baking soda + boiling water = silver cleaner?

i saw this on a website about silver coins, and i just couldn't help but think if that was right.

i know, don't clean your coins. i haven't done this either. i wanted to know if it was safe or not!

 

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You have to add aluminum foil and a bit of salt to that mixture. The sulfur leaves the silver and attaches to the aluminum. It probably damages the coins though.

 

yeah, i thought it wan't very good because of the sulfer, but i just wasn't positive!

 

Aghast........

 

Or use an aluminum pan. Either option will do the same damage to the coin.

I just received a catalog offering a "precious metal cleaning plate" and "activator" for only $29.99 plus shipping. Additional "activator" at 14.95 a pound.

Not a bad profit on a small piece of aluminum and some bicarbonate!

 

I agree this will damage the coin.

Yes, coins that have been cleaned by people who do not know what they are doing have destroyed 99.9% of them. This is why everyone is told to NEVER clean coins. Cleaning can be done, but you need years of experience, lots of practice on junk coins, and mostly the eye to tell if it, even if done properly, will help or hurt the coin. Some coins cannot be cleaned simply because they are best left alone, for various reasons.

What I am saying is until you have been in this hobby a decade minimum, don't even think about it, and even then only do it if you have someone who knows what they are doing help you. Ilearned from someone who had done it for 50 years, and he would not touch at least half the coins that looked like they needed it.

Chris

 

NO!! I did this to a coin I tried to sell and it damaged it and went from a $80 coin to a $20 coin. Which means melt value was worth more.

 

Only do something like this if you want to ruin your coin.

 

alright! good thing i didn't do this!

 

Incredibly wise fellow.......

 

Unless a coin has PVC adhered to it, I would recommend not doing any cleaning. Certainly nothing chemical like this.

 

I heard that if you have a coin that has dirt or something on in.. You can put it on the railroad tracks and let a locomotive run it over... Then it will be nice and shiney.. hard to read but shiney!

Just kidding of course, Baking soda has a profound negative effect on coins. Never ever ever do this,.. Unless of course your curiosity gets the best of you.. then take a 1964 Jefferson, a copper and a zinc cent and go for it.. BUT make sure your careful and they are spenders!

 

If you absolutely must clean a silver coin (and it is generally a bad idea) then do it the way professionals do using e-Z-est coin cleaner. If you're careless you may still ruin your coin. Too long a dip, too many times, too strong a solution, improper rinsing, etc.

But at least you're not guaranteed to damage it as you would by following dumb advice some rube discovered playing chemist in his kitchen.
Lance.

 

Agree 100%, also, to be safe, e-z est should be diluted with distilled water at first. I like Jim's recommendation of 50% to start.

 

I've used this method to clean really dirty junk silver with no numismatic value. Worked pretty good.

 

Back as late as the '70s making a baking soda paste was an accepted method of cleaning a coin , in the First Vam book they recommended it to clean your Morgans , now we know better . Anything with baking soda is abrasive and will ruin your coins value , and if it has any luster say goodbye to that . Listen to the given advice don't clean your coins , unless you know what you're doing . Most coins that look like they need a cleaning will only look worse even doing it the correct way . So there are really two things you have to master . 1 . is learning the proper way to clean coins , and perhaps more important is to learn what coins will actually benefit from a proper dipping .

 

Well, not sure about the 70's, but I know for a fact it was in the 50's. Some of my collecting buddies showed me how to clean coins with baking soda (or baking powder, can't remember which).. our Whitmans were stuffed with some of the shiniest coins you would ever want to see!

 

The preferred method for cleaning coins is to use a high grit sandpaper, or steel wool. Start from the center of the coin, and work your way to the perimeter of the coin, and scrub extra hard on the fields.

Next, dip the coin in nail polisher removal for no less than 10 minutes, to remove any residue and flakes.

Finally, use an acetylene torch sparingly to restore an antique patina to the coin.

 

I prefer a surface grinder myself.

 

Very true for any kind of a baking soda paste, but tfor a solution where the soda is completely dissolved in the water there should be no abrasive action. I can't see why the baking soda solution cleaning method should be any more damaging than a dip in e-zest.