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cleaning silver coins with aluminum foil, baking soda, and boiling water.
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<p>[QUOTE="Marsden, post: 1641956, member: 38010"]But you did it on a Peace Dollar. BTW, if the coin is covered by the solution and in contact with the aluminum, both sides should become de-oxidized. I don't use this method with coins but I've used it many times with sterling flatware. As noted upthread the water does not have to be boiling hot. Opinions vary on the addition of salt. The silver must be in physical contact with the aluminum (although technically you can chain the silver contacts). </p><p><br /></p><p>The electrochemical activity will reverse the effect of tarnish but as noted will not remove grime etc. It could be argued that it's not a cleaning, technically speaking. However, the results on old, soiled coins will be irregular. Additionally, the reversal of the silver sulfide reaction will de-patinate old surfaces on a molecular level and with flatware sometimes a light polishing is indicated to restore an attractive sheen. You would not want to do this with your valuable coins. </p><p><br /></p><p>The best description of the chemistry that I have found is here: </p><p><a href="http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/homeexpts/tarnish.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/homeexpts/tarnish.html" rel="nofollow">http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/homeexpts/tarnish.html</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Marsden, post: 1641956, member: 38010"]But you did it on a Peace Dollar. BTW, if the coin is covered by the solution and in contact with the aluminum, both sides should become de-oxidized. I don't use this method with coins but I've used it many times with sterling flatware. As noted upthread the water does not have to be boiling hot. Opinions vary on the addition of salt. The silver must be in physical contact with the aluminum (although technically you can chain the silver contacts). The electrochemical activity will reverse the effect of tarnish but as noted will not remove grime etc. It could be argued that it's not a cleaning, technically speaking. However, the results on old, soiled coins will be irregular. Additionally, the reversal of the silver sulfide reaction will de-patinate old surfaces on a molecular level and with flatware sometimes a light polishing is indicated to restore an attractive sheen. You would not want to do this with your valuable coins. The best description of the chemistry that I have found is here: [url]http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/homeexpts/tarnish.html[/url][/QUOTE]
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cleaning silver coins with aluminum foil, baking soda, and boiling water.
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