cleaning

johnomerta · Mar 5, 2014

Does anyone ever clean any of their CRH silver finds? Sometimes I get some nasty coins. I let them sit in a little solution and wipe them off. Everything comes off with out any scrubbing. I know they say dont clean your coins but most of my halves only have a silver value.

boristhespider88 · Mar 5, 2014

johnomerta said:
Does anyone ever clean any of their CRH silver finds? Sometimes I get some nasty coins. I let them sit in a little solution and wipe them off. Everything comes off with out any scrubbing. I know they say dont clean your coins but most of my halves only have a silver value.

I clean the really tarnished ones that have no numismatic value (really nasty 90%ers, 40%ers, dimes, and war nickels).

mAGma · Mar 5, 2014

I actually like the look of tarnished ones. Gives them character

johnomerta · Mar 6, 2014

boristhespider88 said:
I clean the really tarnished ones that have no numismatic value (really nasty 90%ers, 40%ers, dimes, and war nickels).

mAGma said:
I actually like the look of tarnished ones. Gives them character

I think both of yall are right.

BuffaloBoy · Mar 6, 2014

be careful, some tarnished coins actually demand a premium, even if they appear ugly. There's a difference between tarnish and dirt.

boristhespider88 said:
I clean the really tarnished ones that have no numismatic value (really nasty 90%ers, 40%ers, dimes, and war nickels).

BuffaloBoy · Mar 6, 2014

I don't clean my coins unless they are literally unidentifiable. Unless you are putting your silver on display (which I hope that you don't), I don't see why cleaning the silver makes sense. No offence to the OP

maine_Jim · Mar 6, 2014

If you are interested in getting into the numismatic side of crh and even start purchasing coins for a coin collection it is helpful to recognize what cleaned coins look like. I have experimented on some for this purpose. I've dipped and whizzed and experimented with many coins but only with ones that are only worth melt value. Look on ebay at a lot of the rolls of silver half dollars for sale and you will notice many will be listed as in bu condition but will have been dipped. They seem to bring more money...

Maine_Jim

CW3(ret) US Army · Mar 6, 2014

johnomerta said:
Does anyone ever clean any of their CRH silver finds? Sometimes I get some nasty coins. I let them sit in a little solution and wipe them off. Everything comes off with out any scrubbing. I know they say dont clean your coins but most of my halves only have a silver value.

No. I'm not going to display the coins so there is no need to do so.

HH
Gary

johnomerta · Mar 6, 2014

Its all matter of preference. Some I clean but I wouldn't clean anything worth more than melt. And that's not to say I clean everything that is just melt.

Thorne · Mar 6, 2014

Is rinsing the coin in water and qtiiping count as cleaning? Does this effect the value

boristhespider88 · Mar 6, 2014

BuffaloBoy said:
be careful, some tarnished coins actually demand a premium, even if they appear ugly. There's a difference between tarnish and dirt.

No, we aren't talking pretty tarnish (I probably mean toning, not tarnish... rainbow, etc. that demands a premium) we are talking pure black, brown, and green here.

fistfulladirt · Mar 7, 2014

I agree with Maine Jim.

Connissuer's Silver Jewelry Cleaner. Sold at Target.
10-second dip will make Kennedy halves into BU condition, it's amazing.

I don't use it.

maverick · Mar 7, 2014

The only Silver I have ever cleaned was some Quarters that I bought that were just completely nasty black and sticky, they had absolutely no numismatic value what so ever, I took some warm water and a little baking soda and rubbed them with the solution ( thick like a paste) cleaned them up nicely, I do not recommend this to clean anything other than JUNK SILVER, but it did work great. HH, Maverick.

BuffaloBoy · Mar 7, 2014

fistfulladirt said:
I agree with Maine Jim.

Connissuer's Silver Jewelry Cleaner. Sold at Target.
10-second dip will make Kennedy halves into BU condition, it's amazing.

I don't use it.

I'll have to check that out :-) i don't clean my coins but why not try it out on common silver that's worth melt.

fistfulladirt · Mar 7, 2014

BuffaloBoy said:
I'll have to check that out :-) i don't clean my coins but why not try it out on common silver that's worth melt.

BB, I recommend using this dip on ONLY Kennedy halves, and Roosevelt dimes. It does work great peeling grime off of later mercs also. NEVER use this product on numismatic silver.

50cent · Mar 7, 2014

Q-tip to carefully remove loose dirt. I also use a high powered air compressor with a small nozzle to clean. IMHO, these are the only acceptable ways to clean coins without compromising their integrity