My First Buffalo, And He Cleaned Up Nicely

[Brendan M.]

Hello Friends!

I went out to an old abandoned (but pretty well-known) picnic grove on Saturday, and it was a decent time all in all. There are definitely still coins to be found -- I was digging Wheats everywhere; whole pockets of them. Then I got a weird signal far enough down to warrant digging, and out came the 1936 Buffalo Nickel pictured below. Now, you pro coinshooters out there, please cut me some slack and don't laugh -- this is my first Buffalo, and I'm pretty psyched. I haven't had a whole lot of luck with nickels, aside from this one and a 1943 War Nickel I found way back.

Of course when I dug the Buffalo it came up in terrible shape. First I used a hot peroxide bath to remove the layer of crud, exposing all the red corrosion. From there I used the salt and vinegar/baking soda method to remove the red staining, and I was extremely happy with the results. Have a look!

This a GREAT method for cleaning nickels. If you need the instructions either check the cleaning forum or PM me for info.

Thanks for looking!

Cheers and HH,
Brendan

 

[madmacabre]

Dont leave nickels in too long or it will eat away too much of the coin's detail. Looks like you did a good job at keeping it to a minimum

 

[Brendan M.]

Dont leave nickels in too long or it will eat away too much of the coin's detail. Looks like you did a good job at keeping it to a minimum

Yes you are 100% right. Less is more. I'd say I left this one in for about 10 minutes, tops. You have to watch them closely!

Cheers and HH,
B

 

[BuckleBoy]

Another tip--when the nickel is done, you should Soak it in water for a while or gently rub baking soda into the face of the coin. This will stop the vinegar from continuing its work after the nickel is done with the cleaning process.

There was a post here a while back where someone had tried Lime-Away on nickels, with Fantastic results. I'm going to try this method soon on a crusty 1918 Buffalo I found last week.

Nice work on this nickel!


-Buckles

 

[Brendan M.]

Another tip--when the nickel is done, you should Soak it in water for a while or gently rub baking soda into the face of the coin. This will stop the vinegar from continuing its work after the nickel is done with the cleaning process.

There was a post here a while back where someone had tried Lime-Away on nickels, with Fantastic results. I'm going to try this method soon on a crusty 1918 Buffalo I found last week.

Nice work on this nickel!


-Buckles

Yep, I used the baking soda afterward. It worked like a charm.

Good luck with your cleaning!

Cheers and HH,
B

 

[crazyjarhead]

I see the before pics front and back but I didn't see the after pics

 

[liftloop]

congrat's on the nickel, still looking for mine

 

[Robin]

Great job on cleaning. I was trying to do some cleaning of coins today
with little luck, trying to get the red stain out of a nickel, I'll do your method
thanks a lot Brendan, any great find too !


OH ! To CrazyJa Head The finnished pic's are on the right side, your needing to move them over from the bottom picture bar.

Robin

 

[civilman1]

Thank's for the recipe B....I'll use it when I find MY first one Nice Job

 

[TreasurdiggrNY]

Congrats on your first Buffalo, I just found my first in a trashy spot about a month ago. Good job on the cleanup, it came out very nice.
Glenn

 

[crazyjarhead]

How stupid of me

 

[Brendan M.]

Thanks, everyone!

Yes, I think the vinegar method is the only way to really clean those red-stained nickels. I've tried it on beat up V nickels too, and the results were outstanding. Just be careful. You don't have to soak them long!

Best of luck!

Cheers and HH,
B

 

[Detectingfreak]

Very nice job on the buffalo sure cleaned up nice!

 

[Robin]

Yeah thanks again for the Recipe B, I did it last night and all my coins came out great ! I appreciate the Recipe and you do have a nice find to on the 1936 Nickel
Its a keeper !
Good hunting brother ! Robin

 

[dugdigger]

nice nickle thanks for the cleaning tip!

 

[madmacabre]

Another tip is that you can use this method to get dates off of nickels that have been worn out. Theres this stuff I have called "nic-a-date" that pretty much does the same thing that vinegar does.

Some of the stuff to clean coins are here. just don't use it on valuable coins.

http://www.jpscorner.com/Cleaning_Supplies.htm

 

[Brendan M.]

Another tip is that you can use this method to get dates off of nickels that have been worn out. Theres this stuff I have called "nic-a-date" that pretty much does the same thing that vinegar does.

Some of the stuff to clean coins are here. just don't use it on valuable coins.

http://www.jpscorner.com/Cleaning_Supplies.htm

Yeah I actually have that stuff but haven't used it. I heard "Nic-A-Date" pretty much damages the coin beyond repair, and you should only use it when you're desperate for a date off the coin, and don't care for its value. You can't use it on the whole coin, either. Just the date.

But again, all part of the toolkit.

Cheers,
B

 

[Brendan M.]

Yeah thanks again for the Recipe B, I did it last night and all my coins came out great ! I appreciate the Recipe and you do have a nice find to on the 1936 Nickel
Its a keeper !
Good hunting brother ! Robin

Nice! I'm really glad. You should post some pics!

Cheers and HH,
B

 

[Brendan M.]

nice nickle thanks for the cleaning tip!

My pleasure, and thanks!

Cheers,
B