Here is a howto on cleaning copper... pretty simple and straight forward. http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/copper_caper.html Try it only with cheap coins.
So Bottome line ---- Is it better to clean your coins so the look shiny and new or keep them in their original state. How would a cleaned coin get graded?
Actually, wouldn't be better if you like cleaned coins to buy them like that? You would save money plus if you clean your coins it will affect the re-sale value.
I just cleaned all of my silver bullion coins. I think the look SO MUCH BETTER now. I can actually admire them. Before they ranged anywhere from slightly toned to outright black looking. I had tried many methods to clean them, such as vinegar+salt and the baking-soda+foil trick. Both helped anywhere from a moderate improvement to none-at-all. It wasn't until I read that you could put water+baking soda and rub it around with a toothbrush... WOW! What a huge difference that made! Here's a photo of the results! I know some folks will be rolling in their graves about this. But all I can say is that they are my coins and I love them much better this way! I had to go through and clean nearly 100 coins this weekend. But I'm super glad I did and very happy with the results. I will continue to clean all of the silver bullion coins I get from eBay and other sources now! Oh! And another interesting thing happened. While going through cleaning my coins I found a few regular non-silver coins mixed in with them. The thing is, they were all so dirty before I didn't notice them. But once I cleaned them I could tell a distinct difference in the color of the coins between the older silver coins and the more modern clad coins. Here. I put some in the scanner and I put some regular non-silver coins next to them. Interestingly enough it is easier to see the difference with the naked eye. In fact, the scanner makes them all look rather dull.
Scanners do odd things to coins. You really can't see luster, and toning is usually way off even if you do any manipulation. Scanning does seem to bring out defects and scratches on the coins.
Probably, probably make some others unhappy. For me there is a simple rule about dipping coins and properly cleaning coins. It should always be done if, stress if, there is something on the coin that will harm or damage the coin if it is not removed. To me that is pretty cut and dried, you are talking action to protect and preserve the coin. Kind of hard to argue about that in my opinion. Then there are the cases you can argue about. Those would be dipping a coin because you have reason to believe that by doing so that you will improve, and sometimes greatly improve, the appearance of the coin, and maybe even increase its value, and sometimes greatly increase its value. But with those cases there is always the chance that you will be wrong and end up doing the exact opposite of what you were trying to do. You see, there no way to know what the outcome will be. It is always a pure gamble.
It shouldn't surprise you. Up until about 10 years ago the overwhelming majority of collectors preferred their coins white. Even today, probably 50% or more of the collectors prefer their coins white. So of course a lot of coins have been dipped for that reason. It is estimated that 80% or more of all older coins have been dipped. Given that it is surprising to find those that have not been dipped.
Agree 100%. I saw a posting recently that I am not going to hunt for where the poster said something about really liking a coin, except for a spot on it. My thought was - repair the spot and improve the coin. Just wish I knew how to do that.
Well, maybe there is nothing wrong with a properly dipped 1812 Bust Half. If the Smithsonian does it, why not us?
Would like to have your advice on proper cleaning coin. This thread is awesome, but 44 pages with different opinions. My solo purpose to clean the coins is remove infests that found on coins. It can be green, white, black and sometime booger on it. You will be shocked when you use 10x magnify. Even since after I saw booger on coin, I never handle old coins without gloves. I am not kidding as I found few pennies with tiny booger and it still have nasal hair in it. I can't imagine that I did have pennies in my mouth when I was kid. Okay, put aside the disgusting part. Back to my question. What's method is best way to kill off infests without any damage to coins included copper, zinc, nickel and silver, but keep natural developed color as toning?