(after-thought)

[ginlindzey]

I just wrote this to a friend:

This week has been the best spring break--but how do you explain to people that it was so good because you had a chance to think about Latin, write about Latin, read some Latin, post to your blog site about Latin, and scrub clean a bunch of Roman coins with "Kaboom"??  Oh, and I may have a gold coin....horrible condition; nothing to see on it and possibly not gold, but it's more yellow than a UK pound sterling coin.  :D

****
And yes, I know, it is a SIN to clean past the patina on bronzes, but they are mine, I don't intend to sell them, and I want to see them look like that might have, once upon a time...  so cool.

Comments

[irisintherain.livejournal.com]

...I'm just trying to envision you sitting in a room applying toilet cleaner to a sestertius.

Forgive me that I'm trying to stifle my laughter sitting here.

[ginlindzey.livejournal.com]

HEY, I just put about a dozen coins in a bowl, and put the Kaboom on top and let it sit.

What's funny are my fingernails on my right hand from scrubbing the coins with steel wool after they've soaked! I can't get the dirt off my own hands....

[tsiankiio.livejournal.com]

A gold coin should have little or no patina, much less then a bronze coin. (Gold is a more noble than bronze and is pretty resistant to corrosion). I actually ran across your blog while searching for Latin resources. I'm applying for more grad school in the fall, and I need to be to pass the language fluency test. Since it's been years since I've touched any Latin at all, I'm in the process of teaching myself all the stuff I've forgotten (or more likely, wasn't paying attention during). I'd forgotten that at one point I actually liked Latin, and that it was fun. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I was reading your blog and your enthusiasm for the language is motivating to me.

[ginlindzey.livejournal.com]

THANK YOU!

[tsiankiio.livejournal.com]

Also, if you want to clean coins again at some point, especially if they have severe patina or concretion, wrap them in aluminum foil and then put them in a 5% solution of baking soda in water and then brush with a soft bristle tooth brush. If the coins aren't ever going anywhere and you're not going to want to sell them or anything, you can coat them in wax. Don't do this if the coin is zinc, or multiple metals, as the whole procedure relies on the coin having a higher galvanic charge then the aluminum foil.

[dracsmith.livejournal.com]

This week has been the best spring break

Sounds like a great one to me! I was seeing some friends in Houston and got a chance to visit with the gal who draws SPQR Blues (http://spqrblues.comicgenesis.com/) and talk about ancient Rome and Herculaneum and Latin and Etruscan... Her roomie for the weekend was regarding us with bemused tolerance for the cheery lunatics. Happy, happy geekdom.