Wheaties........ to clean or not to clean

[XT18000]

I have 17 wheaties from the 40s and 12 from the 50s and wondering if I should clean them any.
Most of them are in good to vg condition; only a few have ding's on them. They all have a brown
patina as normal for coins that have been in circulation. Some have S mint mark some D and some
have none. Some with same date's have a mix of all three mints. What to do;how to clean? Thanks All

 

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[sniffer]

if you can read them and they're not corroded, I wouldn't clean them at all. they're worth more in a "natural" state

 

[gary in idaho]

I agree, do not clean them. If you have to clean them use only a mild soap and water.

 

[bazinga]

Why not clean them? They are common dates from the 1940s and 1950s. Cleaned or uncleaned they are still only going to be worth a penny unless you have an error.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I am so disgusted with the value-less-ness of the '40s/50s wheaties (1.5 cents each at best?) that I don't even save them. I just throw them in with my clad. In fact, I just throw ALL my wheaties in with my clad, unless they are key date. Reason? One time I had a fellow buy a bucket of several hundred wheaties from me, at something like .03c each. By the time I was done counting them, and by the time I was done hearing him gripe about how there was nothing worth a durn in there (I'd cherry picked the good dates out already), it just wasn't worth my time. So now, I just scan the wheats for the obvious 7 or 8 keeper dates, and the rest ........ just goes into my clad bucket

 

[rmptr]

Yup.

Sometimes things become a matter of diminishing returns.

That doesn't take away the fun parts, though!

Best

 

[Sandman]

Why not clean them? They are common dates from the 1940s and 1950s. Cleaned or uncleaned they are still only going to be worth a penny unless you have an error.

It depends on what we want from the hobby. Our time is definitely worth more than the coins, but what are ya going to do with your time, cut the grass

I check the dates and save them all so I can look back on the buckets and think how much fun I had collecting them all by saving me from doing work around the house which will still be here when I am gone.

 

[bazinga]

Why not clean them? They are common dates from the 1940s and 1950s. Cleaned or uncleaned they are still only going to be worth a penny unless you have an error.

It depends on what we want from the hobby. Our time is definitely worth more than the coins, but what are ya going to do with your time, cut the grass

I check the dates and save them all so I can look back on the buckets and think how much fun I had collecting them all by saving me from doing work around the house which will still be here when I am gone.

I just throw the wheats into a tumbler with crushed walnuts. They come out pretty decent. Then they just get tossed into a big jar full of wheats.

 

[whitesPA]

i keep all my wheaties in a can --some are cleaned --some are not

 

[TerryC]

All the 40s and 50s are only worth 15 to 20 cents apiece unless you have one with a double strike mint mark (Yeoman Red Book). So it's really your choice. I clean mine. TTC

 

[bazinga]

All the 40s and 50s are only worth 15 to 20 cents apiece unless you have one with a double strike mint mark (Yeoman Red Book). So it's really your choice. I clean mine. TTC

Do you know of any buyers that will pay this price? Even at coin shops I see those dates at a nickel a piece or so. Even common date teens and 20s I see for less than 20 cents at coin shops.

 

[Rifleman]

Why not just keep them all and pass them on to your kids or grandkids when you pass. Who knows, 100 years from now they may be worth a bundle. Rolling them and passing them off they are only worth 50 cents, years from now, who knows? Remember how common silver coins were not too many years ago? Sure, they are only copper, but who knows what the future holds.

John K