Cleaning 1945 nickels

I got this in change yesterday and while it's not in the best of condition I would like to clean it. I know "coin cleaning" is a long 4 letter word in the coin world but if what I've ready about these nickels is that they contain silver. Is it a mix, plated or what?

Any advice is appreciated even if I'm told not to clean it.

I received one suggestion, soak it in Coke? I thought that was a little strange.




Thanks in advance . . .

DAVE

 

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The silver is in a mixture, and it's not very uniform. Homogeneity of the mix was not a big priority. Achieving a specific gravity compatible with the pre-war alloy was. Vending.

 

There is absolutely no reason to clean that nickel at all. It looks original and attractive as it is.

If you try to mess with it, you'll basically destroy its appeal.

Leave that coin alone.

 

I truly appreciate the advice and will listen as I am nowhere near an expert in coins. Let me add this though, the picture really didn't do the condition well enough so I took another with some perspective. It looks like what tarnished silver would look like. Tell me what you think once again and if it's the same, I will not touch it. Any idea what it's worth?

 

Old coins made of silver should look like tarnished silver. These coins are perfectly fine the way they are.

If you clean them to make them look shiny, then they won't look old like they are supposed to.

 

That is what a nice circulated war nickel is supposed to look like. 73 years of patina!

 

80 cents. (Current silver value)
There's no real special coin value for this one.
If you want to clean it (and ruin it) you can rub a little toothpaste on both
sides (any kind but gel) and rub with your fingers gently, then rinse it off
and it will be "cleaner". I basically only do this on silver jewelry. It will clean coins,
but it will ruin the originality you have now.

 

It looks great for its age. Please leave as is. Worth about $.75-$1.00 at current prices and condition. If cleaned it will always be worth melt value.

 

Coke is acidic. It removes tarnish from metal surfaces, along with some of the metal. It will leave the coin shinier, but ruin it for collectors.

Welcome to CoinTalk!

 

OK, I will take all of your advise.

Thanks

 

What did those silver nickels look like when they were freshly minted , did they have a silver luster ?

 

You betcha......and a bit of 'cartwheel' too........

 

An untoned mint state war nickel looks like this.

 

I bought one of these 'war years' nickels from this fellow (Lehigh) a number of years ago and it is as lustrous as his portrayal.........

 

Agreed. Mint State (MS) war nickels can be nicely lustrous.

And affordable too. Plenty of slabbed examples on ebay for $20 - $30.




But some examples have unsightly tiny black spotting. So if you're buying, look for the nicest you can find.