How do i clean a possible wheat penny?

[SCDigginWithAK]

Today I found a penny that looks to be from the 1920s. It's not clear and I can't see anything on the back how do I clean it up to be able to see it?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Family Maps of Hinds County, Mississippi, Deluxe Edition - Grab it through Amazon!

[SCDigginWithAK]

just make sure the scraping isn't TOO heavy. Let some kind of liquid loosen the crud.Drop it in olive oil overnight. Nothing to lose, I've yet to see a single posting from anyone saying it ruined their coin.
speaking of which...just wanna make sure you saw the post above about the guy ruining his Indian Head with peroxide

I appreciate that. Will the olive oil do anything to the coin? Like fade it, discolor it, etc?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

DR.ÖTEK Metal Detector, Waterproof Gold Detector, Pinpoint & Terrain Modes, Professional Metal Detector - Grab it through Amazon!

[SCDigginWithAK]

I might try to do a rubbing of it to see the date

 

[SCDigginWithAK]

just make sure the scraping isn't TOO heavy. Let some kind of liquid loosen the crud.Drop it in olive oil overnight. Nothing to lose, I've yet to see a single posting from anyone saying it ruined their coin.
speaking of which...just wanna make sure you saw the post above about the guy ruining his Indian Head with peroxide

Can I use extra virgin olive oil?

 

[finderskeepers]

extra virgin will be fine. To be clear...olive oil could take days/weeks to loosen heavy crud completely. I've seen some people say they noticed a slight darkening after WEEKS of soaking. My suggestions were made with CAUTION as the #1 thought.

Again with an abundance of caution as the #1 priority...don't RUB for the date!

The toothpick method should be more of a I'll watch this movie and mess with this coin scraping...than a I need to get this thing clean right now kind.

Again, to be clear, these methods may bring only minimal results...but hopefully enough for you to get a date and THEN decide how much/what other efforts you want employ.

 

[Davers]

You will get everyone's opinion IMO It depends on the coin & the soil cond,s it was in ,but I have tried many methods [never use lemon juice], I have never used the peroxide method either some coins clean up well by dry cleaning [ with a brush or toothpick] some clean up well with water & a med type brush ,lately Ive been rubbing [cents] between my fingers using baking soda and water. As usual DONT attempt to clean a key date or rare coin. I have also tried Mineral oil Olive oil ,each method has its merits, just depends on the coin tho, dry brushing does seen to leave a kinda shine on the cents ,that I sometimes like . So IMO just experiment and find the method that works the best for you. p.s. many times I have about scrubbed my fingers off to make a coin worth 5-25 cents look a little better. BUT to each his own. and how much time do you want to invest. 1st one needs to be lucky to find the coin and 2ed one needs to be lucky that time and ground action have been kind , as this apply's to any dug item. Best of luck.

 

[finderskeepers]

You will get everyone's opinion IMO It depends on the coin & the soil cond,s it was in ,but I have tried many methods [never use lemon juice], I have never used the peroxide method either some coins clean up well by dry cleaning [ with a brush or toothpick] some clean up well with water & a med type brush ,lately Ive been rubbing [cents] between my fingers using baking soda and water. As usual DONT attempt to clean a key date or rare coin. I have also tried Mineral oil Olive oil ,each method has its merits, just depends on the coin tho, dry brushing does seen to leave a kinda shine on the cents ,that I sometimes like . So IMO just experiment and find the method that works the best for you. p.s. many times I have about scrubbed my fingers off to make a coin worth 5-25 cents look a little better. BUT to each his own. and how much time do you want to invest. 1st one needs to be lucky to find the coin and 2ed one needs to be lucky that time and ground action have been kind , as this apply's to any dug item. Best of luck.

Words of wisdom!

 

[SCDigginWithAK]

After scrubbing hard with a very soft toothbrush the two wheats turned out to be a 1946 and wait for it......... 1909! I collect coins and I don't even have a 1909. Loved finding that. Oh I would not recommend the olive oil way. I tried it out on a memorial from 1981 and it didn't help also it discolor end the coin.

 

[prolab69]

i never clean mine, i have 2 mason jars full of those dirty copper pennies, once i see the date... i toss it in the jar.