacktastic]

On 14/03/2021 at 11:57, Wampum said:

scalding hot dip----but wash off with acetone.

Basically boring water then? What about the output from a kettle? 

On 15/03/2021 at 05:40, Bruce06 said:

I will choose to leave it, as the mint bloom or cartwheel effect will be lost once it's cleaned.  

I tend to agree. Or I can colour it further for an old effect? 
But for an expensive coin Im not sure. 1oz maybe but not 5oz.
Its a lump of fine silver that could potentially pay towards a new car in the next few years LOL. 

On 14/03/2021 at 11:14, Pete said:

e-Zest removes toning immediately.
This is an acid dip that you need to be careful using.

OK any other solutions as I guess they are just common ingredients? 

like this? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ultrasonic-Coin-cleaning-solution-fluid-50ml-cleaner/174517119985?hash=item28a207ebf1:g:h4MAAOSwT-NesAyz 

[Arganto]

Bicarbonate of soda used with a foil lined recepticle and hot water does wonders for tarnish, not sure how successful you'll be with toning though and it likely won't touch milk spots. Some of those marks look suspiciously milky to me...

If it's just toning and it were mine I'd leave it in the hope that it would tone further and leave a nice looking piece.

 

[Wampum]

11 hours ago, Stacktastic said:

Basically boring water then? What about the output from a kettle? 

 

You could add a few sparkly bits, just to brighten it up!!

The water and Bicarb foil won't damage the surface so the Cartwheel will remain visible,

I prefer to keep coins as is unless like the one above the tarnish detracts.

[MrTT]

On 14/03/2021 at 10:55, Stacktastic said:

Light toning removal?

I have received an Aztec coin with some toning on the front.
The front of the coin was not in the listing photos (taken as a group),
so i assume it was there before it was sent to me as it arrived like that. 

It's largely a personal item, but I would sell it if the silver price spikes.

I have three options I guess 

a: Leave it
b: try and remove it
c.tone it further and make a piece of art (a popular piece on Youtube to do this)

Would a @BackyardBullion rubber work on this? 

Tone it further ! 🤠

[MetalMandible]

Yes to the above comment.  Stick that bad boy in a tupperware with a couple of hardboiled eggs split open and leave over night.  The colorful toning will look ridiculous and you probably won't even notice the milk spots anymore.

[DarkChameleon]

If your collecting over time then removing toning will become trying to hold back the ocean with a tea spoon...if its just for use then try the acetone, my lcs recommend 100% pure, any adaptive at all will screw it up, milk spots?, not a damn thing will get rid of them, then its a choice of egg tarnish or antiquing, there are loads of videos showing how to antique.

[DarkChameleon]

Another tip to tone is leave it on your dashboard for a few weeks, if its not nicked then it gets a nice tarnish but wait till you got some sunshine so it gets nice and baked, some do that to create toned junk silver over here.

[Alex944]

8 hours ago, MetalMandible said:

Stick that bad boy in a tupperware with a couple of hardboiled eggs split open and leave over night. 

 

7 hours ago, DarkChameleon said:

then its a choice of egg tarnish

I have never heard of this concept before. Any video that you recommend that I can watch on this? I have some junk silver (old currency coins without numismatic value, 72% generally) that I may want to experiment with because why not.

[Arganto]

Sulphur in the atmosphere is a a big cause of tarnish on silver. Eggs will emit sulphur and if sealed up with the metal will accelerate the reaction. I would have thought rotten eggs more effective 😉

It's a good idea to practice on 'junk' as you may end up with black tarnish rather than toning, but that will also depend on the metal content of the item you're playing with so may vary from piece to piece.

[Alex944]

Thanks for the advice. I'll give this a shot over the weekend and see if I can create some nice toning

[Wampum]

If you are trying the eggs make sure you build something for the coin to sit on, with just the edge rim  touching anything, and even then as little contact as possible, or you can get patches where the toning in not as good.

It is the white on the egg that holds most of the toning qualities.   

[Alex944]

39 minutes ago, Wampum said:

If you are trying the eggs make sure you build something for the coin to sit on, with just the edge rim  touching anything, or you can get patches where the toning in not as good.

Sound advice. You think if I use a tupperware box, putting a little block in the middle for the coin to sit on and then surround it with some eggs that then touch the rim would be sufficient?

Also, would it have any benefits/downsides to keep the lid open to let in oxygen, or storing it in a fridge to play with temperature? This is completely new to me so any insights on that would be appreciated.

[Wampum]

Personally I have had little success with eggs, one thing I can say is don't put the eggs in hot as this creates steam on the coins surface , and you end up with little circles on the coin, which looks awful, with it to work quickly the Egg has to be covering the coin ,which is messy and results can be really bad.

If you have four or five  little plastic headed, or glass headed pins that you can rest the coin on these, put the pins into blu tac to stand them up and rest the edge of the coin on the glass heads

so that it looks like a table.

put the cold egg underneath so the Sulphur vapours hit the coin, and not the egg, and just keep turning the coin to get an even distribution of gas on each side      

A cleaner way is to use Sulphur matches or if you can a small block of yellow Sulphur.

Truthfully rushing it will never get the same result as letting it sit on a window sill in the sunshine, slowly letting it age.    

[Alex944]

Appreciate you sharing your knowledge on this topic. I have a couple of coins which I don't mind experimenting with so perhaps I'll try a few different approaches, see what works best.

Thanks again, much appreciated!

[Bimetallic]

Jesus people. Aluminum foil and baking soda is the answer. It works incredibly well and doesn't damage the coin/bar. It's nature's gift to stackers, well "nature" broadly defined.

(I believe Brits/knee-benders call baking soda "bicarb".)

@Petewhat the heck man? E-Zest? On bullion? Never, never, never use dips and polishes on bullion. Aluminum and baking soda reliably removes tarnish. Anything it can't remove you have to live with or consult a professional about. E-Zest is for spoons and platters and things you don't care about.

For the aluminum part, you can use disposable aluminum foil pans. I like the single serving meatloaf pans, or the little pie tart ones that are maybe 4-5 inches across. They're super cheap, and most supermarkets carry them here, as does Amazon of course. If you use simple foil, from a roll, I recommend the "heavy duty" kind. It's easy to punch a hole in regular grade foil from slight movements like placing the coin in the water with tongs, or removing it. The heavy duty kind is still very cheap, maybe a dollar more here.

You can boost the reaction by adding a bit of salt. If you go that route, I recommend pure unadulterated salt, with no anti-caking agents, iodine, and whatnot. Pure salt can be surprisingly hard to find – it's normally branded as Canning and Pickling Salt. That's usually the only kind that has no anti-caking agents.

That should clean the tarnish. Longer term you can experiment with other cleaning solutions like vinegar, citric acid, etc. Even soap and water. It's probably a good idea to wash all coins in hot water and soap, and it does no harm. It gets the oils off. But never use dips or polishes. That stuff is not for bullion – it's for spoons.

[Stacktastic]

8 hours ago, Bimetallic said:

Pure salt can be surprisingly hard to find

What about dead sea sea salt? Table grade. I have only have 25kg 😛



Thanks everyone for your replies appreciate it.
I will try the foil thing and see if I can remove the marks. 

If not then might try antiquing it. Maybe with eggs, but I seriously like this one - looks like my old coins. 
I am considering a collection of coins like this including pirate type coins. 
 

 

[Stacktastic]

Gonna test this on a cheaper round at the weekend. 
Designing something to put the coin on is a good idea, although this method looks OK?
 

 

[DarkChameleon]

Right now I have my 1921 peace dollar getting restored at ngc, its an ms65+ so I would never try anything by myself incase I sent it off and it came back cleaned and wipe $2000 of its value...even though people in the bizz say its just dipped in acetone but when it comes to money ill pay the $200 for someone smarter then me to do it.

[Murph]

On 17/03/2021 at 10:34, Wampum said:

If you are trying the eggs make sure you build something for the coin to sit on, with just the edge rim  touching anything, and even then as little contact as possible, or you can get patches where the toning in not as good.

It is the white on the egg that holds most of the toning qualities.   

Really?  I thought there was vaguely similar amounts in both yolk and white but the sulphur reacted with the yolk to release hydrogen sulphide which gives the smell, green grey colour and would react with the coins.  
I guess slicing or mashing the egg would be the best way to make sure as much is released as possible then.

[Wampum]

Yes, I might have worded in better, the white contains about 2/3rds  of the Sulphur held in an egg, so you might as well mush the whole thing first.

The reaction taking place to give the  Grey Green fartz  is when the hydrogen Sulphide in the egg white reacts with the iron compound in the yolk to give you ,iron sulphide.

Which now having thought about it would mean that if you slow cooled the egg, this would then give the egg time for the hydrogen Sulphide gas to migrate to the edge of the yolk  to create an Iron Sulphide coating.

Not sure if this would be a better toning idea or not, however it might give you more control over the level of Sulphur you are using , as you could then just use the intact yolk with the sulphur coating.

Placing it exactly where you want the toning to take place, without actually touching or damaging the coin.