Cleaning coins

Would it hurt the coins value to lightly wash it under water to get dirt off? Would soap hurt? I know you are never supposed to clean coins, but water seems harmless to me


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Distilled water, I wouldn't use soap.

 

I distilled water just from a tap?


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It's not so much the water people object to, it's how a person wipes or dries the coin, afterwards. Dremel aside, that is what causes the most surface damage.

 

How should you dry it?


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Distilled is preferred as most chemicals and minerals are not present.

Soap- no

Air dry

 

If you air dry a coin, spots can form on the surface. If you wipe a coin, hairlines will remain. That is why I do not clean my coins. I leave the obsessive compulsive cleaning hobbies to those who must clean. The cleaning of objects is in no way related to my hobby. I leave my coins as they are.

Over 20 years and counting, without being cleaned...

 

I use distilled water to conserve certain pieces that are just to damaged

 

You'll get spots if there are minerals or salts in the water since they crystallize on the coin when the water dries. Not really a big deal with distilled.

 

Thanks, good to know. But, like I said, cleaning is not my hobby. I'm out of the loop and I do not belong to any janitorial forum, where there might be an exchange of the best possible cleaning tips. I can not justify shopping for any type of cleaning supplies, when I can be buying beautiful, dirty, grimy, uncleaned, tarnished and toned coins with that money.

 

Woah what's up with that coin? It looks really off.
For example: The double headed eagle's eyes are missing, the scepter is "broken" and not completely straight, there is missing details around the center shield, the wreath and ribbon are different than other examples I've seen of this date/mint. The 4 in the date is totally wrong and should not bear a crosslet serif, the letters are somewhat misshapen, especially the 0's in the date and denomination. Also the surface has a rough appearance with tiny bubbles or bumps.
I've never seen a fake of this pretty common coin, but this one doesn't look right at all.

EDIT: Apologies for going off topic.

 

It's a rare type that I picked up for the price of cleaning supplies. I've had it confirmed as type b/a. Believe it or not, there are those that are jealous of this find.

https://sites.google.com/site/krolestwopolskie18351841/katalog/10-groszy/1840/10-groszy-1840---b-a

The most popular type is a bit easier to catch in much better shape...

 

Very interesting, I would not have expected such a crude regal issue from the Moscow mint during that period. Cool stuff

 

How long should it soak for?


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I would take it out just before the rust spots show up.

 

Sigh...you are going to run up against the cleaning police. Mostly they are right, but there are exceptions and you have to use common sense (which I admit I sometimes lack). Depending on the type of coins, there is cleaning and cleaning (sorry Doug, harsh cleaning). If it is an ancient coin, all bets are off, many cleaning methods apply. If it is a moderately modern mint state issue, be careful...be very careful...the finish can be damaged either chemically or mechanically...you should never rub or even touch the surface if at all possible and should use only the purest and least damaging chemicals (i.e. distilled water). If it is somewhere in-between, other options open up. The coin torontokuba showed is fine to leave the way it is. A coin this worn is not expected to be blast white and it would be suspicious if it were. On the other hand, you could have surface contaminants that would eventually harm the coin if allowed to stay on there. In this case, a water bath can't hurt. How long to leave it in the water, I would probably think that any benefit of more than a few hours to a day would be doubtful. As to the kind of water, the initial soak could be in tap water (hot would be best for removing any surface gunk that can be removed with water), but you should finish up with a thorough distilled water rinse to remove any minerals from the tap water. For drying, Doug is, as usual correct that it would be best to stand them on edge, but as this is easier said than done, if the coins are worn, it is hard to envision any damage from putting them face down on a soft cotton towel and blotting (never rub) them and letting them dry. Soap...that is another story.

 

So a few hours should be good to soak it it?


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You can always soak a second time, but you can never take back the first soak.

(Actually it's very easy, almost beyond easy, to stand the coins on edge on a towel and lean up against the back splash of the counter top.)
Silly me, I was trying to balance them.