I like Cleaned Coins and you should to thread

I've got some Large Cents,and I wouldn't mind cleaning one of them if it would come out like the one on the 2nd page of this thread.

The one I have in mind is not that bad,but it does have some green in the nooks and cranies.What method would be best to clean it up like that one,without freaking out half the members on this forum.

I am against polishing coins,but I do like to look at them,and would prefer it if this one coin looked presentable,in a non-collector way.It doesn't have to shine,but I want it clean,and that photo looks exactly like what I want.

So what cleans copper?Dipping,rubbing,chemical bath?

 

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I'd have it sent to NCG and let them do it

 

I don't want to send it anywhere.I would rather experiment at home on my own.Just looking for some guidance on what methods to clean copper.

What exactly would they do to it at NCG anyway?I'm not looking to pay someone to professionally restore a coin.I just want to clean it up and not waste more then one coin in my efforts.I just want the green out from around the stars and letters.

I know I could probably polish the **** out of it,but I don't want to wear it down too much.I like the look of the one shown earlier,so help me out here.

 

Can I assume by you not wanting to freak out half the members on this forum, that you are ok with freaking out the other half or whatever percentage is left of the majority of people here that say "don't clean"?

J/K.

You might want to look up info on Verdicare. Search that in the search box on CT and see what you find.

 

Sometimes getting rid of the green crud reveals a different
color from rest of the copper that had since toned. You close
one door and another one pops opens. That's one of
great marvels of cleaning coins. Oh yeah polishing
coins is suicide.

 

Sometimes getting rid of the green crud reveals a different
color from rest of the copper that had since toned. You close
one door and another one pops opens. That's one of
great marvels of cleaning coins. Oh yeah polishing
coins is suicide.

 

I assume that you are talking about my cent? I purchased it in an NGC Unc Details (Improperly cleaned) holder and cracked it out. I am not exactly sure how it was cleaned. I do not actually clean coins myself, I just buy them. They are less expensive and, in my opinion, more attractive. Just realize that if you clean your coin you will be putting it into that "less expensive" category.

Like I said, I'm not sure how it was cleaned. But, I think that getting an even color distribution like that involves completely stripping the oxidized layer from the entire coin (by soaking in vinegar for instance), and then artificially re-toning the coin to the desired color with an appropriate chemical bath or treatment. I personally wouldn't recommend trying something like this on a coin of significance. Let somebody else make that mistake, and then buy their devalued coin. There are plenty of cleaned coins out there already.

Edit: Could you post a picture of the coin? I'd be curious to see what you are talking about.

 

I don't have a camera,but this is just like what I am dealing with.I want to clean it up like yours,so it is attractive to me.I found a bag of coins at my grandmothers place,and want to clean one of them up.If I can get it to like like yours,I would be happy.The green in the letters and stars is what I am going to try to clean up.

 

The way the "green" is on the coin, obverse and reverse, makes me think that perhaps this isn't normal verdigris or stuff. It makes me think, the way it is on the entire coin, that perhaps the coin had been cleaned before. I would say before you do anything, let some of the experts chime in. (added: sorry just notice you said this was "like" yours. Find a way to take a pic of yours and follow through with) You might want to start a thread of your own on this coin, to see if you can get some of the experts on here. Like under US coins. I'm sure that not all the experts are wading through this particular thread thinking there may be a new person asking about a coin.

Also, just take into consideration, that some of the things you want to "clean up" on a coin may backfire on you, or you may later on wish you hadn't done that.

 

That coin has already been cleaned. There is no way to clean the green out from under the letters and stars, or the previous cleaning would have taken care of it.
Guy

 

I have others,so it won't be a tragedy if it doesn't turn out like I had planned.There has got to be a way to clean it up like the other photo.I will only attempt this on the one coin,so you guys can relax if you think I am destroying valuable coins.My coin,my loss.

Worst that can happen is I make the coin uglier then it already is.If it was already cleaned,it must have been over 50 years ago,because I doubt these coins have seen the light of day in that time.

But keep the ideas coming.I did some searching,and acetone is NOT recommended on copper.Someone suggested rubbing it with a q-tip and baking soda/water mix.

 

This is the coin that you are referring to. This appearance is not obtained using rubbing, buffing, or polishing methods (nothing good could come of polishing a copper coin). This coin is authentic, and is in great condition (in terms of ware), but the color is totally artificial. It was done utilizing chemical processes. This is my understanding anyway, somebody else may know better and can chime in on the subject.



I have this flying eagle cent, which has a few green spots on it. I'd like to try to remove them, but I don't want to mess with it until I feel comfortable with what I am doing. I've been experimenting with circulated pennies that have similar spots. Acetone was recommended, and I tried that, but it doesn't seem to do much good. A method that I have recently tried is showing a bit more promise. It involves taking a plastic shafted Q-tip and cutting the shaft off at an angle so that a sharp plastic point is created. I put the penny under a stereomicroscope, and then use the plastic point to basically pick the green gunk off of the coin surface. Haven't yet felt comfortable enough to try it on the eagle cent though.

 

Better to use a rose thorn..........

 

Traditionalist.

 

I'll take that as a compliment sir.........

 

Are you old enough to be a traditionalist. Traditionalist in my home means something very different.


Amanda

 

As I meant it.

 

Now isn't that all so sweet.

 

i don't mind a coin that has been cleaned...

i know this one was cleaned because the dealer said it was. he even gave a discount for the cleaning...


these all spent over 1000 years in the ground... they didn't come out of the ground this nice... yep, they all were cleaned!!

 

Ancients need to be cleans with a cement mixer