What are the "proper" chemicals for coin cleaning? All comments I have seen on the subject say "no cleaning" and I read in your FAQ section "proper" chemicals but nobody says what those are. I have ugly toning on a silver proof coin I would like to remove. Is this possible? I have been told "Jewel Luster" is an acceptable cleaner, where could I find this product? And what about Tarn-x? I'm having a lot of confusion on this subject. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me-- Dave
Howdy knowtracks - Welcome to the Forum !! You'll likely get varied responses to this question - but in my opinion a coin not ever be cleaned except to remove contaminants that will cause more damage than if they were not removed. As for what chemicals - in my opinion there are none.
cleaning The only thing you could do if you did clean a coin is to keep it for your self, because it would not inhance the coins price in the market or worth grading. It will always carry the cleaning stigma.
Welcome to the forum Are you aware that dipping a coin to remove the toning will also remove any natural mint luster that is still present? That said, if you dip the coin in Tarn-X or any similar product, you end up with a coin with no toning and no luster which kills the eye appeal. I strongly advise against this. It is a doubly bad idea with a Proof coin. You will end up with a hazed, ugly proof. I have known people who use pure acetone to remove contaminants from a proof coin with success. It does not remove toning.
Yes, from what I understand, it will react with the copper and you can get some strange coloring. I only mentioned the acetone because the OP was for a silver coin.
That depends on what coin is being cleaned, and for what purpose it's being cleaned. Yes, it is definately possible. What exactly is the coin in question? I don't have first-hand knowledge about "Jewel Luster", but it can be bought from many coin hobby suppliers. Tarn-X is available at a wide variety of retail stores. It can remove tarnish from silver. It can also do many other things. Welcome, Dave. It is my wish that you not clean coins, however, I know that the temptation will be too great, so please, just don't subject anything valuable to it. Good luck.
I strongly recommend NOT cleaning it at all with anything. The buzzards at the grading services ring a bell and are issued a golden brownie point every time they find a cleaned coin; the competition is fierce, so they work hard to bodybag a coin. More seriously, IMNSHO and experience, ANY cleaning (possible exception: a gentle air stream) is detectable by these experienced graders who have thousands of coins with which to compare coupled with an eagle eye and a myriad of techniques. And as we all know all too painfully, a cleaned coin is a dead coin. Could you post a picture of the toning? As often as not, toning is a good thing for a coin. Among my beloved Morgans, toning can command a hefty premium on a coin's value. And WELCOME to the forum, Dave!
OK, I'll go against the grain since ima in da mood IF this coin is a specimen you really like and will lets say keep, AND you want to "restore" it, AND want to get it slabbed legit, I would perhaps recommend that you send it to NCS, they do great work for preservation and will forward your coin to NGC and they will grade it and encapsule the item-- If however this coin "has no value" and you wanna play---I have this "stuff" called e*Z*est COIN CLEANER--FOR COPPER-GOLD-SILVER- Which doz a maaarvelous job of removing toning OF ALL KINDS--Unfortunately, it also does what everybody here has said--the luster is lost forever--But boy, the coin sure looks nice--cartwheels and all However, I have yet tested this stuff on a PROOF coin--yet hehe You might ask me, well how do you know this Well I tested it on a 1997 SAE and a 1922 Peace dollar(s)-- Your next question might be, Well why did you do this dumb thing?? Well to be honest with you; to teach myself what happens to a coin in the chemical reactions, and to confirm that luster doz go to pot--And to teach myself and see "live" what a "cleaned" silver coin looks like afterwards--Now you might say "was this an expensive lesson"?? You bet it was, was it worth it?? o yea-- My last suggestion and this you definitely do not wanna use---Don't use Brasso--Boy that stuff works great, definitely gets rid on the "milky spots" on SAE, but boy, look at cleaning job magged up... Any ways , I hope these post gives ya options, But in the end my recommendation?? Either send it to a pro OR sell it if you no like it--
The coin is a 58 Proof half dollar, still in the mint original package. It has 3 dark SPOTS on the obverse. Thank You ALL for your insight & taking time to reply. Dave
Now that I know the coin, I'll say this-- I cut out a 1958 frankie, had rim toning all around, no cameo tho, it came back from PCGS as a PF-66, which BTW, was lower than I expected since the strike was Stunning-, But heck you roll the dice and it was not snake eyes-- coin is worth I say Bout $45-- More than half for what I paid for the set--The nickel from that set is cameo but I have not yet sent that beauty in--yet--and the penny from that set was what I would call "super red'---
Hi again, Dave. In this case, I would simply suggest that you buy another example. They are very cheap, and you will save yourself a lot of headaches.
Hmm, No offense Jody, but I wouldn't call the 1958 proofs set as 'cheap"--If you compare it to say other mint sets of the era like say the 1957, you will find the 1958 to be 'more expensive" because of the the mintages--You can probably buy 5 1964 sets for 1 1958 set--latest prices have them going for $70 and up, I find that to not be ahhh cheap if u will--cheap is $10 to me--over $20 is already expensive, unless of course you are a "rich" person--
LOL! No offense taken, my friend. Please feel free to post your opinions anytime. Of course, my post was in reference to the OP's question, and has nothing to do with what you are talking about, but that's beside the point.
Can you post a pic of this coin ? I ask because I used to be a collector of original Proof sets - and for sets that had nice toning I paid more ! Now you say the toning is ugly. Perhaps to you it is - but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And I have seen outrageous prices paid for what I thought was ugly toning. At the very least - selling the set intact would allow you to buy another that you found pleasing
I have no means of posting a picture. I dont believe the spots would show up through the cellophane anyway. But I appreciate your interest. Thank You, Dave
If you're thinking about resale value, cleaning them could turn out to be a double whammy: Lot's of folks downgrade cleaned coins severely, and Many mint set collectors pay premiums for original packaging. (I'm in the first group, but not the second.)
