Hot take: My 'gentle' cleaning of a Roman coin went a bit too well

Tried a new mild acid solution on a denarius from a dig near York, and now the patina is completely gone. Anyone else ever accidentally over-restore a find?

4 comments

4 Comments

robertlane2mo ago

Oof, been there! I switched to just using distilled water and a soft brush after I did that once.

spencer_owens582mo ago

What did you use before that messed it up?

jakejones2mo ago

My first silver unit got the same treatment with citric acid. That shiny surface looks cool but kills the history. I keep mine in olive oil now, no more chemistry experiments.

ray3561mo ago

A couple years back I did the same thing to a Republican denarius with lemon juice, left it too long and ended up with a mirror finish. @robertlane is right that distilled water is the way to go, that's what I use now too. I mean, the shiny coin looks pretty on the shelf but you can't un-peel that layer of history.