Most people are reluctant to clean modern coins for fear of damaging them. You could soak that one in acetone to remove any organics or dirt from it. See what it looks like after that. Doing more than that may damage the surface. John
Verdicare treatment is also really good. Try to get it as clean as you can with acetone, then soak with Verdicare for a week. Clean with acetone again and see what you have.
Hi! Note - there are two different coins shown in this post. I have been very busy figuring out which protocol I like best for cleaning ancient coins. So far I have decided that for bronze coins that look like yours - rather gunky and shiny, I use this protocol, which I have just decided upon. Main ingredient: Patience Do not wet coin in any liquid of any sort Work coin dry Use electric/battery operated toothbrush Use soft brush on areas that are not very gunky Use medium brush on gunky areas to get those areas reduced in thickness Use soft brush angled to get into grooves and letters On very thick gunk I gently used the "crayon by Andre" 000 - not the pointed ones and always brushed in one direction holding coin so powdered gunk falls away from coin. Same with brushing. Here is a coin I am working on now. i will take a stab at attribution so I can know exactly what I am seeing. Especially on the reverse. Then I will put another hour of work or so into it, wash it off with distilled water and shoot it again. I'll post new photos after that, if anyone is interested to see it. Referring to the photograph showing the group of three coins: The top coin in that group is what both sides looked like before i started this particular protocol. I had tried a liquid, electrolysis, the various crayons, soaking in distilled water with other coins with horrid results. Do not know why this obverse of who I think may be (Faustina Senior? With braids?) shows up in the middle of the post; but, anyway, I wanted to show it because I found her under a bunch of heavy gunk yesterday when I first decided on this newest protocol. The only thing different I did with her was to lather her up with Neutrogena soap, give her a nice massage and rinse her well with hot distilled water. Then I dried her off in an old soft t-shirt and I will return to her at some point. Her reverse is the first photo above. I do not want to work on her more until I get more experience cleaning other coins. Sorry about raggedy typing, photos and general absence. I have computer issues.
