help needed on how to clean coins dug from ground

[g()ldeng1rl]

I have a few coins i have dug up (a silver florin and some pennies) and i would like to clean them. is it a no no to clean them? why is this ? items are very dirty, i have used water, this does nothing. i don't want to devalue them but i would really like to see the pictures on the a bit better. i would love some suggestions please

 

[wescowood]

ive heard of using dish washing soap. Also heard of using Joes hand cleaner. The dish washing soap won't hurt them but I don't know about the Joes hand cleaner personaly. Its just something I have heard about. I wouldn't use it on something that is worth anything until I knew for sure. Good luck
HH, Wes

 

[coinnut]

HI, Cleaning coins is a very tough and touchy subject. First, separate the valuable form the valueless. Next separate the copper, silver and nickle. The valuable ones, leave alone. The valueless, try this. SILVER: Wash with running water and a very soft toothbrush. This removes the large debris. While the water is running, use your fingers to gently rub the surface while in the water stream. This removes the fine particles and keeps most of the original luster, if present. Don't over do it. Leave some background, dark color, it adds definition and contrast to the coin. Nothing worse than a sparkling clean silver coin. COPPER: The easiest way to start with is dish detergent and #0000 steel wool. Wet a small piece of the steel wool and add a bit of dish soap to it. Rub moderately in a circular pattern with a good amount of pressure. Always use wet and soapy. Remember these are non important coins. Practice on some dirty modern pieces. Don't concentrate on one area unless it still has dirt on it. Don't over shine an area. Steel wool removes a lot of dirt with minimum scratching. You can use it on any clad coin, copper or nickles, as well as any artifacts except pewter and iron. Pewter can be GENTLY cleaned with a tooth brush, and when dry, spray with cheap hairspray to seal out the air. I haven't found a good, safe way to clean nickles, yet. Try not to tumble them, or reverse electrolysis or use any household chemical on them, unless you want to spend them. Then I recommend tumbling them separately. There are other methods like using Sulphur or Hydrogen Peroxide, but it's best to stay with these first. Give some a try, and if you can, do before and after pictures, so you can see the difference. Good luck. Any other questions just ask or PM me. HH

 

[GRAY GHOST]

hello again, goldengirl. there's always been some debate on how far you could clean your found coins. most people just rinse them off best they can and put them back into circulation if theyr'e not rare. others put their coins into a tumbler and let it rip. but since you have silver, do a google search on cleaning coins with electrolysis. it's not that hard to do, and doesn't damage your coins. any coin that you think is very old or rare, just rinse off with water and maybe a bit of dishsoap until you can find out it's worth. never overclean an old coin or relic; it reduces the value greatly. hh,

 

[lovepulltabs]

Olive oil works very well also, just let the coins sit for 3-7 days, it's a mild acid and is much better than any kind of harsh abrasive cleaning.

 

[jbeverts]

I learned an old trick from my father, who was a jeweler. He put his old coins in an electric jewelry cleaner for about 15 minutes. Sometimes he would put a little vinegar in the water as well. I inherited his jewelry cleaner and it seems to work pretty well. Good luck.

 

[Bozack]

Listen. Buy a $20 coin tumbler from Harbor Freight. Go to your local pet store and by a $2 bag of (small) course aquarium rocks. Fill the tumbler about 1/2 with rocks, add a drop of CLR and dish washing liquid, and the rest is history. Always remember to tumble like coins together. Finally, check the dates first before you clean; just in case you dug pay dirt!

 

[dobbie]

toothpaste works well with silver. thats what i use.