I know this is an old subject that gets asked a lot. I have been reading about it on several forums. Most say don't clean, however there seems to be SO many opinions AND cleaners out there, that I am still very confused on the subject. Here are a few of my dilemmas - maybe you can offer a suggestion..... I have some old copper cents that were in storage in a bomb shelter - high humidity for many years. They are really icky. Would like to clean them up a bit. Yes some of these have a little green on them and some grime. Then I have some coins I bought at an auction that have ICK inside of the 2 x 2's - dust and you name it - coins appear to be OK - no green, but would like to get the dust off and put into better storage. Some of my coins were stored in baggies for a couple years, so I calculate that they have a little PVC residue on them - I know acetone works best for this - right? And what about coins that just have been sitting around, don't look real bad, but surely have fingerprints on them - will denatured alcohol work for just cleaning them up a little bit. One last problem. My mom had given me some uncirc. steel pennies - real shiney in the hard plastic case. They were underground for awhile in "storage" and have corroded on the edges - is there anything I can do for this? I figure they are probably just ruined. It is really disheartening. I have a bunch of other steel pennies that look pretty cruddy also, probably best just to leave as is? I have some modern Eagles with little spots on them - probably also from the humidity. YES, I HAVE learned my lesson about this --- one reason that I am glad that I am now trying to learn more. I will NEVER again store my coins in a safe either, as they get too humid. I know about the silica, but sometimes you just get busy and forget to change them out. And I don't like putting my coins in a SDB either because for some reason I just don't trust banks. LOL -- I think my best bet is going to be tupperware with silica after putting them in the intercept shield boxes and coins in containers. I don't care for the books they are in either, because they are currently exposed. Anyone have an idea about which holders are the *most economical - AND good for storage (non PVC). I have a lot of circ coins I want to store, that aren't worth a lot, but I do want to keep and protect them anyway. (I know - again - you get what you pay for.) Oh, and one last question --- where is the MOST economical place on the internet to get these supplies. I priced the stuff at Coinworld, but wasn't impressed with their prices. Thanks in advance for your time. 8)
acetone is a good place to start because it dosn't take away any of the coin but it will break up most of the Yuk on your coins. as for a good place to get stuff try e-bay they have everything.
In my opinion, acetone is fine, although I haven't used it. It is very flammable and the fumes are bad for you too from what I have heard so you have to be careful. The most I have ever cleaned any coin for my collection is rinsing in warm water. Distilled would be better but i have used tap. The water will take off some general circulation grime. I have used a soggy toothpick to flick off a piece of grime also. I pat, or air dry...not rub. I collect mostly circulated stuff so I don't want my coins dipped or too white because it doesn't look natural, in my opinion. I think some grime and toning can really bring out the details of a circulated coin better. Therefor, I haven't had any experience with any dips or other chemicals. I wouldn't like this coin: http://www.thestujoecollection.com/grade/81002grade.htm near as much as I do if it was a uniform or whiter color. I think the worst cleaning is one that involves moving metal around. Typically that is an abrasive cleaning and it will leave hairlines and make the coin look very unnatural.
I collect alot of circ. stuff to and i found if you clean it, it does look very unnatural. If it's just dirt warm water and soap works. But if it's not a very expensive coin try acatone.
Obviously, everybody is going to mostly agree that cleaning is bad. But if you really want shiny coins and are NOT AT ALL concerned with potential resale value, then I say go for it. But be aware that cleaning them will lower their value (it's REALLY STUPID, I know, but that's just how it is). I, for example, have a really cruddy G4 1926-D Peace Dollar. It's worth no more than melt right now, and never will be. Therefore, I made the decision to clean it with some good old fashioned soap and water and shined it up a bit. It'll still be worth the same no matter if I'd shined it up or not. So the choice is yours. Good luck! ~AJ
