Influence of corrosion layers on quantitative analysis

Art historians and restorers in charge of ancient metal objects are often reluctant to remove the corrosion layer evolved over time, as this would change the appearance of the artefact dramatically. Therefore, when an elemental analysis of the objects is required, this has to be done by penetrating the corrosion layer. In this work the influence of corrosion was studied on Chinese and Roman coins, where removal of oxidized material was possible. Measurements on spots with and without corrosion are presented and the results discussed.