Cleaning coins?

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by Gloria92D, Jan 24, 2018.

  1. Santinidollar

    Santinidollar Supporter! Supporter

    Have fun.
     
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  3. oz_in_ohio

    oz_in_ohio Active Member

  4. Gloria92D

    Gloria92D New Member

    Thank You :)
     
  5. Kentucky

    Kentucky Well-Known Member

    Actually I have done that and if you remove all traces of the salt and vinegar through THOROUGH rinsing, there is no residual damage.
     
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  6. Kentucky

    Kentucky Well-Known Member

    No, olive oil is acidic. Look up what the constituients of it are. Just because you think something is not acidic doesn't make it basic...there is also neutral. BTW, litmus paper works with water solutions.
     
  7. Kentucky

    Kentucky Well-Known Member

    Never wipe, this just scoots dirt around to scratch the coin. Rinse with whatever pure solvent you wish, including water. Instead of wiping dry, pat them dry.
     
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  8. Kentucky

    Kentucky Well-Known Member

    I don't agree, it is hard to evaporate and can be absorbed through the skin. Avoid!
     
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  9. Insider

    Insider Talent on loan from...

    oz_in_ohio, posted: "With my own experience, anything to the value of $5 and under is not worth placing in a 2x2 fold...You will just waste your money on the stationery. There is no easy process on cleaning a coin...The worst thing is the lettering of the coin...Once the olive oil has been placed on the coin, it is hard to get out of the lettering... I am extremely surprised someone of your age ( like my daughter ) is really interested in nusmisatics....but i guess there are the few exceptions.
    Dont do anything to the coins..."

    :yawn: There is always one ... :rolleyes:

    :hilarious::hilarious: I don't think my young son's Lincoln cent folder is even worth $5! :jawdrop:
    I'll be sure to let him know :spitoutdummy: what some long-time coin accumulator :troll:thinks :blackeye: of his collection.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2018
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  10. Dave363

    Dave363 Well-Known Member

    My problem was it took all of the natural look of the circulation away, Don't get me wrong they where cleaned.
    They looked bad so like I said not for me
    Dave
     
  11. Kentucky

    Kentucky Well-Known Member

    That is one of the problems of over cleaning circulated coins. Sometimes circulated coins just have some grunge or something that keeps them from looking their best and you just want to spiff them up a little bit. Hard to do.
     
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  12. Dave363

    Dave363 Well-Known Member

    I decided to find 1 that I cleaned as you can see next to the other it took all of the brown away.
    The natural look of a circulated old copper coin.

    Dave 20180126_160802_HDR.jpg
     
  13. Insider

    Insider Talent on loan from...

    :facepalm: What did you use? Proper cleaning (they :bookworm::doctor: call it conservation) does not remove the natural brown color! ;)
     
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  14. Kentucky

    Kentucky Well-Known Member

    To me that is just a tad too orange.
     
  15. Emmett Brown

    Emmett Brown Member

    @Gloria92D

    Oils from your hands can definitely affect coins in the long term. On shiny copper, prints will eventually turn black and are impossible to remove without damaging the coin.

    If you have common, circulated Wheats, I don't see much of problem with a light wipe with a clean microfiber cloth. :nailbiting: They're never going to have much value. Of course, and I think you know this, for high value coins and high grade, leave the coin alone altogether.

    I use acetone to remove organic buildup on coins. Those would be coins that are not acceptable in their current state to put in a 2x2 or album. I have heard that it will discolor copper coins, but have not experienced it personally.
     
  16. Insider

    Insider Talent on loan from...

  17. Santinidollar

    Santinidollar Supporter! Supporter

    He’d probably melt it down.
     
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  18. iceberg

    iceberg New Member

    2 quick questions....
    1. How do you safely remove tape residue without damaging the coin? Prefer non chemical cleaning method if possible.
    2. Has anybody tried one of those ultra sonic cleaners with soap & water for cleaning the gunk off coins? Have some pennies that could use at least a layer or 2 of gunk removed.
     
  19. BadThad

    BadThad Calibrated for Lincolns

    http://www.lincolncentforum.com/for...0-The-First-Steps-to-Proper-Coin-Conservation
     
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  20. Insider

    Insider Talent on loan from...

    This is pretty good advice; however, if any one here even thinks a numismatic conservation service soaks coins over a period of time....:rolleyes:

    You should not be afraid of most chemicals if YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. AFAIK, most of us do not. :( Therefore, follow the advice above.

    Now to answer some questions:

    #1 Tape residue, seals, stickers. You might be surprised what a hot air hair dryer can do. Heat the coin an put a fresh piece of tape on it. Much of the time the warm residue on the coin will stick to the tape. However, if you think this thru JUST GET SOME GOO GONE! :D

    Ultrasonic cleaners work wonders (and they can destroy a coin). If you clean a lot of things and have $$$ look up BRANSON. The conservation services use them.
     
  21. iceberg

    iceberg New Member

    Thanks guys, the ultrasonic cleaner just sort of popped in my mind. After I posted the question, I decided to look into them. The goo gone and hair dryer came to mind also, I needed to remove some double sided tape off some plastic shower corner shelves, it worked pretty good and didn't damage the plastic. I may wait until it warms up a little, this method needs to be done outdoors. I'll check out that website that BadThad suggested.
     
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