indian head

[formon]

how do you clean a indian head penny?

 

[John-Edmonton]

Toothbrush and toothpaste, or soak it in hydrogen peroxide x 24 hours. Don't put a copper coin in an ultrasonic cleaner, as it will knock some of that crud off and pit the coin.

 

[matthias]

I soak mine in olive oil (sometimes for weeks) and then use a toothpick to remove crud. The longer they soak the better they clean up. HH. Matt

 

[upnorth]

I soak mine in olive oil (sometimes for weeks) and then use a toothpick to remove crud. The longer they soak the better they clean up. HH. Matt

Yes, to all of the above. I have used CLR. It is very quick and I may leave a copper coin in it for 10-15 seconds then tooth brush and water. This is good for a light lime encrustation. But CLR will strip the hide off a hyenas arse if left on too long. It can also easily remove the warm brown patina off a copper coin and give you an ugly orange clean and crisp heart breaker. Electrolysis, or basicly electrocuting the coin, is potentialy very dangerous but can be performed easily at home with very basic components. I have used it in say 10-15 minute increments. Unplug it, rotate coin, give another zap etc. It cleans faster than Hydrogen Peroxide but may leave pits in a copper coin if the corrosion was deep. (Be extremely careful and fully research this procedure before attempting !) Hydrogen Peroxide or H.P. can usually be found in any grocery store at a 3% solution. Many people put a squirt into a small empty plastic apsirin bottle then warm it up for 30 seconds in a microwave oven. Now drop your coin into it. Leave the top off for a few minutes then screw it on and leave then bottle in a sun exposed window or somesuch. Check on it at your own discretion. This is slow but it is much more gentle on a handsome coin. You can find 30% H.P. if you look around but this is starting to be a little dangerous to work with. Olive oil can actually take months or half a year to soften crud but it does work and is super gentle on a coin. You can flake the crud off with a tooth picj after a prolonged soaking. Olive oil is wonderful if you are in a part of the country with snow. Let the coins soak during the down time. The last coin that I did with olive oil was actually an 02 Indian Head. It didn't come out perfect, but it was definately better. Some coins just seem to lay in a terribly mineralized place. My last large cent was in a highly mineralized low and wet spot. It was basicly a corroded and pocked sad mess when cleaned. This is just my experience. If anyone has a correction or additional\better advice, please add to this. I surely don't know it all... by a long shot.