Cleaning silver coins with vinegar (1941, 1942, 1942D, 1943D, and 1944 quarters)

I've tried the same thing after reading a thread about bringing out a date on a dateless Buffalo. It did work and took the value from USD$0.05 to USD$0.10. I'm not sure if it paid for the white vinegar but it was fun to see the date at the end of the day. I think that you did good with the quarters. They were pretty much junk at the start and much better now. They are harshly cleaned; but so what; they were worth less than melt in their previous condition. You can now put them in a Whitman book.

 

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I echo what GDJSMP said. Personally I don't have a problem with what you did here, although I'm sure some do.

The problem is that you are not doing it just to make them look better in your eyes. You have then taken them to be appraised by "John" and believe some of them to be MS when they are nowhere close to that.

The problem with THAT is twofold...one you are disillusioned and while that is bad for you, I don't think any of us really care about that. The second problem is that anyone reading this thread can see "I turned this junk into MS coins worth $20!" and who knows what they will do. One of the points of this forum is to educate. If you disagree with the disillusionment part, well maybe you should ask other opinions. Once you agree the coins are nowhere MS, maybe you can realize why many of us are posting regarding the second problem, both in this thread and the other one.

 

Thanks for the kind words. I'm happier than a rabbit in a field full of carrots with the way they came out.

 

"I'm happier than a rabbit in a field full of carrots with the way they came out."

I agree. It's all about what you like and what makes you happy and what you learn.

Enjoy the hobby!

 

Thanks Nance!

 

Ancient silver occasionally gets cleaned with various dilutions of vinegar or lemon juice. Sometimes the coins are even boiled. Coin soup anyone? But nobody expects coins that are thousands of years old to retain any sort of original mint luster. A proper cleaning of an ancient coin always adds to its value, and the vast majority of them have been cleaned, one way or another.

Does this apply to Washington quarters? I'm not sure. If they were only worth their melt value before, and are only worth their melt value after, then I see no harm in adjusting them to suit your aesthetic preference. If the coins were rarities, perhaps a gentler approach would be in order?

 

Bugo, if they're going to be worth melt in either picture set A or picture set B, I'd choose B. GDJMSP is right about their value being melt no matter what, but in my opinion they look better on the eyes. But that's solely a matter of personal opinion.

 

F

FYI the Pearl Harbor bombing was in 1941 December 7 1941 to be exact d day was 1944

 

The Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Dang, I had it all wrong all this time.

 

" . . . 1944 accidentally after news of the Germans bombing Pearl Harbor reached the owner. . . "
I did not know the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.

 

I like the after much more than the before! Nice job. People on the forum fail to recognize these as bullion coins; ignore them. How long did you let the coins soak for?

 

They were dressed up as Japanese. Sneaky buggers!

 

People are caving. He's starting to get the validation he wants.

 

I like the results. Keep up the good work.

 

No, you are just failing to recognize coin collecting as a hobby, for fun. You don't think this thread could be of value for somebody looking to clean their junk silver coins for cheap?

 

Must be from Ohio?

 

Nope

 

You wanna get your coins really clean you gotta get yourself a bottle of Bubba's Butt Blaster Hot Sauce.

 

Basically before you had dirty scrap now you have clean scrap basically all you ever had or will have is scrap if it makes you happy fine just don't do it to an 1893-s Morgan (another thread)

 

I think they probably would have turned out better if you just used the hot water, baking soda and tinfoil method versus using the method you used.