Best method to clean a American eagle bullion without damaging it?

Im trying to clean this bullion without damaging it but I remember someone told me not to use those cleaning products out on the market so I thought I ask everyone what would be the best method. Thank you

Below is the 1988 American Eagle bullion that I want to clean:



Bottom image has a black glare:

 

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Pure acetone or MS70, rinse in distilled water, air-dry. Wear latex gloves and work in a well ventilated area.

 

A product called e z est coin cleaner is a popular dip and readily available online and at coin shops. Many will tell you never to clean a coin so proceed at your own risk. You might consider just selling this one and buying a brilliant one. As far as properly dipping a coin there are different ideas and techniques, but basically the idea is to immerse the coin in the solution for a second or two (or three) then immediately rinse very well with running water...no rubbing!.... then carefully pat dry with a soft towel without any rubbing or friction. Then a dip in pure acetone will help remove any moisture. You can use the search feature here to find threads on properly dipping a coin. It's not rocket science, just stick with low value uncirculated coins, and most of us would leave cleaning of expensive coins to the experts. Repeated or prolonged dipping will strip the luster off a coin and devalue or ruin it. Even if the toning isn't totally removed after a couple of quick dips I usually quit.

 

Sell it and get a new one of the same year.

 

Over dipped and cleaned.. Lost its life .. time for a new one and sell this one.. another one bites the dust

 

What is over dipping? Its never been cleaned except running it through water and placing it inside a small ziplock bag.

 

I actually think if your goal is to liquidate this coin, you'll do better leaving it alone. It's not attractively toned, but someone might like it because it's not your average bright, untoned piece.

OTOH, you can't hurt the value very much because it's always worth what 1 oz of silver is. But, I still say leave it alone.

 

Thank you paul! Ill just keep it.

 

Do as Paul says...don't touch it. The black spots have eaten into the surface. Nevertheless, NCS could make this coin presentable enough to sell but it would take several treatments and about 20 minutes of work partly done using a stereo microscope!.

You can always trade it plus a little extra cash for a slabbed Eagle.

Or, here is a tease. I first wrote full directions for you as this is a great coin to practice conservation on. It has several common characteristics found on silver "gone bad." There is light toning, semi-dark toning, and corrosion spots. Plus, even if you were to screw it up, it's always worth melt. Then I decided it was too much to tell and deleted much of it. Sorry about that - really.. I don't want anyone ruining their coins.

However, it did take me almost forty minutes to type specific directions and chemicals to use and I couldn't bring myself to waste all that time for nothing...so, in the spirit of education, I'll run down the typical conservation steps on a coin such as yours, leaving out important details and /methods. Besides, all this is available with some research or over beer with a group of conservators at a seminar.

Conservation labs use deionized water, heated ultrasonic cleaners, fume hoods, gloves, goggles, and proprietary chemicals. Other off-the-shelf products include things such as hydrogen peroxide, MS-70, medical grade acetone, distilled water, baking soda, toothpicks, and acid dips.

For Silver Coins:

A. PREPARE THE SURFACES

1. Clean surface w/acetone.
2. Clean w/hot MS-70 to remove as much surface toning as you can.
3. Make a liquid paste of ... You will need to remove the spots first using... Then gently clean the surfaces until they are bare silver with no black remaining (if you are experienced doing this, the coin will not be hairlined).

B. DIP THE COIN

1. Dip coin in an acid dip.
2. Neutralize w/baking soda solution.
3. Rinse with distilled water.
4. Dip in acetone.

C. DRY THE COIN

1. Dry using hot air or compressed air.
2. Seal the coin immediately.

If conserved correctly, your coin will be lustrous silver with enough eye appeal to sell because 95% percent of the dealers/collectors will not have a clue that the coin is not 100% original!

I am posting what's left of this now and I will not respond to any questions, discussions, or critiques concerning what I have written.

 

I used lint free Scott's Table napkins.

I dip in E-Z-Est, rinse in running water, dip in heated distilled water because the mineral content on my well is really, really high, then followup with a dip in 91% Isopropyl Alcohol available at C-V-S.
Tap off the excess then single pat each side in the table napkin by placing the coin on the napkin, folding the napkin over the cion and pressing, Flip it over onto a dry spot and repeat. If I';m really picky, I'll roll the reeded edge over the napkin.

On the plus side, its just a silver eagle.
On the negative side, that type of toning "might not come off".
But, you'd have given it a decent shot.

As for the coin itself, without trying to belittle your coin, these are readily available, raw, for a bit over the price of bullion which is what they were intended for in the 1st Place.

 

I just realized I was wrong. Some would make dipping a silver eagle into rocket science. Seriously though I agree that a simple dip will very possibly not restore this coin to "like new" condition. My thinking in my first post was that since there is little financial downside I do think it is a good candidate to play with a bit if you are interested in educating yourself a little in this area. I'm not pushing you to try it, up to you.

 

You are not wrong! Your post is a quick summary of what MOST OF US DO.
Some coins demand intense and careful treatment (regardless of their value). The conservation services at NCS or ICG (I am ignorant of the cleaning practices at ANACS or PCGS) evaluate coins first and decide what methods to use without harming the coin. Obviously, a QUICK & PROPER Conservation works best for the bottom line

 

Why clean at all? As you said, they are considered bullion by you. I would leave bullion alone, especially if there are no numismatic concerns. Dipping should be practiced on low value, cheap coins.

 

The coin is ugly as is and most collectors prefer pretty, shiny things - even those that are buffed or polished. That goes for bullion too. I know that at least twice, the professionals at NCS removed copper spots from "collectible" gold bullion.
"Low value" or "cheap" is a personal thing. Newly issued Uncirculated SE provide a great source of items to practice on. They are original, have wide surfaces, that will show conservation mistakes easily. Best of all, when you ruin it, you can sling it across the room and hit the wall without loosing a $1 or $2 of its value...crash, ping, clunk! I want "faces for sounds."

BTW: You have my permission to use anything I ever post in your book about dipping

 

Make that rinse with acetone (not dip in acetone) and you can skip the drying step. The acetone will evaporate off in seconds. But the acetone rinse has to be a FLOWING rinse to wash away any last traces of the cleaning solutions and most of the water. Any remaining traces of water will be widely dispersed in the acetone on the coin and will evaporate away with it leaving a completely dry coin.

 

An opinion: Some hands-on knowledge of coin cleaning is a good thing. It's part of educating ourselves as coin enthusiasts. There are proper ways to do it and with some information and practice on low value items most can learn the basics. Read, talk to knowledgeable people, then don't be too paranoid to try it. I understand the fear that beginners will mess up nice attractive original coins, thus the "DON'T CLEAN!" Truly most coins should not be touched. I very seldom clean a coin, but some coins can benefit, and if nothing else the education can make you a better buyer, including evaluating even coins that are slabbed as problem free. OK my head's on the chopping block. Agree or disagree?

 

I would go so far as to call it imperative. Just like coin photography, knowledge of the practice makes you far better able to interpret it.

 

Yes! I love you SuperDave

 

+1.

You can get a brand-new pristine 2016 for about $22.

Or for about $26, get a nice 1988.