I dont have an expensive/rare coins yet, and those I wont clean anyway. If I pay a premium for them, than they will be clean enough to purchase. I have a penny, nickel and mercury collections. The nickels and mercury are as is. My penny collection is 98% uncleaned. The only coins that are cleaned are my 69-s, 70-s and one other I cant remember. Those were cleaned because they were the only ones I found and they were in good shape, but had no eye appeal and didnt flow with the rest of the coins. They took a vinegar bath, followed by a toothpasting. Its very obvious that they were cleaned and I wouldnt pass them off as not. Stevie Wonder can tell they were cleaned. They will be replaced as soon as I find some nice ones. My pennies are all found in circulation except for some of the teens, twenties and thirties, which I purchased from a collector. ( I found my 1909 vdb, 1909 and 1910 )
Sounds like you are having fun, which is the real point of the hobby to the large majority of people. Some of the posters here are dealers, retired dealers, very knowledgeable people and people who think they are knowledgeable If you read a lot, you will find that many distinguish between "cleaning" and "harsh cleaning". There are ways to improve the appearance and longevity of coins that will not diminish their value or alter the surface of the coin.
Pennies come out of the washing machine with some beautiful blue toning. But I usually give 'em back to the kids.
It all depends on your teeth. On a well circulated coin, there are already microscratches, so a toothbrush would probably not do any more harm than has been done. On an uncirculated or proof coin, you might as well use a rock tumbler as a toothbrush
Ah, you do realize that human tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the body? Furthermore, it has a hardness greater than all of the following: gold, silver, aluminum, zinc, copper, iron, nickel, platinum, and steel. So I am not really sure if your comment is trying to be funny, or you just are really confused on what hardness means (scratch resistance) and why it would be bad to use a tooth brush on a coin you don't want to scratch. Now, when they start making coins out of Tungsten carbide, maybe we wont have to worry about tooth brushes. If you want to do some additional reading, google Mohs scale.
I don't think any coin would be harmed by rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) of any available strength. The only pure solvent I have heard bad things about is the effect of acetone on copper as reported by Doug. Want to do an experiment on cent coins with some solvents/contaminants. to see what they do. Any suggestions?
Rubbing alcohol is always a bad idea for coins. That is because on average it is only 70% alcohol. The rest is made up of water, dye, and perfume oils. And you definitely don't want to go putting dye and perfume oils on your coins.
Agree and disagree. Obviously if you are going to use any solvent, it should be the solvent free of any additives. This even goes for water. Water, free of additives, is distilled or deionized water. The tap water where I live is somewhere around 800 ppm for dissolved material. That means if the water evaporates, it leaves behind debris. If it is distilled or deionized water, it should evaporate clean. The same goes for rubbing alcohol. I have seen rubbing alcohol in 50%, 70% and 91% strengths in stores. I would buy the 91% stuff, and would avoid any that say on the label that they are for massaging and contain menthol, coloring, etc. Otherwise, I am really not sure that alcohol of any kind would cause damage to coins.
Even if you distil alcohol, can it be made pure? I never see anything more that 90% Isopropol Alcohol. Ted
The point is why use alcohol at all when other things are readily available that do a better job and have no additives that may harm the coin ?
If you're looking for instant gratification, don't use acetone. Acetone will get rid of hydrocarbon-based substances, like oil, glue, paint, lacquer, and shellac but don't expect it to do much for dirt or corrosion. I'm a member of Treasurenet.com and most of the guys there that dig coins use heated peroxide to clear off dirt and then an olive oil soak to restore detail.
Concerning PF-70s, I have spent hours alternating between acetone and distilled water, trying to remove that last line of residue from the previous rinse...can't bear to use a q-tip to tease it off...that white, hair-shaped line that looks like dried perspiration on your forehead after agonizing under a hot lamp too long...guessing it comes from the minute bit of rubber in the seal on the metal acetone can... ...Just kidding! No stress! Just keeping it light... :yes: