nhartman2
Tenderfoot
I'm new to treasure hunting, and I want to know the best methods for cleaning coins. What is the best way to clean a coin without causing further damage? Thanks.
Welcome to Tnet! There is a whole section on cleaning and preserving finds. Basically, if it's valuable, you don't want to do anything harsh that will effect the value. Soap and water, maybe some acetone and/or olive oil is about all you should do. If they're not valuable, there are all kinds of methods to make them look shiny again.I'm new to treasure hunting, and I want to know the best methods for cleaning coins. What is the best way to clean a coin without causing further damage? Thanks.
Usually after I accumulate some silver dimes I would soak them for about two days of mild solution of Dawn liquid soap & hot water in a Rx bottle, shake every now & then, rinse several times, pat dry with paper towel/tissue. The Dawn will dissolve a lot of the oily junk that's on coins. They used Dawn to clean up the oil spill from the Val-Dez oil spill on water fowl back in the late '80's, and did the trick. So I also use it on coins. It works.
Just curious what gunk gets stuck on Silver coins that need chemicals and soaked for days? I get them where they are black, and just rub them with my fingers under water and they are cleaned up...I dont try to polish them or anything, just make them look silver again.
the ones i get with tar or cement on, i just scrub with baking soda and most of it comes off.
it seems like alot of people spend ALOT of time and effort to clean somethign that should be pretty easy to clean without soaking or chemicals
D-n-D, you said that you use a tumbler... I was thinking that using a tumbler with walnut shell media would be a good way to clean zincolns that are rather cruddy and may not go through the coin-counter. Do you think that this is a good idea?
D-n-D, you said that you use a tumbler... I was thinking that using a tumbler with walnut shell media would be a good way to clean zincolns that are rather cruddy and may not go through the coin-counter. Do you think that this is a good idea?
A lot will depend on where you find the coin. In parks where they use lots of fertilizer or at the beach, they can get pretty crusty, so crusty that water or soap and water just won't get the job done. Crusty clad, just tumble them. I use powdered laundry soap, vinegar, and gravel. I'm not going to waste more money on something just going through a Coinstar. Wheats, silver, jewelry, will depend on how bad they're encrusted. I always start with soap and water, then acetone if it looks like something that will dissolve. I then move on to vinegar bath in an aluminum pan. That usually will do the trick on most everything. If not, I go to electrolysis. I rub them with baking soda and rinse after those procedures. Rare/valuable coins or jewelry I take on an individual basis depending on how valuable and how bad the deposits looks.Just curious what gunk gets stuck on Silver coins that need chemicals and soaked for days? I get them where they are black, and just rub them with my fingers under water and they are cleaned up...I dont try to polish them or anything, just make them look silver again.
the ones i get with tar or cement on, i just scrub with baking soda and most of it comes off.
it seems like alot of people spend ALOT of time and effort to clean somethign that should be pretty easy to clean without soaking or chemicals