Magnesium citrate as a cleaning solution

[Rasputin]

Found my first Indian Head penny (1884, I think) yesterday at a turn of the century house in a nearby town. It had the typical heavy green patina so I tried a hot peroxide solution and while it bubbled like crazy, it did little to clean it. (I only left it in about an hour.) Same with olive oil. But what I did find worked well was magnesium citrate--yep, the same as the laxative. Took that corrosion right off. Only took about twenty minutes. If you like that green patina, then don't use magnesium citrate. it will strip copper bare! Haven't tried it on silver yet.Magnesium citrate only costs about 79 cents a bottle and is available at any drug store.

[Rasputin]

I have been experimenting and found it does very little for clad coins or nickels, but it works wonders for coppers. It removes all the corrosion and oxidation. I still have not tried it on silver.