Recoloring methods

[willbrooks]

Question for Ed or anyone else in the know. I'm just curious about something. I recently bought a cheap 11D for 4 bucks hoping it might be an RPM. Wasn't, but it would work as a hole filler for my son's folder. Anyway, it had a nice brown color, but a little gunky, so I put it in verdicare for an hour. The damn thing turned 20 shades lighter, showing that it had been harshly cleaned and then recolored somehow. Just curious what methods are used to recolor. This one appears to have been applied topically.

[Petespockets55]

I've wondered the same thing myself.
Do you think it might have been as simple as a wood stain? Or tinted linseed oil or similar? (Since it came off so easily.)

[WaterSport]

Thats a BIG secret for the ages. The old coin dealers have their lips sealed as to what they used to re color coins. I have not witness myself what you have with a ahevey coating, but the lighter stuff seems to do the same thing. Its definitely an ah sh00t moment when it happens. I had heard on UNC coins they used mercurochrome.

WS

[kloccwork419]

Im guessing they used liver of sulfur. The gunk might have been from not cleaning the excess off. If you looking to just brown it again for the folder, get some. People are using it to artificially tone their eBay coins too. Depends on how long you leave it in the solution

[willbrooks]

Im guessing they used liver of sulfur. The gunk might have been from not cleaning the excess off. If you looking to just brown it again for the folder, get some. People are using it to artificially tone their eBay coins too. Depends on how long you leave it in the solution

WTF?? lol. I was not aware that chemical elements had livers. Must be like almond milk: never saw an almond with boobies.

[kloccwork419]

WTF?? lol. I was not aware that chemical elements had livers. Must be like almond milk: never saw an almond with boobies.

Must be spoiled milk because it smells like

[GrumpyEd]

Could be liver of sulphur. if you ever did copper tooling it's the smelly stuff you put on after tooling to tone it. They also sell similar stuff for copper coins like Dellers coin darkener. Do an ebay search for coin darkener and there are several similar ones always listed.
Some artificial toning comes off or gets lighter with acetone, brown marker pen, holding over a candle, earwax, all stuff people use to hide polishing.

This is why I tell people if they have an ugly polished coin you can never truly fix it but baking it in a cookie of slimy mud is really good to get a brown color that won't come off. It's still not fixed because it still has a shine that you can't fix. Still, if you are making a low grade folder and want holes filled and don't want to see a bright pink erased coin, it does the job and stays forever. Leaving out in the sun also helps but takes a summer in the sun and only does one side at a time.

[mustbebob]

I have some 'Deller's Coin Darkener' . Do a Google search on it. There are tons of pros and cons on it. I personally have never got it to work as advertised.