Survey on mounting coins

Our institution will be receiving a collection of ancient coins to
go on display in an upcoming exhibit. Lenders are concerned about
damaging the surface patina if wax is used to mount the pieces. We
have developed a mounting system at my institution, which typically
uses small pieces of a wax mixture (of two types of microcrystalline
wax) to adhere coins to the mount, which can then be removed with
mineral spirits. The conservators have been quite satisfied with
this system.

To protect the patina of the coins (which are all silver), we may
put a barrier of Acryloid B-72 in acetone between the wax and the
coins. The issue is the possibility of disturbing a thin patina when
removing the B72, no matter how careful we would be. For the
upcoming exhibition, coins will be displayed at an approximately
45-degree angle, inside a slightly recessed surface drilled to fit
the size of each respective coin. Other possibilities for mounting
the coins inside the recessions include pinning, or the use of a
slip-resistant material (such as polyester felt). I was hoping to
receive information about people's experiences mounting coins using
these methods, or any other methods that they have found to be
successful.

If you would like to share your experiences, please take a moment to
fill out this online survey that I've created

    <URL:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VCQ3F7P>

    **** Moderator's comments: Responses on this subject will also
    be welcome for the DistList

You can also contact me directly at: delohnas<-at->gmail<.>com

Dawn Lohnas


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 26:9
                  Distributed: Saturday, July 21, 2012
                        Message Id: cdl-26-9-010
                                  ***