I recently bought 120 peace and morgan silver dollars. Of those, 80 were in good shape, but I bought 40 of them just below spot as somewhat "junk coins" as they had a lot of water and dirt corrosion. Since I bought below spot, I plan to sell as "junk" type coins, but should I take the time to clean them? I know cleaned and "doctored" coins are never a good thing for the hobby, and I fully agree. But, I would not be cleaning them to try to sell them well above spot. Just wondering if I should clean them to help make them more readable, while also preventing dirt and corrosion from flaking off any further (my hands were nasty after just putting them in stacks while counting them before purchasing). Would I be wasting my time? If people think I should clean them, what should I use? I have a small jar of eZest coin cleaner that I've used to test on other junk coins (I use a silver coin as a golf ball marker, and I clean them up after a few uses). But it would obviously take a whole lot more of that stuff to clean these, and I bought about 150 halves in the same condition. Thanks for any advice!!!
This may invite the wrath of the purists but if they are really just "junk" silver a mixture of plain old baking soda and water will do fine. You can make a mixture of baking soda and water in a jar and let them soak, or (a bit harsher) make a paste of baking soda and just a little water and rub it on the coins. That cleans silver coins nicely. (Please, no hate mail!)
The baking soda sounds like it's worth a try at least. Doesn't sound like you have much to lose as these sound like candidates to ship to a refinery in the condition they are in now. Test it out on one or two and let us know the results please.
I found a 1964 Kennedy a few weeks ago that looked like someone had written on it with a marker. I tried to clean it with Acetone but no luck. It's going in the junk pile.
That is exactly true. Why bother? Sort of like trying to spit shine a pair of construction boots. No purpose.
Thanks for all the tips! I'll post some pics tonight of them. Some are pretty bad, while others aren't bad at all. I'll give the baking soda and water a try, doesn't hurt as some of these are meant for the melting pot. These people left them in a barn for years, and all the moisture and dirt has just got them caked with junk. I could still tell what each was (i.e. Peace vs. Morgan, or Walking vs. Franklin). All of the '64 Kennedys were the cleanest, obviously since they were in the barn for the least amount of time. Some of the Kennedys would have been some nice examples had it not been for a quarter to a half of each of them being caked with dirt.
I'll post some pics tonight. I'll also try the baking soad idea, and post some before/after pics. First, have to see if the wife even has baking soda. haha
Do yourself a favor - don't use the baking soda. It'll harm the coins and make them worse than they are now. Just soak them in distilled water, then rinse them in distilled water.
Fifty: Ink will come right off a coin with a little hairspray on a Q-tip. Rinse with distilled water.
Yeah, I was just reading up on the baking soda idea, and several places said it could harm, while also causing some fumes. Don't need that. So, skipping the baking soda effort. Will still post some pics. I think I've decided to just leave them as-is, especially since I will still try to resale as junk silver. Seems goofy to sell it as junk silver, and still want to have the disclaimer that I cleaned them. Overall seems like wasted effort. Thanks again!
Here are the pictures. The first is a sample of the dollars. This is a picture of a sample of the many halves I purchased. I know these are not real clear, but as you can see I can easily see dates and mint marks. They are just so dirty. Again, I think I've decided to just leave as-is. Thanks again for all the help and tips!
Oh, come on you guys!! Baking soda causes harm? It has "fumes"? You COOK with it, for cryin' out loud! These are junk coins, ordinary disks of metal that have been used in ordinary commerce! They are not archaeological treasures nor sacred relics! They have been rubbed together in pockets, dropped on the ground, scuffed around, and generally used and abused. I'm sorry to speak such heresy here, but cleaning junk silver is not a crime! And, I can not think of a cheaper and more benign substance than plain old Arm & Hammer baking soda! You can put it in your refrigerator to subdue odors and it is in the foods that you eat! OK. Rant over. Carry on.
pj - there's a lot of stuff that we eat that is harmful to coins. So are many fruits and vegetables. But that's not the point. The original question was - is it worth the time ? And the answer is, no, it isn't.
GDJMSP is correct, of course. It isn't really worth the time (but it might be fun!). As for harming the coins, GDJMSP is probably right there, too. But how much harm can you do to junk silver? Besides, the original poster might decide to sell his junk coins to another individual rather than a refiner. An individual might prefer shiny junk to dull junk! The entire advertising industry seems to be built on that premise. Anyway, you're right and I'm wrong, so I'll stop teasing now.
It's junk silver. Put them on ebay, the Morgans will sell for over spot as is. If you clean them and get them real shiny, some unsuspecting sap will pay twice as much for them.
