Potato penny cleaning method. (updated)

[Baldingboy]

What about Indian head pennies? Will you get the same results that you would get from wheat pennies?

I found an 1898 Indian Head that had lots of gunk and green on it. I used the potato and monitored it closely. It did an awesome job!

 

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[mastereagle22]

I too have noticed that it makes all coins done this way look rusty and dull. Is there anything you can use to rub on the coin and make it kind of shiny again??

Someone suggested a little beeswax on the coin afterwards and it works pretty good.

 

[Baldingboy]

Rub a lot of vaseline into the coin and let it sit overnight. The next day you can buff it to a nice luster and it looks great.

BB

 

[Bridge End Farm]

some old timer told me this method today I am glad to see it works thanks

 

[mountainplayer]

I tried this method, but the results were a bit mixed, probably because I used a single potato for multiple coins (the first time I had multiple wheaties to clean I only had one small potato in the house). They ended up looking kind of blotchy, with black stains.

Seeing these results, I've got to give it another try.

And remember, dudes, the potato goes in the FRONT of the Speedo.....

MP

 

[discovery_bound]

Ok, thought I'd try this just to see if it really works. Mixed reviews as seen in the pics. I found the 3 worst pennies i could find and experimented a bit. The first picture is after 20 hrs in potato number one, just a regular Idaho russett. I switched to a new potato and left them in for another 7hrs and the second photo is what i came out with. Doesn't seem to work very good if your coin has that greenish colored corrosion (patina?), the top coin turned out pretty good, and the other is just damaged beyond repair. Probably do some more trial and error with potatoes, H2O2, and a tumbler just to see what really works best for me. Take care all,

JW

 

[X-Terra70_TreasureHunter]

Hi refer too my post

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,143334.0.html

 

[curbdiggercarl57]

This is a new one for me, I'll try it tonight.
CurbdiggerCarl

 

[Detectingfreak]

Trying the method right now! If the potato cleans up this badly damaged coin to where i can read the date and see if its a wheat penny or the memorial cent then I am all set. I found a cent about 3-4 weeks ago metal detecting and Washington States soil really does a number on our memorials and wheaties that we cannot make out what it is half of the time. I am just hoping that this works. I have tried everything to get this coin cleaned up. If its a wheatie then I will definatly be going back to the field which I had hunted in before!

 

[mastereagle22]

If you have a penny in that bad a shape you can use an SOS pad with lemon to lightly rub it to the point where you can see a date.


DO NOT do this on a potentially good coin because any value the coin may have as a collectible coin would probably be gone.

 

[stefen]

Re: Potato penny cleaning method.

Rub a Potato on your windsheild, it stops it misting up in fog and other bad weather

God bless
Peter

So does wetted cigarette tobacco

 

[BuckleBoy]

Re: Potato penny cleaning method.

Rub a Potato on your windsheild, it stops it misting up in fog and other bad weather

God bless
Peter

So does wetted cigarette tobacco

So does Armadillo Sweat.

 

[mikewaz]

I wonder if the potato's cleaning effect increases when baked?

I'm not sure, but they taste a lot better
Mike

 

[MUD(S.W.A.T)]

You know your a redneck if.... You know what vegetables are good for around the house jobs.

Potato trick is a great trick, use the potato... Then do the 24 hour Vaseline method and the coins come out great. Works best on copper coins, its the starch in the potato that draws out the oxide and cleans the coin from the copper. It dries out the coins a lot but that's what the Vaseline is for.

Keep @ it and HH!!

 

[Florin]

I have been collecting and finding coins, not like most of you using metal detectors.

I go to garage sales and annually our local Council has a hard rubbish collection which friends and I scrounge, for whatever we need at the time. You'd be surprised what people throw away. My best find so far is a 19" monitor which had a note on it saying it was in working condition. I have been using it almost every day since, which is just over 12 months.

Amongst the boxes of surprises from hard rubbish, I have found older coins including some in a similar condition to those featured in the pics for this particular topic.

As I live in Australia, we have some different potato varieties to those in the US.
The most common and the ones I mostly see at the supermarket and buy are Coliban... white skin/white inner, Desiree... red-pink/yellow and Red Pontiac... red/white.
Here is a link to our Aussie potato varieties. http://www.healthyfoodguide.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=212&Itemid=50
Plus, a pic of the 3 I mentioned.
Which potatoes would you recommend please?

Also re the actual coins... will only copper containing coins work... like the halfpenny (pron. hape-ney) & penny and the 1 & 2 cent coins?

Great forum with loads of interesting information. Thanks.

 

[woody50]

I saw this over on the cleaning forum. This method was posted by cryptodave and my thanks to him because I have been looking for a way to clean my Wheat cents. He said to put the pennies in a potato and I just had to try it. I left it in for 24 hours and the results speak for themselves. All I did was rinse it off and dry it. I'm putting it in for another day in a fresh potato to see what happens. Thanks again cryptodave.



Here is the same penny after 6 more hours. It didn't take 24.

Looks great! I would NOT try this on any coin which has a nice patina though, it looks like it removes it also!

 

[dragon6banger]

you should've seen the look on my wife's face when she asked me if i needed anything from the store i told me and the guy's were going to need some more vaseline

 

[White Feather]

If you are doing the penny in the potato thing, let your wife know they are NOT setting on the counter to be nuked for dinner. Then again, maybe you don't have a wife like mine.
Where's Me Grog, Wench?

 

[stefen]

There's so many uses for vasoline...we put it on the doorknobs to keep the kids out of the bedroom....

 

[John987]

Thanks for this info. I have a lot of pennies to experiment on and I believe I also have some old potatoes that I was going to throw out. Can't wait to experiment. Plus I think I'll give the instant potatoes a shot at it while I at it.
Besides pennies from MD'ng I have a pile of pennies that were destroyed in a flood and many are rustede and stuck together in clumps. For those maybe I'll try an Instant Potatoe soup. I was just going to throw them out. But after reading these messages - it's time to experiment.
Thanks and HH
John