Which microscope to buy for mechanical cleaning of coins. Microscope and software for cleaning and restoring coins

Collecting coins is not just collecting, but also often a lengthy process of researching the purchased copy and cleaning it. It is for these purposes that there are tools that should be present in almost any numismatist. In this article, we will look at how to choose the right magnifier, microscope and coin scraper. This will help novice collectors to deal with the future acquisition, and experienced collectors to replenish their knowledge.

The simplest and most popular tool of a numismatist is magnifier. Even with one hundred percent vision, we cannot make out the smallest cracks and other small elements of the purchased medallion, this is where a 10x magnifying glass comes to the rescue, it is also a magnifying glass, which allows you to study the coin with greater accuracy.

How to choose a magnifier?

To begin with, it is worth deciding what place collecting takes in your life. If this activity is in the nature of a hobby, then it is not worth spending too much, but if it is a part of your life, then on the contrary, saving fades into the background and it is worth getting a more expensive magnifying glass. But even in spite of the above, the future 10x magnifier will be more productive with small dimensions. You can never tell in advance exactly where you will be asked to look at the coin and keep a compact magnifying glass with you to consider the purchase - very comfortably.

The backlight is a rather important element, because in poor lighting conditions, the backlight built into the device will help you to view the coin without any problems. If finances allow and you are serious about it, add a larger 10x loupe to your compact magnifying glass. Such a magnifying glass is taken only for responsible purchases, where you need to carefully approach the issue of considering a coin.

Coin magnifier price

The minimum cost of such a magnifying device is very low, at 155 rubles, for a copy without illumination with 2x magnification. A high-quality magnifier with bright diode illumination and 3.5x magnification will cost 1500 rubles, such a magnifier is more comfortable in the hand and performs its functions better.

Microscope for coins

Cleaning coins by hand - an occupation for real pros now, many collectors with endurance and an iron grip prefer to clean the purchased, expensive copies of coins on their own. This is quite natural, because not everyone is ready to risk a copy of the collection, which costs several tens of thousands of rubles, and give it to an unverified master for cleaning. It is for these purposes that numismatists buy microscopes and learn how to clean on their own.

Microscopes allow you to more accurately examine the processed products, plus software contributes to facilitating the cleaning process and, if necessary, determining the authenticity of the coin.

Choosing a microscope

Again, when choosing a microscope, we first of all turn to the goals that we are pursuing. If the budget is small and you need a microscope for teaching cleaning or simple jobs, you can choose one of the cheap stereoscopic instruments. Such a microscope will cost about 1000 rubles, but along with the cheapness, you also acquire many disadvantages, such as: lack of connection to a PC (you constantly need to look through the microscope when working), poor-quality illumination, small gradation and degree of magnification, poor picture quality.

On the other hand, we have a niche of high-quality microscopes, which cost about 7 thousand rubles. These microscopes give the user more freedom. Can be connected to external monitors or PC, high quality image has high degree optical approximation, as well as interpolation without loss of image quality, bright illumination, which allows you to enlarge the image that the microscope captures up to 200 times.

Interesting
The software supplied with the microscopes allows you to save high-quality images of a coin by region and create a complete picture high resolution, for subsequent listing for sale or other purposes.

Also, a separate software allows you to download an image of a particular coin and compare it to a hundredth of a millimeter with your copy, thus determining the authenticity of the coin.

A complete cleaning of coins with chemicals is very often either impossible or leads to damage to an expensive copy. The best masters, produce mechanical cleaning, this procedure is comparable to jewelry work, and for a successful outcome, high-precision tools called scrapers are used. Scrapers - tools for mechanical cleaning of coins from dirt.

The cost of such a tool is quite high, for an average quality set you will have to pay 2,000 rubles. For this money, you get a full-fledged set that can be used for both professional cleaning and educational metal processing. The kit includes:

· Carbide scrapers

· Needle file scrapers

· Polishing rod

· Sharpener

At the first stage of cleaning, hard alloy scrapers come into operation, providing a rough cleaning of the surface, such devices are quite hard, do not blunt quickly and prepare the coin for the next stage. The second part is processing with needle file scrapers, they are very sharp, but also very soft, with such tools they bring the thin elements of the coin. All scrapers can be kept in working order using a special sharpener. You can clean the surface of metal residues using the brush that comes with the kit, if there is none, then you can purchase a set of small brushes of different hardness in advance. Such brushes will allow not only to remove excess from the working surface, but also having sufficient rigidity to help bring the smallest areas.

The method of mechanical cleaning of coins described in the article is an illustration of the author's experience, which has been accumulating for a long time. Using the technique, you need to understand that it does not guarantee a positive result, and you put your material to the test at your own peril and risk.

Many people think: how to clean (preserve) the finds, give them a divine appearance, you cannot put a dirty coin or artifact in a collection. There are many cleaning options, ranging from chemistry to electrolysis, dozens of recipes for all occasions, everyone chooses for himself CAM! Personally, I chose mechanical cleaning for myself 10 years ago, although I tried all the methods.

What is required for mechanical cleaning of objects: microscope, scraper, bristle brushes, wooden, boxwood needles, can be made of bone, brass, aluminum, silver. Cotton swabs, cosmetic disks and the desire to do this boring business I can describe everything in detail in the topic if someone has a desire to learn more about mechanical cleaning, or generally study the whole process, I will not hide anything (I share my secrets).

Workplace

The main thing is a microscope!

From domestic best options- these are: MBS-9, MBS-10, from Albans with USB connectors - those that are more expensive

The main working tool is a scraper.

Steel three-edged micro blade, made of dental burs, which have served their purpose and have been mocking us to their fullest.

And also bristle brushes, brushes, various hairiness, here what anyone likes, I chose a domestic bristle for myself, cotton swabs are also needed to wipe the object during cleaning.

And the most important thing(I forgot the old one completely). Synthetic resin - PARALOID B72, for fixing unstable areas of the object being cleaned and for initial fixation of the material.

And, perhaps most importantly, if you plan to mechanically clean an item, start thinking about saving it as early as possible! The best way to preserve the item - place it in a humid environment, for example, in a vacuum food container filled with napkins soaked in distilled water or parallels with cut-out compartments for finds. Putting a find in your pocket along with other items means causing a lot of damage, the finds should be kept separately and not touching each other, and moisture will prevent drying and thus the item will successfully get to your desktop and you will have less work to preserve it and subsequent clearing!

Coin cleaning

While the find is wet, you need to inspect its condition, remove dirt with a soft brush if this allows you to preserve the item, make sure that there are no foci of "bronze disease", soak in the distillate for about 24 hours, regularly turning the sides (especially for coins). This is necessary to deminerate the object, so you dissolve the salts that were deposited on the object while it was in the ground and lay the foundation for the formation of patina (in best case) and pollution.

After you have demineralized the item, you need to dry it. For this I recommend our favorite Russian drink - ALCOHOL .... who does not like - can use acetone.

If everything is fine with the item (there is no "bronze disease" and it has been desalted and dried) it must be impregnated. For impregnation, an outlandish material is required - Paraloid B72, synthetic acrylic resin. 5 gr. paraloid x 100 ml. acetone i.e. 5% solution. We place an object (coin) there for complete impregnation, the solution fills all invisible voids and cracks, stabilizes loose deposits present on the surface and inside. The time the object is in the solution - while the bubbles rise.

Now the coin (object) is completely covered and impregnated with resin, plasticized, then it's up to the scraper and microscope.

An illustrative example of clearing.

The coin was found on a tract with the name "Salt Plant", which indicated not only the salt works of the 16th century, but also that the finds are likely to be scary. So it turned out that 90% of the raised material went to scrap metal, the soil is literally saturated with salt, and consists practically of only ash, huge cast-iron boilers were used to boil salt from brine and stoked them day and night, cutting down forests in the area.

A salt crystal has grown right on the coin, the entire surface is covered with salt deposits mixed with lime compounds.

Intermediate clearing stage. The entire process described above (washing, desalting, drying, fixing) was guaranteed to be performed.

The end result of working with a coin.

During the work, only a scraper with a triangular sharpening was used, no chemistry, all deposits were cut to the original field of the coin, the native red-brown patina was not affected, with the exception of one area, there cuprite grew into dendrite and the oxides were re-substituted into copper - the result of "local" chemistry soil. At this point, it was necessary to cut off the build-ups, aligning them to the general level of the embossing. Repeated impregnation with paraloid was carried out several times - unstable areas were fixed.

The places where the metal appears were cut off in the process of removing the build-ups, in the future they themselves will be covered with a patina and the color will become equal. I think chemistry will not give such results, no matter what the supporters of lemon and sulfuric ointment say.

P.S. hello to electrolysis

And where in the world are these microscopes and scrapers to look for?

About scrapers and microscopes! there are so many shops with goods for jewelers in Yekaterinburg that I don’t even know what to advise, well, for example, the Ruta store on Posadskaya, if I’m not mistaken, there is everything there .... just like in Greece. It is better to take a thin (needle) scraper and preferably more than one, often you have to fill it on a finishing stone. The stone is also better to buy in "Ruta" I recommend - Arkansas (grade of stone).

Microscopes are regularly seen in the same store, choose with a normal focal length, from 9 cm (MBS-9) and so on.

Contamination is different depending on the soil, is the approach to cleaning objects from different soils the same, or are there some nuances?

There are always nuances, it all depends on the state of the object, each soil gives its own deposits or nothing happens at all, I think you found coins in a state of luxury? Cleaning all the same begins with the examination of the contamination under a microscope.

Tell me the main signs of the bronze disease and its consequences for the object.

Wild patina or "bronze disease" affects coins and "kills" them in a fairly short period of time. Many have seen bright green copper chlorides on coins; when touched, such areas begin to crumble, usually under the green paint, a crater going deeper into the coin. If the process is not stopped, the coin will collapse in a few months. You can identify the disease in a wet chamber, as soon as the greenery appears - sound the alarm, the bronze disease is very contagious, even the pocket in the album will continue to infect other coins. You can fight by keeping the object in a solution of BenzoTriAzole (BTA) 3% solution in alcohol. The most interesting thing is that when humidity is less than 46%, the disease does not manifest itself, it activates immediately after 46% and begins to progress.

Desalination is an indispensable part of the cleaning process or may be omitted if the object is not lifted in salty soil. Can tap water be used for demineralization?

It is advisable to apply to all finds from the ground, tap water in no case, only distillate! Tap water contains chlorine, the main causative agent of the bronze disease, and it is because of it that our finds then turn green and crumble!

Do I understand correctly that the object is impregnated together with contamination and, as a result of impregnation, the contamination is better removed by mechanical cleaning?

Absolutely right, at the very beginning, carefully remove everything that is freely removed with a brush, fix the rest. The scraper cuts off all deposits. The main thing is constant control over the cutting, not to get carried away with the process.

Where to buy PARALOID B72 ?? I looked somehow on the Internet, but I could not find it

The chain of stores "Chernaya Rechka" in Moscow and St. Petersburg is on sale in the form of granules and solutions (15%); orders are taken in advance.

"Bronze disease"

Here is a clear example of the manifestation of the bronze disease, the coin was found by Sansan a month ago, during a hot period.
Due to the abnormal heat, the disease process "went into hibernation", but the focus of the disease is present. He treated with a solution of BTA 5% in alcohol. After fixing, drying, cleaning.

Coin before cleaning.

After cleaning, the focus of the disease is visible, the surface has already been disturbed, the caverns have been opened, the disease itself has been stopped, now retouching and repeated cleaning of the retouched area is required, this will allow the coin to return its appearance.

The foci of the disease are highlighted in red, they will be retouched in the future, after retouching I will definitely show them in the same topic.

Using the example of a "sick" patch, we will analyze the cleaning and solving the problem with the bronze disease.

The first thing to do for finds in this state is to cleanse excess soil and not damage the find. The soil contains particles of sand, which is abrasive and can damage the patina, so you can immediately place the item in a container with distillate and gently, right in the water, start rinsing with a soft brush, then inspect the coin for dirt remaining in the recesses and try to remove all residues. using wooden or plastic needles.

On examination, it becomes clear that Monogram is seriously "ill", pleases the absence of signs of illness on the part of the Eagle.

Fragment of the area affected by the bronze disease.

Traces of the disease, swollen dendrites and bright greens are immediately visible, the basis of which is copper chloride, which is precisely the worst enemy of collectors and restorers, it is with it that you most often have to fight. To start the fight against "bronzuha", it is required to deminerate the coin, place it in a distillate to dissolve the salts in active foci, as well as in the patina, with the help of the distillate all soluble salts are washed out and the areas with the remaining solid deposits that could not be cleaned with wood are additionally softened. needles. The residence time of the coin in the distillate is about a day, during the soaking process, it is required to turn the coin, this is necessary so that the salts come out evenly from both sides.

We select a container of a suitable size, preferably transparent, in this case a plastic PET package, and we are looking for a slightly smaller plastic lid with a flange, from which we make a grate on which the coin will be located.

Now the coin is in a suspended state in the middle of the container, this is necessary so that the salts coming out of the coin settle immediately to the bottom of the container, without interacting with the coin.

Fill all this with distilled water and leave for a day, occasionally turning the coin. Water must be poured to the very top of the vessel and closed tightly with a lid or polyethylene, it is done so that active oxygen from the air does not get into the water and does not oxidize the coin once again. It should always be remembered that distilled water can dissolve not only salts, but also harm the coin, so you should not overexpose objects, otherwise the patina structure will be broken or caverns may open.

After a day, you can take out a coin and, having blotted with a gauze napkin, place it on the next day in a 5% solution of benzotriazole in alcohol.

BTA-benzotriazole is the strongest poison, work with extreme caution !!!

At the moment, the coin is at the stage of BTA solution, I think in a couple of days I will be able to show the result of fixing and clearing.

I put it in the BTA solution again for 100% guarantee, in order to finally block the process of the disease.

A completely different alignment in places with foci of manifestation of bronze disease, under each growth of loose cuprite, it is often necessary to additionally do local impregnation with paraloid, to fix individual areas. Unfortunately, the disease managed to work thoroughly on this coin, after a complete cleaning it will be necessary to retouch the areas.

Here are the latest shots, everything is cleaned out, the disease is blocked, the coin does not turn green in a wet chamber. I will select the retouching pigment to close the cavities on the side of the monogram.

Hmm .. curtains ... dendrites)) .. and you can learn more ... well, there are terms. Why do they form these cuprites ... dermites, etc. ... as I understand it, from the composition of the soil (saturated mineralization?)

Formed as a result of "local" soil chemistry. I think everyone found coins ideally and immediately completely affected by greenery, it all depends on the place of discovery and the composition of the soil, if it is a pasture, then coins are “tryndets”, nitrogen compounds are provided for them, there are many bacteria on black soil that contribute to the formation of a “fat” patina, clays carry a lot of chlorine, limestone, etc. it all affects items. Cuprite is the best protection for copper coins, the film is strong enough, but not too resistant to aggressive environments, the acidic environment corrodes cuprite and gives way for the formation of ulcers, this is where the process of formation of the bronze disease begins, cuprite swells and forms a loose mass over time, sometimes part of this formation is restored to metal and secondary copper is obtained, which forms a dendrite (build-up). Perhaps this is the effect of electrochemistry or a lightning strike, but the launched process cannot be stopped, the coin continues to rot and forms a complex cake of malachite, azurite, sulfite and other compounds. You can read in more detail and with a scientific approach ===> http://art-con.ru/node/511#2

Interesting research topic old coins, the history of minting, paper bills in magnifying optics has already been raised several times in our articles. And the high popularity among lovers of materials science, collecting, factors of the historical development of monetary culture among many is closely intertwined with the desire to study microbiology, therefore this topical fresh review has been written. If you understand the principle of microscopy, you can guess that even a biological model basic level in the hands of a skilled user can turn into microscope for numismatics. Of course, this will not be the intended use, the clever application of microscopy techniques will make such a device universal.

Those. For a novice researcher, child or student, it is advisable to have a multifunctional technique that solves an expanded range of tasks: from viewing living tissues and microorganisms to the nuances of the surface of metal products.

Microscopes for numismatics are subdivided into three categories: stereoscopic, with two-dimensional imaging, with digital display of the image on a computer screen. The first type is more expensive and professional and is intended for observing opaque volumetric structures. Differs in the presence of a binocular attachment that forms a stereo pair. It is characterized by a large working distance (from the table to the objective lens), which contributes to comfortable manipulation of objects - to move, correct, rotate in different directions.

The second type refers to educational microscopes, in which, in addition to the main goal (viewing the microworld), an auxiliary upper illumination is implemented, which determines an additional research method "in a bright field, in reflected light" (this method is just necessary for numismatists). If there is no built-in illuminator, it is recommended to use an independent source (lantern, lamp, lamp).

The essence of constructing a visual picture is the ability of an incident light wave to reflect from a coin and transmit its exact image to the optical system with detailed detailing of embossing patterns, cracks, scratches, scuffs, roughness, ingrained particles of dirt, rust. This will ensure efficiency, have a positive effect on determining the age of a thing, allow you to consider the long (or centuries-old) history of the coin, find out what happened to it, how it was used, how it was stored.

The third modification of microscopes for numismatics is a compact USB magnifier that can be connected to a laptop, since there are no eyepiece tubes and eyepieces in the design. The result of the enlargement is broadcast in real time on the monitor. This makes it possible to take photos, quickly edit them, saturate and change the color tone, and improve the graphics. And yet - to measure the diameters and lines of the most significant areas - the set of tools is diverse. The device comes with a disk with drivers, software, instructions for installing them (the process is not complicated, it is similar to connecting a webcam, with which everyone who works on a PC is familiar).

Recommendation: in all 3 cases described above, during operation, it is necessary to take into account the maximum height of the observed object so as not to damage the lens when focusing. In the beginning, you need to focus on low magnification (it provides a wide view, allowing centering). When adjusting focus, touch the grips and tripod carefully so that there is no jitter - this helps to quickly achieve clarity and contrast in the image.

A set of tools for mechanical cleaning and restoration of coins and finds.

Needle file scrapers. These scrapers have the sharpest sharpening and are used in finishing, to refine the maximum surface evenness, but they become blunt faster.
Scrapers made of carbide, designed for rough cleaning of solid oxides and layers, removal of solid oxides. Very strong and long-lasting.
An ironer for polishing the field of a coin, you can jam a striker, a scratch, level the stripes from a scraper on the patina, replace the balls.

Coin scraper video:

Instructions for the use of scrapers.

An example scenario for the use of scrapers.

For rough cleaning, we use scrapers made of carbide metal (carbide, will win). they are stronger and do not lose their edge. But, with such scrapers it is impossible to make a perfectly even field and work out the small details of the coin drawing.
After rough cleaning, all irregularities are well cleaned with scrapers made of steel burs, such scrapers can even out the shape of the relief of the pattern, they have a very sharp sharpening, which allows you to accurately cut off even weak oxides.
And finishing the surface of the object to be cleaned is good to do with scrapers from needle files, such scrapers are as sharp as possible, which allows you to very finely level the surface.
If necessary, smooth the surface of the object with a cone (trowel). After smoothing, glossy stripes remain, which are well rubbed with a fiberglass brush. A fiberglass brush can also be used to gently clean and wipe off the scraper stripes.

Equipment:

• Work table - oak block with leather surface.
• Needle file scrapers.
• Hard alloy scrapers.
• A bar for polishing the field of a coin.
• Coin holder for patination.
• Device for sharpening scrapers.
• Double-sided collet for attaching scrapers.

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4. On credit: buy in kridit conditions

Both professionals and simply enthusiastic people are engaged in numismatic collecting and collecting coins. They spend a lot of time searching for valuable specimens, but it also takes no less time to bring the discovered coins into a decent condition, since most often they are not stored in the best conditions before: coins may have patina and other superficial layers.

Cleaning and restoration of coins can be carried out using the following means: a scraper, a set of various brushes and tweezers, reagents, etc. But one of the main tools, without which the work would not be so high-quality, is a magnifying device, using which you can easily distinguish the smallest details subject.

When cleaning coins mechanically, you can use a magnifying glass, but much more often a microscope is used for this: it allows you to better see coins and other valuable items, and also provides the ability to conduct research to verify their authenticity. In addition, microscopes equipped with a digital camera (or camera) and special software are used to digitize an image of an object of interest for its subsequent analysis, processing and storage.

Altami offers digital stereoscopic microscopes(For example, Altami CM0745) and software Altami Studio... This stereomicroscope has the necessary magnification and a long working distance, which is convenient when working with it with the help of various tools (the same brushes and tweezers). In addition, the device has a modular design - a subject table with a suitable illuminator can be purchased for it. The Russified Altami Studio application used in this case is a software for analyzing and processing images in real time. With it, you can display the image of coins observed in a microscope on the monitor screen and edit it for a better result in real time: this is facilitated by a large arsenal of tools for image processing (changing brightness, contrast, threshold transformations, and much more). In addition, Altami Studio is used for numerous measurements (determination of length, perimeter, area).

For professionals who need to establish the authenticity of coins, suitable digital comparison microscope with software Altami Studio Crim... With the help of this equipment, and mainly the program, it is convenient to compare objects, superimposing their images on top of each other, and thus finding their similarities and differences. Thus, the analysis and research of coins can be carried out quickly and comfortably.