wash it more or leave it alone?

[adaminnh]

Hi. I dug this nickel this morning. I'd really like to see better detail but dont want to 'clean' it. All ive done so far is rinsed off in a puddle and under tap water. What is the difference between washing and cleaning? What would you do?

 

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[lastleg]

Looks like you used a little vinegar on it. Makes them reddish in colour. With 75% copper and 25% nickel composition they are almost
impossible to restore to original lustre. Send PM if you want to whiz it up a little.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Unless it's a rare, key-date then you can try any method you want.

 

[sagittarius98]

Looks like you used a little vinegar on it. Makes them reddish in colour. With 75% copper and 25% nickel composition they are almost
impossible to restore to original lustre. Send PM if you want to whiz it up a little.

Vinegar actually removes the red. I've used it on my dug coins and they turned out to be dark gray.

Results Of Using Vinegar And Salt On Dug Nickels

 

[dejapooh]

I would hesitate using more than soap and water on a coin. you can soak it, you can use a rose thorn to try to pry off grit. Anything more and you are "Cleaning" the coin and it will lose at least half of its value.

 

[Jason in Enid]

I would hesitate using more than soap and water on a coin. you can soak it, you can use a rose thorn to try to pry off grit. Anything more and you are "Cleaning" the coin and it will lose at least half of its value.

It's a dug coin with extreme environmental damage. There is no value to lose for common date coins.

 

[jerseyben]

No amount of washing is gonna make that coin look better. Do what you want to it - you can't hurt it.