Cleaning Coins<---Needs Advice

[GlassyEyed]

There has to be a thread in here somewhere for cleaning coins...anyone?

I have many older coins I have saved since I was a boy. I pulled them out last night for the first time is probably 25 years. There are several Indian Heads in there I'd like to get cleaned up and preserved better than they are. The oldest is an 188?...I can't tell what the last number is. Hopefully after cleaning it will show.

Anyways...advice is highly appreciated. Thanks.

 

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[dp2013]

The best advice anyone can give is do not clean the coins. They are what they are.

 

[jim4silver]

Cleaning will virtually eliminate any numismatic value your coins have. If you don't care about that and just want shiny coins, then go for it.

Cleaning by just soaking them in soapy warm water to remove dirt, etc would generally be OK unless it is a really rare coin.

Dipping coins or wiping with coin cleaning cloths will remove layers of the original surface (mint luster) to some degree and even a semi pro coin collector will spot that they have been cleaned a mile away (dips not as bad as the wipes).

Jim

 

[AGCoinHunter]

Cleaning an Indian head will not bring out the date. As others have said they are what they are and if you clean them they become worth face unless they are very hard to find coins. Best thing is leave them the way they are, put them in some sort of protector and enjoy them.

 

[mistergee]

never clean coins if you want them to be worth more than just face value. i know alot of the MDers clean thiers to see what they are. but even if they are rare and are cleaned professionally they are still labeled as "environmental damage" which significantly reduces the value. check the guys in "todays finds"

 

[GlassyEyed]

No Clean is what I figured I'd hear most.

I'm just a little concerned because a couple of the IHs have a very dark green almost raisded patina on the back making it impossioble to see the back. Basically I think they are not worth much because of the condition...so cleaning a little just to get all the residue off is what i am looking for. I'm afraid that whatever is there will only get worse and disintegrate the coin.

Maybe I should rephrase this to...What is the "best" method to lighty clean old pennies?

Thanks for the advice so far....

 

[silvercop]

the only coin i will clean is a dateless buffalo. i use nic-a-date for that. my thinking is if you have a key date the only way to tell is to see the date. if it is dateless it is not worth much anyway. i don't clean anything else.

 

[DigginThePast]

As you seem well aware, cleaning is usually a no-no. But when we have these coins that we can not even make out the date, how much is there to loose by trying to do a little work on it to restore the date? My opinion is if it is a dateless or partial date Indian Head then it is just a copper slug. Once the date is established then you can decide if you want to do further work on the coin.

I would go to this part of the forum and ask your question.
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/board,70.0.html

 

[fistfulladirt]

I watch coins on E-pay all the time. I see cleaned coins (specified in auction) going for big bucks all the time. Yes, they look great, altho I tend to shy away from any coin cleaned. One example is the early bust halves. ffd

 

[AGCoinHunter]

I hear that olive oil is acceptable to use for copper. Never tried it myself but you could try it on a pre-82 copper and see what it does. If you can avoid it, dont clean.

 

[fistfulladirt]

I hear that olive oil is acceptable to use for copper. Never tried it myself but you could try it on a pre-82 copper and see what it does. If you can avoid it, dont clean.

AG, I use olive oil on my dug indians. From what i understand, it is an organic substance and will "rot" over time. Some say that it will even pit copper coins.

 

[enamel7]

I watch coins on E-pay all the time. I see cleaned coins (specified in auction) going for big bucks all the time. Yes, they look great, altho I tend to shy away from any coin cleaned. One example is the early bust halves. ffd

Yes it happens. I'm afraid it does because people don't know any better. They are overpaying for these coins. Then they try to sell later and people won't touch them.
HH
Gilbert

 

[DAS7NY]

I hear that olive oil is acceptable to use for copper. Never tried it myself but you could try it on a pre-82 copper and see what it does. If you can avoid it, dont clean.

AG, I use olive oil on my dug indians. From what i understand, it is an organic substance and will "rot" over time. Some say that it will even pit copper coins.

Olive oil on Indians does NO harm and will not effect the value at all. I use it on all of the Indians I buy and have been told by my local dealer (One of the largest dealers on the east coast) That this is a safe and effective method and I've also read Coin Chemistry which outlines the safe ways to clean and repair coins without damaging the value. Trust me olive oil is very safe. If you have and IH with a little green rub it on with a Q tip and it will take it right off, it will remove ALL of the grime safely. If you have a badly corroded IH you can place it in a dish of olive oil for about a week, then flip it over and leave it for another week and it will reverse the corrosion! Great stuff!

 

[obediah]

I'm only selling circulated %40 & eventually %90 Silver, stuff that has no numismatic value so cleaning it will only make it easier to please those who buy'em from me, primarily on fleaBay

 

[maine_Jim]

Most people will say "don't clean" but a lot of old silver has been "dipped". Good olive oil is ok for copper but give it a good rinse in pure acetone after. Watch out it is extremely flammable and you need adequate ventilation. Works good on most coin to remove foreign material. The olive oil may help the green verdigris. Some people use a thing called verdigone. If you have an 188? indian cent it is not going to have much value so it is a good candidate to experiment with. Don't try on a key date as they are worth more in original "dirty" condition.

Maine_Jim

 

[Darth Walker]

Many Silver coins like halves common dates will never be worth more than the silver value clean it or not.

The ones you must not clean are the rare ones or error ones.


I clean all the time my 90% and 40% common dates halves and they sell for the same.

DW

 

[olepossum]

i use hot soap and water andthen a good soak and a soft childs tooth brush and a dry baby cloth diaper for drying

 

[DAS7NY]

I'm only selling circulated %40 & eventually %90 Silver, stuff that has no numismatic value so cleaning it will only make it easier to please those who buy'em from me, primarily on fleaBay

Then go for it! Just don't ruin any Walkers by cleaning them.

 

[fistfulladirt]

I'm only selling circulated %40 & eventually %90 Silver, stuff that has no numismatic value so cleaning it will only make it easier to please those who buy'em from me, primarily on fleaBay

Then go for it! Just don't ruin any Walkers by cleaning them.

I have dipped 2 Walkers out of about 100. Just gorgeous! I chose 2 that had lots of skirt lines and fine details, altho common date coins. I don't think that you can tell the difference from BU.
I would never clean a key date, such as the 38'D.
It's all a matter of personal preference. I like my silver to shine, but I know better. ffd

 

[jewelerdave]

Keep in mind, a Dealer and Experienced Collector Will know if a coin has been F*cked With.
No offense but any "armature" at home cleaning will almost always result in some kind of damage.

Take it from someone who has been professionally cleaning coins. you have to have the right equipment, the right know how, and know whats going to work and whats going to be a disaster.

Some can be uncleaned, But its a pop shot, Some can be repaired. I just recently resold a damaged 1864S Five Dollar gold that had damage on it...no more. It passed to an experienced coin buyer with over 30 years buying and selling...so it can be done. I fixed it, and resold it for a profit, but also disclosed that it was a previously damaged coin. Made $100 on it.

The best thing to do if you have something you think may be something, Is to NOT TOUCH IT. often times things sell just fine as they are. I so often see guys who metal detect Find an un circulated coin and the first thing they do when digging it up is they start wiping the dirt and sand over the shiny faces with there dirty grit packed thumbs and destroy the mint luster and scratch the hell out of it...Watching Hundreds and even thousands of dollars Disappearing with every wipe..."whats that date" For gods sake..and your wallets sake, Put it in a bag and use water to get dirt off. ya may as well be using sand paper on it. you would not smear gritty mud all over a new coin...so on a good old one dont do it! Let the trill of the find be doubled when you get it home, and use WATER ONLY No rubbing. Or take it to a professional and get the Third Thrill of the hunt when you get paid top dollar for an original coin...instead of the crap this is just bullion now. how about a fraction of what it was worth.