Coin Restoration (cleaning)

[Twinkletoes]

Here are a couple of my wheat pennies that I found this week before and after cleaning (restoring).

View attachment 732075


HH

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[Twinkletoes]

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[cudamark]

Looks good! What method did you use? Were they just dirty or was there some corrosion?

 

[Twinkletoes]

Looks good! What method did you use? Were they just dirty or was there some corrosion?

These were some of the worst wheat pennies I have ever dug. I really didn't have any idea how to get the encrustation off and get them in a presentable condition. Where I used to live we would just wash them off, sometimes using a tooth brush and they looked great. So I went on line and found this method of cleaning worthless pennies.

1) Use a toothbrush with soap and water to remove as much grime as possible.
2) Soak in lemon juice for a few minutes until clean. Brush as needed.
3) When clean dip in a solution of baking soda to stop the reaction.
4) Lightly scrub again with toothbrush and plain water
5) Allow to completely dry
6) To restore the appearance of a natural patina use light brown or brown shoe polish applied with a Q tip. Buff with a soft cloth.

Naturally you would never clean a coin that has any value because loosing the patina alone would ruin it, however, most pennies I dig are for my collection and have no value at all until they are cleaned.

If you decide to try it let me know how it works for you.

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[arnofarrell]

Thanks, I will try this.