John, I've seen video of museum curators working on encrusted coins, your method is identical to most save they sometimes use chemicals rather than olive oil. Patience, boxes of toothpicks or skewers, olive oil. If you're tight with the museum, you might pick up some work on coin restoration there. Your results are good and no damage to the coins or stripping of all patina I've seen in other videos. I totally agree with you, that a coin's patina should be preserved as much as possible as it adds character and that intangible sense of age.
Many thanks and glad you appreciate the job! Slowly slowly is the secret. It’s not a race and I’ve seen me cleaning and soaking coins for over a year to get them cleaned up. The weird green spots do come off with time. I think it might be fertiliser related from potatoes, but I’m not certain.
This is one I’m always torn about. I started as a coin collector and took some archeology courses in college. I have zero issue cleaning items of low monetary or low historical value. Coin cleaning is typically frowned upon in the hobby. High value coins or any item of potential historical value should be assessed by a professional. Obviously loose dirt or destabilizing chemicals should be removed, but please never polish away patina, or on potentially historic items, corrosion that may still hold useful information. Obviously you have years of experience working with the Museum, I trust your judgment. Most of your finds seem to come from farm fields that have seen years of turnover.. so context and in situ information is long gone. For detectorists that find themselves on undisturbed sites I worry about the potential damage that could be caused, if they are not sensitive to their finds historical value.
Couldn’t agree more and I knew this video would potentially have mixed reviews. As I say in the video and in the description I don’t recommend anyone to clean coins or artefacts and to contact the museum. I rarely clean anything but I’ve got a good system for the Roman silvers and I’m happy with the result. With time the green (possibly fertiliser) starts to flake anyway so I’m just speeding up the process I guess. All my land as you say is ploughed soil and all the finds come from the plough soil. Anything found in an archaeological context would never be lifted by me and on two occasions the museum have excavated deep finds I’ve come across which I left in situ Education is the key I think. My first ever Roman silver 20+ years ago I cleaned with Silvero doh!😫 lesson learned!! So I thought this was a good educational video for beginners and experienced alike. Best wishes
@@thescottishdetectorist Original commenter spoken like a true archeologist.. I agree with you both ..but only in the UK which has a fair system in operation .. between detectorists and finds liason officers, museum ect ,all seem to be able to work together and retrive items for posterity instead off letting them be destroyed by farm implements or decay in soil. In Eire the national museum has hundreds of boxes of artefacts which will never see the light of day nor are catologued, all these artefacts have been handed in by very foolish people or confiscated from finders . Do you get ur name on a plaque in the museum ..Nope, do you get a finders fee ..Nope , Do you get in a load of shit , quite possibly, even tho contrary to popular belief it is NOT illegal to carry out this hobby in Eire, Yes there are restrictions in that you cannot legally dig for archeological objects nor can you dig in the vicinity of a national schedule monument(bit sketchy allround wat is the vicinity ..50ft ...100ft ..10 miles who knows.. but you can own and use a metal detector in Eire. To the first commenter the museum doesnt care about finding out the history of undisturbed soil in this country and the state certainly doesnt . There are many many shoeboxes full of ancient coin and artefacts stashed in homes all around this country ...Great shame that it has to be this way . The state cannot see further than their nose and never will be able to .This country has a long history of trouble and war so there are many beautiful coin/ artefacts strewn throughout the land. Every man/woman has the right to search for their own history in my eyes. 99% of ancient finds in museums in the UK have been found by metal detectorists working their butt off, archeologists find next to diddly squat ...and all they do is crib about soil disturbance ...but like i say i do agree but only in a fair system and in a country where they actually care about their ancient history and culture. Wanna pickup some B A axeheads or hammered coinage .. no probs hit a few carbootsales over here.. and speak to the right blokes ..their is no shortage ... And that shouldnt be. Goodevening.
Thank you for sharing. Seeing those coins transform with a bit of work and patience is amazing. Have no fear I won’t be cleaning any Roman or silver hammered anytime soon, if I did I’d be rewriting Australian history 😂. My niece is doing job placement in the highlands, she had 7 layers on the other day just to keep warm!!!
Again, congratulations on your silver Roman coins finds!! As a coin collector I’m glad you didn’t made extra damage to them, oxidation on a coin is its worst killer; so I see no harm no foul on your restoration method. Keep coming those treasure finds!!
It is also safe to clean these in an ultrasonic cleaner with distilled water. As a dentist I used to clean silver and gold items in my ultrasonic with no scratching. You are right not to use any chemicals. Love your videos. You should line the coins up in chronological order and take a good pic before handing them in and then hang it on your wall! ❤
What an amazing video! I loved learning the cleaning process and seeing the before and afters! Also, what a dream to have Roman coins in a collection! To think of all the hands they have been in and the journey those coins went on…just wow!
Miss Detectorist here! Good to see your way of doing this - never found a silver den but will save this idea in the old memory bank for the future finds i MIGHT make 🤣
I’ve heard that olive oil is acidic and hence if you do use it for cleaning (as I’ve also done before) you should ensure the coin / artifact is then cleaned off with some alcohol to remove the acidic residue. Hope that helps! Keep up the good work 😊
It’s amazing how many Roman coins that you have found. I never knew that olive oil worked so good on the silver coins. They all turned out great. Love the view from your back yard. Enjoyed this video very much. Thank you ❤️
This is very beautiful. Very interesting to see the cleaning process... well done sir... no rush... but those first three minutes before the cleaning... wow. I have found a single crusty roman minim in two decades of happy detecting here in the Central Belt. That handful of yours is the stuff of dreams and it has been a real pleasure to witness some of these coming up over the last few years of watching your videos. To see your full Roman Silver denarii collection there.. is well amazing...we are seeing something incredibly special found here in Scotland. The condition is astonishing and the dates are singing off the pages of Keppie, Robertson, Maxwell, Breeze and Jones (and the rest). Fantastic stuff. Thank you!
Those are some beautiful coins! Congratulations again. Your method is very similar to several professional restorers that I've seen. The only thing I would mention is that olive oil does tend to be slightly acidic so you might be better off using mineral oil (what you guys call liquid paraffin if I'm not mistaken) which is completely inert. That way you don't risk corrosion over time with the coins due to the acidity of the oil.
The coins are gorgeous, it’s amazing something so old remains in such good condition. Well done. Thanks for sharing the cleaning process and close-up views.
Thanks John, I have seen videos on cleaning old things, but it wasn't explained what was used...how exciting the process and seeing it slowly come back to "new".... Cheers, Cathy
They make soft plastic razorblades for removing labels. Might be fairly ideal for pushing on crusts. Also watchmakers/repaires use punk sticks which are soft to clean inside watches and clocks. Also scratch brushes, which I use to clean electrical contacts for corrosion, come in three flavors - steel, brass and glass fibre pencils. The wire/glass goes up the pencil tube and is extendable as they wear. The one you might like to try is glass fibres in pits, etc. Pretty mild, not recommending the first two unless you use them for what I do. I am highly skilled in many crafts and trades. Coin collector for 63 years.
It turns copper red, but a chemistry professor who was a coin collector, English hammered coins, taught me that with very heavily encrusted coins with actual corrosive buildup like Chinese cash that were buried or from shipwrecks can benheated until they are red and dropped in alcohol to clean. It does make them readable but the patina goes and they are bright red.
John, have you ever given it a thought cleaning with a Ultrasonic cleaner? They are very affordable today and do not damage coins, I think it would be excellent for your coins and also cut the time with almost a week. Edit: No chemicals in this procedure.
@@thescottishdetectorist That sounds great John! I think it will benefit you a lot, it's a really good toy and not necessary so expensive as it was some 10-15 yrs ago. You can use it for any metal and I recommend using distilled or de-ionized water for car batteries, cheap and chemicals. As for Ultrasonic cleaner you should stay away from the cheapest even if I think they'll be fine, around £150 should get you a descent one for the purpose. Thanks again for quality videos John!
@@thescottishdetectorist No thank you for providing so many good videos for us, I love commenting about things you find that I might have a clue about and also helping with things like this. Just keep being you because we love it!
Amazing couple of coins there John 👍🏻 cracking how they come up. Great to see you on Skye the other other day, hope the tour to the Outer Hebrides weren't well. See you on the road again soon. All the best Ryan.
I often clean coins if the are Butt ugly. I've even dipped them & re- "Patina'd" them. 12 months sitting on a radiator pipe is very good for the patina of silver & copper. I never clean high value though.
Sounds good Tony. As I say I rarely clean anything but I’ve perfected this way with the Roman silvers and I think it works well. Best wishes and happy hunting
They make here a longer handled cotton bud as you call it at any medical supply shop or stores they have here near hospital districts . it can give you more power being a longer wood handle
I meant to comment before about the green on the Roman silver. Farmers over the years have used various chemicals inclusing magnesium. I wonder if this might have had the effect on the silver. If you know anyone in the pharmacy or shemistry industries or frm uni. they may be able to identify what could have the green oxidisation effect.
Hi Margaret. Simon is a pharmacist 👨🏻⚕️ so I’ll ask him! I think it’s possibly fertiliser? But can’t be sure. Whatever it is it isn’t eaten into the coin which seems weird
@@thescottishdetectorist Yes Magnesium is an ingredient in Fertiliser especially for root crops it may also be included as a trace element in animal feed and licks as it is good for health in a number of ways.
We talk about the Romans and you are holding things as you find them and the last person to hold the item was Roman. Absolutely fascinating. Thank you from White Rock, British Columbia, Canada.
Amazing how the hard chunky bits did pop off after being softened with olive oil. Bravo with your effort and common tools to remove the crud removal being how many years in the fields? Well done lots of patience and effort
Many thanks. I think it might be fertiliser the green stuff. But not 100% it’s sitting on the surface rather than eating into the coin, so I don’t think it’s been on contact that long. With time it tends to dry and start to flake, I’m just cleaning up the process I suppose
@@thescottishdetectorist Well now it makes sense that you pull a coin out of the ground that has crud on it an you say it's a thing of beauty! It is for sure anyway but nice to know you can get it off.
Can’t help but think that suspending the coins in the oil rather than lying them flat might help. Maybe a foam rubber so that you could very gently suspend the coins? The rubbish would then fall off rather than sit upon…. Great work though - loving the channel, keep up the fab work!
I’m wondering if molasses would also work as I believe it’s used to bring back rusty chain and tools .. I watch your find of the previous coins .. such fun .. love your videos!
Thanks for sharing your process, John! Can you get ahold of any Acacia thorns? They’re sharper and harder than lolly sticks or skewers but still not hard enough to scratch metal. I’ve seen videos of them being used in archaeological conservation projects. I found some on eBay here in the US.
Is there a reason that you don’t use an ultrasonic cleaner like jewelers use? They are safe for metals and jewels and do a marvelous job. I know it’s not as much fin as an archeological type cleaning method. Helen Geak (Anglo Saxon archaeologist from Time Team) showed how she uses Hawthorn thorns to clean metal finds whilst looking thru a substantial magnifying device. Hawthorn thorns are quite tough yet springy and have a much sharper point than toothpicks. Give them a try!!
I'm very experienced at being lazy. I'd probably just use an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner. But your method gives you time to appreciate the coin and study it intricately. Cheers from New Orleans
youtube always deletes my comments...I wanted to share that you can get pointed swab sticks. They are like tooth picks but with a tiny bit of cotton on the end. They work great for this kind of work.
Hi there. It’s on the to do list! Just never seem to find the time. But also I give a lot of my finds away to the landowners so I’ve only a fraction of what I’ve ever found
thx John for your Video. i was always cleaning my romans with ....sorry....Ultraschall, Glasfaserstift....they all look fine also. on the 15th of june , i will be in Scotland....coming by ship....Invergordon.........on the 18th i`m in Greenock......it would be a pleasure to meet you there^^.........you are really great
John, Just had a quick look at your coin cleaning video, How come these coins have not been treasure troved especially in Scotland ? My experience is quite simple to date 8 out every 10 items I have handed in we’re Treasure Troved as for all the silver I never seen a single one returned?
Hi Raymond. You’re right! Roman and silver is pretty much always claimed by treasure trove. The video of the handful of coins is actually old footage and I’ve added a voice over for the video to go with my coin cleaning video….. but 🤫 don’t tell anyone and ruin the illusion!! 😝 All of my finds are currently with Treasure Trove and hopefully in two to three years I’ll have an update! Happy hunting and best wishes John
Fine job ! It is interesting that the olive oil does well even with the green corrosion. I often try methods to clean my coins as I prefer them to show the features that are possible. Do you have any methods you use on the King Charles I , II, & III coppers that help reveal any details?
Many thanks Kevin. I wonder if the green is actually fertiliser and it’s not been on the coins long, ie less than 100yrs, but I’m not sure. It doesn’t eat into the coins, so strange. The copper coins I just brush and leave. Water and oil is a no no
@@thescottishdetectorist yes that is also my method for colonial coppers, I am just looking for something to improve it lol. I have heard Renaissance wax can give good results, but I am looking for clarification from someone with much experience like yourself.
Great video John and I admire the patience you have. However, would it be worth your while investing in a decent quality ultrasonic bath to help remove the concretions on your coin finds ?
Wow, that looked very labor intensive, but well worth it. Who taught you this technique? I will definitely keep this in mind if I ever find anything worth cleaning. 😂 pull tabs are just not worth the effort. Thanks John
Hahaha 🤣 thanks Tanja. You made me laugh 🤭 I just learned it myself over time and with research. My first ever silver Roman I cleaned with Silvero! 😮 lesson learned!!!! Soaked lead seals in coke once too….. bad idea 😢
Thanks for that excellent video John. I think after showing to PAS I would want to clean up, and your way of doing it is perfect! Was it just olive oil you soak in or distilled water too as you mentioned at 5he end? I’d give anything for just one finding one Roman co8n and you’ve got a handful 🤩. Your Mitsy cat is so funny demanding attention 😂😂
Thanks Pauline. Glad you enjoyed. I think this method of slow and gentle gives a great result and maintains the patina. I soak in olive oil for at least four weeks then rotate between distilled water and olive oil for a week or so each time and in between each ‘bath’ clean and pick then soak, repeat, clean and soak…. It’s slow but maintains that patina
John so are you allowed to keep these coins ? Do you have to give them to museum first and then they say you can keep them? They look amazing - so think how old they are and who lost them so many years ago! ❤
this was so interesting (and satisfying) to watch! what a great job the olive oil does! out of interest, is the olive oil technique specifically just for silver, or does it work on other coins made from different metals?
Are you not allowed to keep coins you find? Even Roman ones? I thought you could keep what you found if you wanted. But I love that they’ll hopefully be put on display in a museum for all of us to enjoy❤
Yes everything has to be reported. Some items are claimed and we as finders are paid, others are returned. You just never know. But if claimed great to see them in a museum
Wow what a bargain!! And the cat became famous 🤣 A question ! Do you use any type of wax when it comes to copper/bronze? I have just tried Renaissance wax.
Great little video John. Maybe you have answered this before, but do you get to keep the coins and other items that you show to the museum or treasure trove unit. Here in America, we get to keep our finds, but I wonder about Scotland, if you don't get to keep them, do you receive a portion of the value? Cheers from Texas.
Hi David. You report everything here in Scotland and then they record and either return or they decide to keep items and pay market value which is then split with the farmer. I’d prefer to keep everything for my wee museum!!
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John, I've seen video of museum curators working on encrusted coins, your method is identical to most save they sometimes use chemicals rather than olive oil. Patience, boxes of toothpicks or skewers, olive oil. If you're tight with the museum, you might pick up some work on coin restoration there. Your results are good and no damage to the coins or stripping of all patina I've seen in other videos. I totally agree with you, that a coin's patina should be preserved as much as possible as it adds character and that intangible sense of age.
Many thanks and glad you appreciate the job! Slowly slowly is the secret. It’s not a race and I’ve seen me cleaning and soaking coins for over a year to get them cleaned up. The weird green spots do come off with time. I think it might be fertiliser related from potatoes, but I’m not certain.
The Scottish DetectorCat! 😂😂
Hahaha 🤪 I see what you did there 🐱 🤣
What an amazing transformation John! The coins are so beautiful. Thanks for a behind-the-scene vlog, I loved it (and Mitzy too!). ❤ 🇨🇦
Glad you enjoyed it Marilyn. Many thanks and best wishes 🐱
This is one I’m always torn about. I started as a coin collector and took some archeology courses in college. I have zero issue cleaning items of low monetary or low historical value. Coin cleaning is typically frowned upon in the hobby. High value coins or any item of potential historical value should be assessed by a professional. Obviously loose dirt or destabilizing chemicals should be removed, but please never polish away patina, or on potentially historic items, corrosion that may still hold useful information.
Obviously you have years of experience working with the Museum, I trust your judgment. Most of your finds seem to come from farm fields that have seen years of turnover.. so context and in situ information is long gone. For detectorists that find themselves on undisturbed sites I worry about the potential damage that could be caused, if they are not sensitive to their finds historical value.
Couldn’t agree more and I knew this video would potentially have mixed reviews. As I say in the video and in the description I don’t recommend anyone to clean coins or artefacts and to contact the museum.
I rarely clean anything but I’ve got a good system for the Roman silvers and I’m happy with the result. With time the green (possibly fertiliser) starts to flake anyway so I’m just speeding up the process I guess.
All my land as you say is ploughed soil and all the finds come from the plough soil. Anything found in an archaeological context would never be lifted by me and on two occasions the museum have excavated deep finds I’ve come across which I left in situ
Education is the key I think. My first ever Roman silver 20+ years ago I cleaned with Silvero doh!😫 lesson learned!! So I thought this was a good educational video for beginners and experienced alike.
Best wishes
@@thescottishdetectorist
Original commenter spoken like a true archeologist..
I agree with you both ..but only in the UK which has a fair system in operation .. between detectorists and finds liason officers, museum ect ,all seem to be able to work together and retrive items for posterity instead off letting them be destroyed by farm implements or decay in soil. In Eire the national museum has hundreds of boxes of artefacts which will never see the light of day nor are catologued, all these artefacts have been handed in by very foolish people or confiscated from finders .
Do you get ur name on a plaque in the museum ..Nope, do you get a finders fee ..Nope , Do you get in a load of shit , quite possibly, even tho contrary to popular belief it is NOT illegal to carry out this hobby in Eire, Yes there are restrictions in that you cannot legally dig for archeological objects nor can you dig in the vicinity of a national schedule monument(bit sketchy allround wat is the vicinity ..50ft ...100ft ..10 miles who knows.. but you can own and use a metal detector in Eire.
To the first commenter the museum doesnt care about finding out the history of undisturbed soil in this country and the state certainly doesnt .
There are many many shoeboxes full of ancient coin and artefacts stashed in homes all around this country ...Great shame that it has to be this way . The state cannot see further than their nose and never will be able to .This country has a long history of trouble and war so there are many beautiful coin/ artefacts strewn throughout the land.
Every man/woman has the right to search for their own history in my eyes.
99% of ancient finds in museums in the UK have been found by metal detectorists working their butt off, archeologists find next to diddly squat ...and all they do is crib about soil disturbance ...but like i say i do agree but only in a fair system and in a country where they actually care about their ancient history and culture.
Wanna pickup some B A axeheads or hammered coinage .. no probs hit a few carbootsales over here.. and speak to the right blokes ..their is no shortage ... And that shouldnt be.
Goodevening.
Thank you for sharing. Seeing those coins transform with a bit of work and patience is amazing. Have no fear I won’t be cleaning any Roman or silver hammered anytime soon, if I did I’d be rewriting Australian history 😂.
My niece is doing job placement in the highlands, she had 7 layers on the other day just to keep warm!!!
Again, congratulations on your silver Roman coins finds!! As a coin collector I’m glad you didn’t made extra damage to them, oxidation on a coin is its worst killer; so I see no harm no foul on your restoration method. Keep coming those treasure finds!!
Great to get some behind the scenes footage! Awesome work!
Thanks a lot!
Love your Roman coin finds John. Thanks for sharing👍
Many thanks Bryan. Kind of time consuming but therapeutic too!
It is also safe to clean these in an ultrasonic cleaner with distilled water. As a dentist I used to clean silver and gold items in my ultrasonic with no scratching. You are right not to use any chemicals. Love your videos. You should line the coins up in chronological order and take a good pic before handing them in and then hang it on your wall! ❤
What an amazing video! I loved learning the cleaning process and seeing the before and afters! Also, what a dream to have Roman coins in a collection! To think of all the hands they have been in and the journey those coins went on…just wow!
Many thanks. A slow process but a great result I think and some great history…. And therapeutic
Photo 'cat bum' bombed 😅 you go Mitzy.
As for the coins... an incredible transformation, and a stunning handful of Roman history.
Cheers John 🙌
Wow 🤩 and I thought those two coins couldn’t get any better!
Thanks Jennifer. I’m glad they turned out so well and it’s kind of therapeutic to clean them all be it a slow process
I’m Very impressed with this John a smashing tutorial, thank you
Many thanks Mr Ghost 👻
Slow and slow is my mantra. God help me if i find more than ten denarii a year…. Takes me 8 weeks to clean two 🤪
Thumbs up for cat.
👍👍👍👍
Hahaha 🤣 🐱 she’s a terror. Stroke me or I bite you 🤣
@@thescottishdetectorist😂😂😂
Miss Detectorist here! Good to see your way of doing this - never found a silver den but will save this idea in the old memory bank for the future finds i MIGHT make 🤣
That is just fantastic John, thanks very much for that, and all your videos.
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching and taking the time to comment
I’ve heard that olive oil is acidic and hence if you do use it for cleaning (as I’ve also done before) you should ensure the coin / artifact is then cleaned off with some alcohol to remove the acidic residue. Hope that helps! Keep up the good work 😊
It’s amazing how many Roman coins that you have found. I never knew that olive oil worked so good on the silver coins. They all turned out great. Love the view from your back yard. Enjoyed this video very much. Thank you ❤️
Let's go let's go treasure and adventure ✌👵
Hope you enjoyed
This is very beautiful. Very interesting to see the cleaning process... well done sir... no rush... but those first three minutes before the cleaning... wow. I have found a single crusty roman minim in two decades of happy detecting here in the Central Belt. That handful of yours is the stuff of dreams and it has been a real pleasure to witness some of these coming up over the last few years of watching your videos. To see your full Roman Silver denarii collection there.. is well amazing...we are seeing something incredibly special found here in Scotland. The condition is astonishing and the dates are singing off the pages of Keppie, Robertson, Maxwell, Breeze and Jones (and the rest). Fantastic stuff. Thank you!
Those are some beautiful coins! Congratulations again. Your method is very similar to several professional restorers that I've seen. The only thing I would mention is that olive oil does tend to be slightly acidic so you might be better off using mineral oil (what you guys call liquid paraffin if I'm not mistaken) which is completely inert. That way you don't risk corrosion over time with the coins due to the acidity of the oil.
Aww poor Mitsy, just wants to get your attention hehe. Amazing transformation, who knew olive oil would clean them!
The coins are gorgeous, it’s amazing something so old remains in such good condition. Well done. Thanks for sharing the cleaning process and close-up views.
Much appreciate and I’m glad you enjoyed
Thanks John, I have seen videos on cleaning old things, but it wasn't explained what was used...how exciting the process and seeing it slowly come back to "new".... Cheers, Cathy
Love that cat and her nice purring. Great work on those coins . They are so beautiful 😊😊 Hi Mitsy ❤❤
Awesome job John! I love how you keep it simple and interesting all at once! All the best!
They make soft plastic razorblades for removing labels. Might be fairly ideal for pushing on crusts. Also watchmakers/repaires use punk sticks which are soft to clean inside watches and clocks. Also scratch brushes, which I use to clean electrical contacts for corrosion, come in three flavors - steel, brass and glass fibre pencils. The wire/glass goes up the pencil tube and is extendable as they wear. The one you might like to try is glass fibres in pits, etc. Pretty mild, not recommending the first two unless you use them for what I do. I am highly skilled in many crafts and trades. Coin collector for 63 years.
It turns copper red, but a chemistry professor who was a coin collector, English hammered coins, taught me that with very heavily encrusted coins with actual corrosive buildup like Chinese cash that were buried or from shipwrecks can benheated until they are red and dropped in alcohol to clean. It does make them readable but the patina goes and they are bright red.
John, have you ever given it a thought cleaning with a Ultrasonic cleaner? They are very affordable today and do not damage coins, I think it would be excellent for your coins and also cut the time with almost a week.
Edit: No chemicals in this procedure.
Hi Andy. That’s on my to do list actually. Just doing research on the options. Best wishes
@@thescottishdetectorist
That sounds great John!
I think it will benefit you a lot, it's a really good toy and not necessary so expensive as it was some 10-15 yrs ago.
You can use it for any metal and I recommend using distilled or de-ionized water for car batteries, cheap and chemicals.
As for Ultrasonic cleaner you should stay away from the cheapest even if I think they'll be fine, around £150 should get you a descent one for the purpose.
Thanks again for quality videos John!
@@AndyWoohoo666 much appreciated Andy. Many thanks
@@thescottishdetectorist
No thank you for providing so many good videos for us, I love commenting about things you find that I might have a clue about and also helping with things like this.
Just keep being you because we love it!
😊 Thanks for the lesson! Well done. Love the cat❤
Thank you! She’s a handful I tell you. Pat me or I bite you 🤣
@@thescottishdetectorist Your fur baby is feeling neglected. Pay her some attention before she decides to eat you alive.
Amazing couple of coins there John 👍🏻 cracking how they come up. Great to see you on Skye the other other day, hope the tour to the Outer Hebrides weren't well. See you on the road again soon. All the best Ryan.
Your tours on your other channel are very helpful
This was great to see, thanks John and Mitsy!
I often clean coins if the are Butt ugly. I've even dipped them & re- "Patina'd" them. 12 months sitting on a radiator pipe is very good for the patina of silver & copper.
I never clean high value though.
Sounds good Tony. As I say I rarely clean anything but I’ve perfected this way with the Roman silvers and I think it works well. Best wishes and happy hunting
They make here a longer handled cotton bud as you call it at any medical supply shop or stores they have here near hospital districts . it can give you more power being a longer wood handle
I meant to comment before about the green on the Roman silver. Farmers over the years have used various chemicals inclusing magnesium. I wonder if this might have had the effect on the silver. If you know anyone in the pharmacy or shemistry industries or frm uni. they may be able to identify what could have the green oxidisation effect.
Hi Margaret. Simon is a pharmacist 👨🏻⚕️ so I’ll ask him!
I think it’s possibly fertiliser? But can’t be sure. Whatever it is it isn’t eaten into the coin which seems weird
@@thescottishdetectorist Yes Magnesium is an ingredient in Fertiliser especially for root crops it may also be included as a trace element in animal feed and licks as it is good for health in a number of ways.
They turned out so well 👍👍👍
Many thanks. Took me a long time but kind of therapeutic! I’m happy with the outcome. Thanks for watching
No problem 👍
We talk about the Romans and you are holding things as you find them and the last person to hold the item was Roman. Absolutely fascinating. Thank you from White Rock, British Columbia, Canada.
Many thanks teddy 🧸 glad you enjoyed and yes amazing to find!!
Wow ! Nice ! Congrats on your fabulous fines ! 🎉🪙
Thanks so much!!
Love the cat😊
Thanks 🤩 🐱
Been waiting for this video, loved it 👍 thank you John, coins look great.
I enjoyed watching the process of cleaning. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing your process. Gorgeous!
You are so welcome! Thanks for watching
Amazing how the hard chunky bits did pop off after being softened with olive oil. Bravo with your effort and common tools to remove the crud removal being how many years in the fields? Well done lots of patience and effort
What about boiling them in distilled water? A low boil, not a rolling boil. Thanks for commenting.
I'm glad you showed us that because I always wondered whether that crusty stuff would come off. Nice job and the clean and love the cat cameo!
Many thanks. I think it might be fertiliser the green stuff. But not 100% it’s sitting on the surface rather than eating into the coin, so I don’t think it’s been on contact that long. With time it tends to dry and start to flake, I’m just cleaning up the process I suppose
@@thescottishdetectorist Well now it makes sense that you pull a coin out of the ground that has crud on it an you say it's a thing of beauty! It is for sure anyway but nice to know you can get it off.
Can’t help but think that suspending the coins in the oil rather than lying them flat might help. Maybe a foam rubber so that you could very gently suspend the coins? The rubbish would then fall off rather than sit upon…. Great work though - loving the channel, keep up the fab work!
I collect coins and yes never clean them it devalues them . John do You use a jewelers loop when cleaning ? You will leave marks . .
Can you use the olive oil on copper coins and silver coins that are a mixed metal. Great video as always John, thanks.
This!
50% silver through to 100% silver olive oil works great. Copper coins I don’t do anything other than the bendy thumb 👍🏻
I’m wondering if molasses would also work as I believe it’s used to bring back rusty chain and tools .. I watch your find of the previous coins .. such fun .. love your videos!
Beautiful work, thank you for sharing!
Very good job thanks John for sharing it with us all.
Glad you enjoyed it
Beautiful coins!!
Excellent 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you! Cheers!
Thanks for sharing your process, John! Can you get ahold of any Acacia thorns? They’re sharper and harder than lolly sticks or skewers but still not hard enough to scratch metal. I’ve seen videos of them being used in archaeological conservation projects. I found some on eBay here in the US.
Is there a reason that you don’t use an ultrasonic cleaner like jewelers use? They are safe for metals and jewels and do a marvelous job. I know it’s not as much fin as an archeological type cleaning method. Helen Geak (Anglo Saxon archaeologist from Time Team) showed how she uses Hawthorn thorns to clean metal finds whilst looking thru a substantial magnifying device. Hawthorn thorns are quite tough yet springy and have a much sharper point than toothpicks. Give them a try!!
Extra points for the cat 😊 Thanks for the video, I was hoping you would show us this sometime!
I'm very experienced at being lazy. I'd probably just use an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner. But your method gives you time to appreciate the coin and study it intricately. Cheers from New Orleans
It’s therapeutic if slow. Love watching the detail appear and a great outcome. I’m looking into an ultrasonic for sure!! Thanks
Very interesting to watch, they came out beautifully!
Great job on the coins!!!!!!!!
Many thanks. A slow and laborious process but great outcome I think
Impressive! Lots of patient work. Surely, you do enjoy the exercise!😊
Nice instructional video John!
Glad you like
youtube always deletes my comments...I wanted to share that you can get pointed swab sticks. They are like tooth picks but with a tiny bit of cotton on the end. They work great for this kind of work.
Thanks for the tip Hans. I don’t know why UA-cam is deleting your comments but glad this one got through! I’ll have a look thanks
Well done!! 👍
Would you make a video where you show your entire silver coin collection? I'd imagine you've builded a massive one over the years
Hi there. It’s on the to do list! Just never seem to find the time. But also I give a lot of my finds away to the landowners so I’ve only a fraction of what I’ve ever found
Gorgeous!!!
Thanks so much
Gotta love that cat...
thx John for your Video. i was always cleaning my romans with ....sorry....Ultraschall, Glasfaserstift....they all look fine also.
on the 15th of june , i will be in Scotland....coming by ship....Invergordon.........on the 18th i`m in Greenock......it would be a pleasure to meet you there^^.........you are really great
Thanks for sharing John very useful
My pleasure and thanks for watching
Wow they look great. Thank you
That's impressive to be sure. Nice watching the cleanup. Wish I had a Roman coin to find here.
Many thanks David. Some beautiful coins they made back then didn’t they!!
@thescottishdetectorist yes indeed they did make nice coins
Excellent one John. Really interesting to see. Appreciated.! Bless 👍
John, Just had a quick look at your coin cleaning video, How come these coins have not been treasure troved especially in Scotland ? My experience is quite simple to date 8 out every 10 items I have handed in we’re Treasure Troved as for all the silver I never seen a single one returned?
Hi Raymond. You’re right! Roman and silver is pretty much always claimed by treasure trove. The video of the handful of coins is actually old footage and I’ve added a voice over for the video to go with my coin cleaning video….. but 🤫 don’t tell anyone and ruin the illusion!! 😝
All of my finds are currently with Treasure Trove and hopefully in two to three years I’ll have an update!
Happy hunting and best wishes
John
Fine job ! It is interesting that the olive oil does well even with the green corrosion. I often try methods to clean my coins as I prefer them to show the features that are possible. Do you have any methods you use on the King Charles I , II, & III coppers that help reveal any details?
Many thanks Kevin. I wonder if the green is actually fertiliser and it’s not been on the coins long, ie less than 100yrs, but I’m not sure. It doesn’t eat into the coins, so strange.
The copper coins I just brush and leave. Water and oil is a no no
@@thescottishdetectorist yes that is also my method for colonial coppers, I am just looking for something to improve it lol. I have heard Renaissance wax can give good results, but I am looking for clarification from someone with much experience like yourself.
Excellent results!
I’m very happy!! Slow but therapeutic
Great video John and I admire the patience you have. However, would it be worth your while investing in a decent quality ultrasonic bath to help remove the concretions on your coin finds ?
Thanks Chris. Slow but worth it and kind of therapeutic too! I have thought about an ultrasonic but haven’t taken the plunge yet
Love the Cat ❤. Great job on coins 👍
Thanks for showing this to us! I have been wondering what kind of results you could achieve!
You are so welcome! Thanks for watching
I quite liked that video. Very satisfying to watch the process. ✌️😎
It’s slow and laborious but I find it therapeutic and a great outcome I think
WOW that is great results. Thank you for sharing your process!
Wow, that looked very labor intensive, but well worth it. Who taught you this technique? I will definitely keep this in mind if I ever find anything worth cleaning. 😂 pull tabs are just not worth the effort. Thanks John
Hahaha 🤣 thanks Tanja. You made me laugh 🤭 I just learned it myself over time and with research. My first ever silver Roman I cleaned with Silvero! 😮 lesson learned!!!! Soaked lead seals in coke once too….. bad idea 😢
Beautiful John! Thanks for sharing. Love bites from the cat!😂
Great video. Never thought about using olive oil to clean. Will consider it in the future. Cheers.
Thanks for that excellent video John. I think after showing to PAS I would want to clean up, and your way of doing it is perfect! Was it just olive oil you soak in or distilled water too as you mentioned at 5he end? I’d give anything for just one finding one Roman co8n and you’ve got a handful 🤩. Your Mitsy cat is so funny demanding attention 😂😂
Thanks Pauline. Glad you enjoyed. I think this method of slow and gentle gives a great result and maintains the patina. I soak in olive oil for at least four weeks then rotate between distilled water and olive oil for a week or so each time and in between each ‘bath’ clean and pick then soak, repeat, clean and soak…. It’s slow but maintains that patina
😂 love the coins and cat!
Many thanks 🐱 🪙 a great outcome and a slow process but happy with the result
John so are you allowed to keep these coins ? Do you have to give them to museum first and then they say you can keep them? They look amazing - so think how old they are and who lost them so many years ago! ❤
this was so interesting (and satisfying) to watch! what a great job the olive oil does! out of interest, is the olive oil technique specifically just for silver, or does it work on other coins made from different metals?
Fantastic job John....they look good enough to eat....🫒🫒🫒
Hahaha 🤪 yum yum. Glad you liked it
Are you not allowed to keep coins you find? Even Roman ones? I thought you could keep what you found if you wanted. But I love that they’ll hopefully be put on display in a museum for all of us to enjoy❤
Yes everything has to be reported. Some items are claimed and we as finders are paid, others are returned. You just never know. But if claimed great to see them in a museum
@@thescottishdetectorist wow so interesting! I learn new things from you in every video 💕
Very surprised that crust came off as well as it did. Well done.
Fascinating process! Good advice about not cleaning ancient finds.
Wow what a bargain!! And the cat became famous 🤣 A question ! Do you use any type of wax when it comes to copper/bronze? I have just tried Renaissance wax.
Great little video John. Maybe you have answered this before, but do you get to keep the coins and other items that you show to the museum or treasure trove unit. Here in America, we get to keep our finds, but I wonder about Scotland, if you don't get to keep them, do you receive a portion of the value? Cheers from Texas.
Hi David. You report everything here in Scotland and then they record and either return or they decide to keep items and pay market value which is then split with the farmer. I’d prefer to keep everything for my wee museum!!
@@thescottishdetectorist Thank you for replying. I like to just keep what I find as well. I was just wondering. May you make more great finds soon.
Really enjoyed the lesson
Many thanks
Interesting,thank you for sharing.
Thanks for watching! My please Vickie and a great outcome
Of course not saying you should Ever clean a coin.. but if you had a crusty old copper alloy mix coin.. What should one not do?
Any non silver coins I just lightly clean or pick with the wooden tools, light brush. Never wet or oil
@@thescottishdetectorist Thank you!
Thanks for your advise… all the best from The Netherlands
I’ll be in Edinburgh July 4. If I see you, I see you.
I’ll look out for you if I’m there!!
Have a great time
Wow incredible 👏 🎉
Thanks, glad you enjoyed
I swear you are as lucky as si finds
Good old Si does get the good stuff!!
I love your kitty!