Anyone else clean their silver, or am I nuts?

[XP Shooter]

I just started metal detecting this last June, and since then have found 24 silver coins. 22 are Mercs and Rosie's, plus I have an SLQ from 1926, and a Walking Liberty half dollar from 1918. I don't ever plan on selling these coins, so I polish them with a little silver polish because I love the way they shine. Am I the only person that does this? Should I stop polishing my silver?

 

[bill from lachine]

Well at some point if you or your heirs decide to sell the coins the scratches from the polishing reduces the value to melt no premium whatsoever because of the damage.

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[l.cutler]

A lot of people who never plan on selling eventually do, and are very disappointed to find how much the cleaning devalues the coins.

 

[Loco-Digger]

They are your coins and you do with them as you please. I do recommend you check on line to see if any future coins are key dates or have a high value to collectors

USA Coin Book - US Coin Values and Prices - Buy and Sell Coins Online

before you do more than rinse them off.

Click on any coin title on the L/H side of the screen, it will give you details about that series of coin.

 

[XP Shooter]

You guys are making a lot of sense, I hadn't really thought about the coins going to my kids or being of any real value. It was just 6 months ago I was hoping to find ANY silver coin! How do you guys take care if the coins you find?

 

[bill from lachine]

The safest way to clean silver coins without damaging them is to soak them in lemon juice to take off the tarnish...rinse under tap water and let air dry.

Get some plastic coin flips to store and you're good to go.

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[l.cutler]

The best thing to do is just to rinse the dirt off, don't rub, let dry and put in a coin holder. Any toning is part of the original surface, and is best left as it is. Certainly there are exceptions, heavily encrusted coins may need "professional" help.

 

[Iron Patch]

Not even taking value into consideration I absolutely hate the look of a buffed/polished coin. When I was new I shined up a couple of more modern silver coins, but 2nd guessed if I really wanted to do that... and thank God I held back because I would be pretty sick if I had continued with all the older silver I have dug. There is a few I had to clean, but had good results and made them far better than what they were.... but I never used anything abrasive.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

It really depends on if its a key or semi key date. Or if it just looks good the way it came out of the ground. I have some that I havent touched since I found and some I have polished the hell out of.

rosies and most Mercs I clean up to a nice shine...others I dont touch. I like the way some of them look out of the ground. but sometimes I get some with black streaks or rust color on them. Those get cleaned

Always look up the dates before you clean them thou

 

[lastleg]

Environment damage doesn't improve on it's own, just gets worse. But you can make it
far worse by using acids (lemon is an acid). Or baking soda, Worchester sauce and other
caustic ingredients. No silver polish either because the rubbing scores the surface.
However there are ways to improve an ugly coin's appearance without use of chemicals.

 

[cudamark]

It will depend on how bad a condition the coin is in. Most worn common date silver coins we pull out of the ground are only worth their silver content. Do what you want with those....they won't lose any value. Rarer dates and ones with little wear need to be evaluated on an individual basis.

 

[XP Shooter]

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I'm going to stop cleaning my silver coins, especially now that the initial euphoria of finding an old coin has worn off a bit. (I still love seeing silver, though!)

 

[dejapooh]

The safest way to clean silver coins without damaging them is to soak them in lemon juice to take off the tarnish...rinse under tap water and let air dry.

Get some plastic coin flips to store and you're good to go.

Regards + HH

Bill

This works because the lemon juice strips off the top layers of silver. Not only does this damage the coin, ruin its value, but it sets it up for future tarnish, that is more likely to be black or brown rather than blue or green. To a purist, you should never ever clean your coins. If they are dirty from being dug, you can soak them in Olive Oil or gently wash them with your finger tips in warm soapy water. You pat dry with a soft cloth and keep it in a warm, dry place for a few hours before putting it in a mylar flip.

If you need to clean a bit of hard dirt, you can try to pry it off with a green rose thorn. The green thorn is flexible enough to not cause too much damage.

 

[pirate jim]

Wash in water, try a sonic cleaner, maybe a drop of liquid soap if really needed. Key word is use soap SPARINGLY. don't use a brush or chemicals. If the coin is very worn, there is little chance of devaluing it unless you add scratches or chemically tone it. If it is potentially a valuable coin, look into having it professionally "conserved", but find out if it is valuable BEFORE you start to clean it in any way.

 

[usandthem]

The only coins I clean are the 40%ers I find that have turned green. I have a fear that the green will spread to the other coins in the canvas bag I keep them in.

 

[Dozer D]

I clean my AG silver & wheaties separately however, by soaking them in a small size Rx bottle with several drops of DAWN liquid soap & hot water, shake & stir every now and then as you pass the kitchen (or bathroom) for approx two days. Rinse with hot water & tap dry with paper towel/napkin, air dry. It will clean off the oily residue on the coins, but it will not POLISH the coin; it's cleaning off the dirt & grime only.

 

[foiler]

My experience is as follows. If a coin is deemed to be 'cleaned' it is unsaleable to a coin dealer. If coin dealers will not trade in 'cleaned' coins then it pretty much has no numismatic value. Pawning off cleaned coins to unsuspecting inexperienced collectors is considered unethical. Most collectors can identify a 'cleaned' coin and will not want it as a collection addition. Coins that have been in circulation are expected have issues. Rinsing off dirt is one thing. Altering the natural surface is another. Once you alter the surface it is junk silver. All you need to do is talk to any coin dealer. They will pound that into you.

 

[nathan104]

For those saying it destroys the value of the coin, a question for you. Exactly how much do you think a dug common date mercury dime with common wear is worth, compared to the same coin that has been polished?

 

[coinsareawesome]

More than if it was polished.

 

[Carolina Tom]

When I first started finding silver coins, I couldn't stand the black tarnish, they looked dirty to me, so I cleaned all of my silvers. As I found more silvers, I began to "appreciate" the "original patina" more and more. I might clean one just a bit, but I refrain from polishing them up.

It's like old cars, they are only original survivors once, when you restore them, they lose that look that it took them so long to achieve.

Best of luck to a fellow Carolinian!