Went to a coin store today and picked up a 1938-1961 nickel album. This is my first and was wondering do u clean up the coins at all before putting them in or do u just stick them in how u found them?
Nope, I don't even recommend cleaning these if you plucked them out of circulation. Okay, not necessarily cleaning, more like dipping to remove dust, dirt and other things before placing in the album. Is this album a Dansco or Whitman where it has sleeves to protect the coins or is it a folder where the coin is still exposed? If it's a folder with the coins exposed, then I definitely wouldn't bother dipping these in acetone.
Like I said, if you plucked them out of circulation, I wouldn't bother dipping them to put in an album or folder.
with the exception of the war nickels i almost have this set completed purely from circulation. so have fun digging in
There are plenty of schools of thought on the subject of coin cleaning. (Just search the various threads here on CT). I think the important thing is to remember you are not IMPROVING the coin when you dip, you are just making them a little more sanitary / cleaner. As for me - I never clean anything except for the following: (a) Coins pulled from circulation that are clearly "dirty" or unhygenic yet good enough to keep. (b) Foriegn coins that meet the same qualifications, but are NOT made of silver or gold.
I'd say a simple dip in acetone like they said would be fine. Aside from that a light whipping with something soft to cut down on oils from your hands is also a plus. Like most said these aren't too terribly scarce so just a simple clean shouldn't hurt.
I would skip the rag part. Just a quick dip should be fine. As a matter of fact I don't even do that for the ones I find from circulation. I might put one in a spot, then when a nicer one comes along I replace it. Just my opinion.
