I know that cleaning coins is not right. and i don't clean my coins. the other night while roll searching i aame across 3 buffalo nickels that were very crusty actyally looked like rust. they have been soaking in olive oil for 3 days and have no noticable change. when in the restroom i saw one of my packs of efferdent false teeth cleaner and was wondering what it would do to the nickels. it doesn't seam to hurt the gold in my dentures. and is recomended by my dentist. any ideas out there.also do you heat the olive oil like in front of a furnace duct or just leave at room tempature.
Ancient collectors, who use olive oil for removing centuries of encrustation, often leave their coins in the oil for many months. It works because it's acidic, and it takes a long time because it is very weak. Bottom line, it's still acid and by the time your coin has been in it long enough to remove whatever is on it, it has also been in it long enough to have suffered the loss of surface metal. If you're hell-bent on using while saying then try Coca Cola, Pepsi, ketchup, or even Tabasco Sauce. You'll get much quicker results (and remove much more metal from the surface). Just kidding.
Distilled water wont harm the surface and might, in time, remove some crustyness I wouldnt do it unless its honestly just crusted over with filth.
