Cleaning Coins

[New to detecting]

I know you arent supposed to clean coins that you think may be valuable but I have question for anyone that may be able to answer it. I live in Mooresville, N.C. Here, our dirt is pretty much just "tarheel mudd".. which is orange thick mud or 'dirt'. Some coins that I find, I cant' even tell what they are bc they are so filthy. What is a simple way to clean them just enuff to be able to tell the date and the kind of coin? I've tried hot water, but that doesnt seem to help too much, but then again, I don't want to damage a coin that could be valuable, just trying to get it clean enough to identify. Thanks.

 

[dobbie]

soaking in oil...ketchup....white vinager....not all at the same time. never rub a coin...just soak then rinse........try it out on some dirty clad to see what kind of results you will get.....i heard oil baths are used alot though.

 

[New to detecting]

white vinegar won't tarnish them or mess them up in anyway? thanks for the info!

 

[BH-LandStar]

Lemon Juice and Baking soda on copper and clad coinage works well...As stated before though, test it out on some junk clad first...Olive oil baths are also popular...Most of the time, I use a soft toothbrush and dish soap on old clad...I have not found anything significantly OLD, so I have no experience in cleaning these items...Just do NOT use anything corrosive or with dyes...


HH,

BH-LandStar

 

[dobbie]

i just heard this is being used. for silver jewelry toothpaste works really well and it leaves the piece minty fresh