Soaked a Roman coin in lemon juice to clean it, and the face came off with the dirt

Cameron Chen · 2026-09-17T16:00:03.267376+00:00

Found a crusty bronze coin at a field survey near Bath last month and figured a little acid would just lift the dirt, but it ate through the patina in about 20 seconds and took the emperor's profile with it. Turns out that green crust is part of the coin, not junk on top of it, and a conservator told me I basically erased the date. Anyone got a safe way to clean crusty finds that doesn't nuke the surface?

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Soaked a Roman coin in lemon juice to clean it, and the face came off with the dirt | Archaeology Discoveries - HW Forums