I lost the copper shell of my Hopping Half set. Instead of buying a whole new set I just bought an English penny shell. Of course the new shell doesn't match the older copper coin.

Should I

A} Just wait for the coin to get a patina over time? How long will it take and do I need to carry it around in my pocket to get it to look like the older coin?

B} Clean the older coin to match the new shell? What is the best way to clean a copper coin? Toothpaste?

I'd clean the old coins to be able to start using the set immediately and then let everything age together.
Soak everything (both old and new) in ketchup for an hour or longer then rinse throughly.
if you clean with polish of some kind it's likely that will make it take longer for them to darken up again.

Inigmntoya, Thanks. Ketchup worked great!

That tip will be filed in my brain forever. Thanks from me too!

Just remember to keep everything separate until they are rinsed off and dried. I accidentally let the insert nest in the shell with ketchup in there and it was not easy getting them apart again.

Nice tips

I tried yesterday the ketchup with my copper coins and worked out wonderfully!
I found particularly intriguing the resulting color, which is not shining (as you would obtain with any polish), but more similar to "matt rose"... just perfect for a coin which is meant to be "old".
Thanks for the suggestion!

Ketchup Holy Sox what a great Idea -- I think it must be the vinegar -- hope I don't need it but if I do I'm all over it --- I may just try to ketchup some English pennies for fun!

You might try this:
How to Make Copper darker?
Mix a brown patina solution instead. This solution will turn your copper a darker brown, roughly the color of an American penny. Simply shake baking soda in a bottle of hot water one spoonful at a time, until additional baking soda does not dissolve. Spray the copper with the solution.
or
How do you oxidize copper quickly for a green or blue patina?
Make your copper green and blue with Miracle Gro. You can use concentrated Miracle Gro plant fertilizer to oxidize your copper quickly. Mix approximately one part Miracle Gro with three parts water for a bluer patina, or with red wine vinegar for a greener one.

The only thing I use now. Ages coins in minutes. http://www.michaels.com/the-bead-bugs-pa......695.html

Or...
Handle the 'new' copper shell for a while and carry it inside a leather-lined coin purse. It (and silver coins) will darken fairly quickly.

Thanks Poof, I think that is what most of us would want...an easy solution that works every time. thanks.

Yea that Ketchup trick always work well with all of my coins. I think I've learned from inigmntoya as well.

So just to clarify, the ketchup acts as a cleaner, not a darkener?
Does it give a rose color to silver coins?

The rose color is just the copper with
kind of a matte finish since it's not being polished.

I'm not sure what vinegar does to silver, but I played with some hot water, baking soda,and aluminum foil the other day and an almost black war-time nickle (they're 35% silver) and it worked quite well.

I re-did my dollar-sized pennies with the patina solution Poof-Daddy mentioned above. They were a bit slow to react but then before I knew it they were totally black. It just took some rubbing with a cloth I'd previously used with some brasso (so there was a bit of residue) to work off the black. I like how they turned out except that at certain angles they reflect a lot of light and don't look dark in contrast with silver coins.

Before: (actually there was an intermediate step after I took these pictures, where I had tried to even up the color between the sun/moon coin at the top and the others)




After: (they're actually close in appearance than it looks due to the flash hitting at different angles)




Will have to see how the patina "wears" given the sun/moon sees more action than the others as I use it for Samoya

I started this thread three months ago because I lost the shell to my Hopping Half coin set. The other day my nephew came into my room and reached down on the floor and said "is this anything" and sure enough it was the missing shell.

I don't mind because the new one I got actually fit a lot better.

Try looking at this thread http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......orum=202

You can use a Coin Tidy by Prop Dog....it darken your coins right away

Round 2 with that patina solution. I used a 4-way nail buffer to bring out the details.

Before:


After: