Cleaning a half cent

[Mukurogirl]

What would work best on cleaning it? It's our first real old coin

[MEinWV]

Half cents can be pretty valuable, so don't do anything harsh. Olive oil has never done anything to hurt a coin I have used it on and it is also a natural preservative. Soak it for a few days to see if it loosens any crud on the coin. Copper is soft, so don't use hard objects on it. I have cleaned crud off of coppers with a toothpick. Just be careful not to clean it too much, as you don't want to take it down to the shiny copper surface. As long as you can just get the organic surface crud off, that is as far as you should go.

If you are not comfortable trying to clean your old coin finds, beyond just a quick rinse with a little dishwashing liquid, then don't do it. At least you still have the coin, and someday you can further decide what to do.

Good luck!