Five Years of Olive Oil
- From: "Fletch" <fletcher@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 03:12:48 GMT
I thought I would share with you the results of long-term immersion of some
uncleaned bronze ancient coins in olive oil. While I did not design this to
be a scientific study, I found the results to be interesting and hopeful
(mainly because I am lazy and don't want to work too hard on a single coin).
All of the coins started out as little unidentifyable orbs of dirt and
organic muck that did not yield any detail under a soaking in soapy water
and some toothbrush scrubbing.
I placed one group of cheap roman coins in about 2 oz. of olive oil, in a
airtight container, and put them in the garage for five years. There they
(and the olive oil) were subjected to temperatures extremes from 100 degrees
Farenheight in the summer to minus ten or so during the winter.
[ An aside: I also I placed another two groups in my basement in liquid
dish detergent. Not much good came of these latter two groups, other than
some interesting biology.]
When I opened the container from the garage, I was surprised to find a
gritty slurry in it. After I removed the coins and rubbed my thumb over
them under some running water, it became apparent that the patina was gone
and the coins were showing their original brass. An example of what came
out is shown in the top coin here:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f19/ksherwoodf/obv-cleaned.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f19/ksherwoodf/rev-cleaned.jpg
Mind you, the olive oil did all the work here, aside from the wipe from my
thumb under water. It seems that the grit in the olive oil slurry could
only have been the patina, which broke off in pieces. I believe the
freeze/thaw cycle could well have had an effect here, especially given the
results of my second success. The two coins that had one side against the
bottom of the container (where they were not exposed to much olive oil)
looked almost completely uncleaned on that side.
My second group consisted of five uncleaned greek ancients, which I siaked
in olive oil in the basement for five years (temperature there is almost
constant at about 62 degrees Farenheight). The best of these are shown in
the above links. Again, the olive oil did all the work, other than a swipe
with my thumb. Interestingly there was no slurry, just the usual
copper/cupric oxide bluegreen color in the olive oil. I am much more
pleased with these results, as I prefer a nice patina.
I think five years was a bit long for the good of the coins. I like the
patina on old bronzes; some shorther period of time, perhaps three years,
might be optimal in my conditions and with the same set of coins.
I have placed more coins in my basement and will keep an eye on them for the
next few years. I will report back then.
Best regards to you all.
--Keith Fletcher
p.s. No, I never changed the olive oil. I only used a couple of ounces in
every case.
.
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