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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Kentucky, post: 1889381, member: 33176&quot;]Sigh...you are going to run up against the cleaning police.&nbsp; Mostly they are right, but there are exceptions and you have to use common sense (which I admit I sometimes lack).&nbsp; Depending on the type of coins, there is cleaning and cleaning (sorry Doug, harsh cleaning).&nbsp; If it is an ancient coin, all bets are off, many cleaning methods apply.&nbsp; 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).&nbsp; If it is somewhere in-between, other options open up.&nbsp; The coin torontokuba showed is fine to leave the way it is.&nbsp; A coin this worn is not expected to be blast white and it would be suspicious if it were.&nbsp; On the other hand, you could have surface contaminants that would eventually harm the coin if allowed to stay on there.&nbsp; In this case, a water bath can&#039;t hurt.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; Soap...that is another story.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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