In general I believe this to be true. However, I'm sure they do have some methods/techniques that are kept an in-house secret. I've put a LOT of thought into NCS while I'm writting my book on verdigris. There's just too many possible, alternative techniques I've dreamed up to assume that they don't have a little magic.I can't imagine NCS hasn't been as creative as me.....but maybe not....I'm pretty cleaver. LOL I think NCS should hire me just in case they're still working with some old school methods. I really do have some fantastic ideas for coin conservation but very little time to try them. Some the apparatuses I've dreamed up do not exist and would require a good bit of fabrication. Perhaps I should patent them before someone beats me to the punch!
Cleaning with oil. So there's a million threads about coin cleaning on here, this one seems to be the newest one so I guess I use it. And yes, as many has already mentioned I know the no no's of coin cleaning and would never do it to a valuable coin. But maybe it's the OCD part of me, but dang it I like shiny things. I've been considering cleaning my collection of Indian heads for a while now. Most are only in G condition if that and are only worth maybe a few dollars at most. They do have some sentimental value, and even if they were ruined by cleaning that sentimental value would remain the same. They were given to me by my dad, who received them from his grandmother. Neither took very good care of them. My dad kept them all in a mason jar where they were free to rub up against each other. So anyway, if I do clean them I really don't want to use harsh chemicals. I came across webpage that described using olive oil, so I tried it. I think the results are excellent, but would like some other opinions. Here is the before and after: I think it got a lot of the gunk off with out changing the tone very much if any. And also I like to think that I am not cleaning, but preserving them as someone mentioned. I figure hey, even those these aren't that valuable, they might continue to be handed down to future generations. I don't know what that black gunk in the crevasses is, but it very well could be slowly eating away at the coins surface. Cleaning it now might slightly mess with the natural toning, but if my great great great great grand children ever have them they may be more valuable then because I cleaned the gunk of them. Eventually what toning is lost today will re-tone over the decades. So I'm not going to condone cleaning a coin. Do it at your own risk. But here is a before and after picture of an old Indian head I cleaned with pure olive oil. I am happy withe the results and no harsh chemicals were used. I soaked the coin for several hours, then took it out and ran a soft bristled tooth brush across it a few times, but it back to soak in the oil for another several hours then brushed it again. Total I soaked it for about 24 hours, taking it out to brush it maybe 3 or 4 times. I've tried cleaning coins with soap and water and never had as good of results and with the olive oil. I'm happy with the results, but what do you all think. Did the cleaning degrade the coin or add to the eye appeal of it?
Well they are your coins and I see no reason you can't do what you wish with them. IMO. the reason that oils are so often frowned upon for coins , especially higher grades, is that if the oil remains on the surface, and it usually will , without using strong chemicals to remove it, is that oils generally are organic based and as time goes by, breakdown and release organic acids. Several of these products can be sulfur containing also in composition. Some synthetic clock oils claim not to have this occur, but most of them are proprietary and composition unknown. The use of oil on ancient and detected coins is often done, but many of those coins have pre-existing problems. It most likely will have no visible effects on your grade coins, but someone should not apply it to a high grade coin, especially copper, IMO. Jim
I guess I never thought about how acidic olive oil would be. Just because something is natural doesn't mean it's not acidic, duh. I was just reading that extra virgin olive oil is the least acidic, so if I do use oil I'll probably switch to that. I rinsed the coin with some dawn concentrated dish detergent after its olive oil cleaning, but I doubt it completely removed all of the oil. I was just reading an article some where yesterday that suggested dipping your coins in vegetable oil, patting the excess oil off the coin with a soft cloth, but leaving a thin coat to protect the surface of the coin over time. Intuition told me that's a bad idea. I try to make it a rule to only believe about 2% of what I read on the internet, and that didn't fall within the 2% that I believed for that day. Think dawn is powerful enough to destroy the oil residue, or maybe even a quick dip in acetone then a couple minute rinse in regular water? As far as the coin goes, if you didn't know it was cleaned would you have been able to tell? I want a way to clean them without making it obvious that they were really cleaned. EDIT: Then again, as far as oil being on the coin, like I said they were never cared for very well anyway. Many of the ones already seem to have an oily substance one them I'm guessing the oils from peoples hands and being circulated and not being cared for. Even my low grade coins I handle only with coin tongs, never with fingers. My dad never followed that rule, so the coins probably have lots of oil residue already on them.
Yes, olive oil can contain acids as impurities. Even if it doesn't, though, they can form over time. Vegetable oils (and nut oils, animal fats, any other oil that comes out of a living organism) are made of organic acids combined with glycerol (glycerine). As long as they're combined that way, and pure, they're quite neutral (neither acidic nor alkaline). With time and exposure to air and moisture, though, they can break down. "Unsaturated" oils -- olive oil, most vegetable oils, and even some animal fats -- can combine with oxygen to form reactive chemicals. And if something causes the organic acids to separate from the glycerol, they can certainly attack metal. (One of the simplest organic acids, acetic acid, works just dandy for restoring dates on Buffalo nickels, even diluted to 5% concentration -- as vinegar.) Mineral oil is a different chemical entirely, and is not subject to this kind of breakdown (again, as long as it's not contaminated). BadThad, please check my work here...!
Okay, now bear with me, I failed chemistry twice in high school before I finally ( barely) passed my thrid time, no joke. So why does olive oil clean a coin? If this is to complecated to answer, then don't worry about it, but is it something about olive oil in particular (its acidic properties perhaps) that cleans it, or just oil in general? Could I use vegetable oils to clean it or mineral oil would that be safer since it is neutral or would they not work? The article I read said to specifically use olive oil, it didn't say why, it just said olive oil. It didn't specify to use pure or virgin or extra virgin either, so I just got the pure. Also I just ordered some intercept shields which have some kind of chemical that neutralize contaminates in the air around the coin before they touch the coin. I don't know if this is a gimmick or if they really work. If I like them I will probably buy enough to put a coin from each year I have of Indian head cents...yeah, this sound silly since intercept shields cost about $1 per 2x2 and some of my coins are barely worth that much, I guess it's that OCD thing again. But would the intercept shields help prevent chemical reactions with any oils left on the coins thereby preventing the formation of the reactive chemicals you are describing? Thanks for the help.
One of the simpler explanations for while olive oil works is "like dissolves like", so oil, acetone, etc would help get rid of organic stuff on your coin, while distilled water works on the inorganic.
Baking Soda So here's another method I came across the I sacrificed a coin to try out on. It is to use only baking soda, no water or anything else, just the power on the coin and rub for several seconds. So I tried it on one of my less valuable Morgans. Now the author of the article said he would often get very tarnished Morgans in a value bin for $13 or so, clean with baking soda and resale them on auction sites for a $10+ profit. Here are the results I got. It certainly shined it up, but my question is were all those scratches there before and the caked on crud filled them in and kept them from showing, or did baking soda scratch it that bad? I know it would be abrasive, but I did expect a few seconds of rubbing to do that much scratching. The scratches aren't as noticeable with the naked eye as they are in the scan. I think the scanner light hitting them made them much more obvious. It did shine it up without making it look to shiny though like dipping a coin often will. Either way I probably won't be doing this with any of my other silver dollars, Morgan or otherwise.
Like others have said, olive oil is a mild acid, mild enough that controlled exposure will not harm the coin much. However, this is used to clean ancient coins, not modern coins. I have used it for ancients, but honestly find distilled water safer and more effective. Olive oil will darken a coin. I personally liked both of your coins "before". I find the natural dirt in crevices highlights the designs and makes it more appealing. Your "after" coins look faded. Bottom line 99% of collectors should not clean coins, since they are doing more harm than good. This is why experienced collectors tell everyone NEVER. They know 99% of the cleaning will harm the coin. Yes, a coin can be cleaned, but you need experience and talent.
So if you were given a choice between two coins of the same grade, one that was dirty and one that was clean (not cleaned, but one that has just been taken well care of and properly stored for the entirety of its life) you would choose the dirty one because the dirt highlights the designs? I know this would be unlikely simply because a coin that has been taken care of and properly stored will always have a higher grade then one that has been circulated, but hypothetically, which would you prefer. I understand having an appreciation for a coin in its natural state and having no desire to clean it. One thing I appreciate about circulated coins over MS or even AU coins is its neat to think that hey, maybe a famous president or any historical figure spent one of my cents. Probably not, but its neat to think about. But given a choice between two coins of the same grade, one encrusted in natural dirt or one that was naturally clean from being taken well care of, I'd choose the cleaner one. I regret cleaning the Morgan, but it was an experiment, I knew the risks before doing it. I'm still on the fence about cleaning the Indian Heads though. I agree that it looks slightly faded after the cleaning but to me the tone still seems natural and it doesn't look cleaned. Besides, what tone was lost will be regained over time (maybe not my lifetime, but eventually). Do you think it looks like it has been cleaned? If you seen only the after picture, not knowing it had ever been cleaned would you know for a fact it had been cleaned or would you think the tone was just its natural tone? And just for the record, I would never clean a coin that was worth more then say $15 even that much would be pushing it. I mean if coin cleaning does take experience you have to gain that experience some how.
I did a forum search and this thread popped up. I have 2 War Nickels and they are both realllly dark in color. I want them to look nice again, like they did in '44. I was wondering if I used my wife's jewlery cleaner if it would work? Every so often my wife will grab my wedding ring, which is .925 silver and dunk it in there for a while. It removes the gunk and gives it some luster! Think it would work for a War Nickel? Also, I should point out that I am saying War Nickels because 1) They are the dirtiest, 2) They are the least valuable of my ~15 or so silver coins, and 3) I'm too scared to test it out on a 90% coin.
