Another cleaning thread...

Hello I'm sure you guys get this alot from newbies such as myself but I've been reading a lot online about cleaning and there is just a zillion different ways from light acids to pencil erasers and I'm unsure of what to clean what not to clean and how to do it. sorry for the inconvenience but could anybody clear this up for me because I just got some 2x2 cardboard squares as suggested in my introduction where I asked a couple of questions and I don't want to waste them because it's not easy for a 14 year old to get the money to get them and to get a hold of them.

Thanks,
Jacob

 

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If you don't know what you are doing, do not clean your coins.

 

Yes I haven't touched them, im worrying i'd ruin them.


Thanks,
Jacob

 

Buy a can of Pure Acetone from Home Depot (not fingernail remover, to many additives) and a box of QTips. Let your coins soak and then gently brush the coins with the Qtips while still in the Acetone. Remove to a soft cloth and air dry. Then with clean fingers, secure coins in the 2x2. I then squeeze the staples with needle nose pliers to make them flush against the cardboard. Be careful when stapling shut to not to get too close to the coin. Good luck.

 

Thank you so does that apply to all coins period? Or are there certain coins I shouldnt?


Thanks,
Jacob

 

I'm not a chemist but pure Acetone is supposed to be safe. There have benn some post of them discloering copper, but I think when the Acetone removes any contaminant, the crud removed leaves a shiny area.

 

Yes, pure acetone will clean your coins. It is very volatile and flammable, so use is cautiously and in a well ventilated area. Let soak in the acetone, then rinse with distilled water and air dry the coin. Rubbing and dabbing of any kind, with any material, including Q-Tips, will leave hairline scratches on your coins, something you do not want. Acetone may discolor copper coins.

 

and to add to the above posts -

PRACTICE first on some pennies from circulation. Once you can clean them without being able to tell afterwards, move on to the coins you want to keep.

In the meantime, you can put them in the 2x2s, and instead of stapling them, use a rubber band to keep them secure, that way you aren't wasting them. Then for Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa, ask for a flat clinch stapler. Pliers will work until you get one, but it gets tedious.

 

Not being too nosey, but are you 14 or 29?

 

It should go without saying that you are not going to do something with every coin you get back in change. That being said, if you have some coins that you think are worthwhile, check them with a reference work like "The Red Book" (A Guide Book Of United States Coins) or with an online reference such as ebay. If you are unsure, take a picture and post on here. Most coins should not be cleaned and you should remember that you can always clean more, but never can clean less. Water would be the first step. Tap water works fine, a final rinse with distilled for the purist and for valuable coins, and pat dry with a soft clean cloth.

 

I wouldn't use anything but distilled water. Who knows what chemicals and minerals are in their tap water?

 

The quality of tap water is (mostly) controlled by the local, state and federal governments, and it does contain some salt in many areas. That is why I would suggest a final rinse with distilled water, or in the absence of that, drying (patting) the water off a coin, not just allowing it to evaporate.

 

Thank you guys very much I think I'll read a bit more then clean them! As for kentuck g I'm 14 I put my older age so I wouldn't have to go through parental permissions.

 

Also I'm very confused what to clean and what not to clean this is what I'm trying to clear up for myself and I don't have any books to clear it up for me I'll look in my local library also if I were to post each and every coin I have to find out what could be clean and what shouldn't. not full pictures but tabs and numbered them would that be asking too much or would that be acceptable. Some of you are saying clean em all with acetone some are saying with water and some are saying not much should be cleaned at all. Also should I save all my coins in the 2x2's? Or just the most valuable ones?


Thanks,
Jacob

 

I grew up in the age when they told us that cleaning any coin in any manner damaged it. Nowadays, the subject of cleaning coins seems to be just a discussion of how to clean coins without getting caught. I find this more than a little hypocritical.
SilverWilliesCoins.com
Bill

 

I think a recorded loop of the phrase "Never clean your coins," should be played over and over at night while some collectors sleep. Maybe it will sink in, to NEVER clean a coin.

 

I think I'm gonna stick with GDJMSP on this and keep reading and if I don't clean they will always be there .
I'll post once I find an idea I'm confident with and ask you guys.

Thanks,
Jacob

 

Welcome to CT Jacob, listen to the members on here, for the most part, they will give you sage advice.

 

Very good start. It's a lot harder to learn when you should conserve a coin, than to do the actual conservation.