What's the best way to clean coins

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by Helen L Byers, Jun 24, 2021.

  1. Gam3rBlake

    Gam3rBlake Well-Known Member

    You’re welcome :)

    They may not be worth a whole lot but definitely worth more than a nickel xD.

    If I recall correctly they are worth about $1.50 in silver melt value.
     
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  3. John Burgess

    John Burgess Well-Known Member

    Short answer. Never clean coins.
    Long answer. Only clean coins if you know what you are doing.

    Realistic answer that most people won't say, but I will give you.
    If it's a collector coin in mint state or proof state, the top two apply. If it's a circulated coin of little value that's been in and out of pockets and hands and under car seats and yada yada yada. Clean it up if you like. Just try not to do it harshly with chemicals. Wash it with some water, rub it dry with a cloth. Soak it in some hot water, but no soaps or detergents or any of that which might do damage.

    The reality is with circulation finds another few swipes against fabric or a couple more touches ain't gonna hurt it much. I just wouldn't use anything that might change its color.

    You wouldn't want to mess with a rare coin but a dirty/gunked circulated 1944 cent or 1964 dime or quarter.. why not?
     
  4. AuldFartte

    AuldFartte Well-Known Member

    First off, Welcome.gif to CT, Helen!

    I agree with some previously posted advice on the use of 100% Acetone, but anything beyond that could damage any coin, especially Unc. or Proof coins. As far as natural toning is concerned, I'd leave it alone. But there are many collectors here who prefer "blast white" silver coinage. It's your collection so that decision is entirely up to you.

    Secondly, whatever you decide to collect, US or foreign, get books about those coins. The best beginner's book on US coinage is "The Official Redbook - A Guide Book of United States Coins". Basic knowledge about foreign coins is found first in the "Standard Catalog of World Coins". These are pretty thick books and available by century (eg: 1901-2000, 1801-1900, etc.). There are many many specialized books out there on individual types of coins and individual countries.

    Above all else, enjoy!

    Tom
     
  5. Mr.Q

    Mr.Q Well-Known Member

    You might be cleaning away it's value. Good luck with your decision.
     
  6. Mountain Man

    Mountain Man Supporter! Supporter

    Welcome Helen. As @AuldFartte mentioned, get yourself a Red Book. It can be an older one as the prices are outdated by the time they are published, but gives you a good idea of their worth.
    Good luck on the finds and post them here if you have questions you can't find answers for.
     
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2021
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  7. Mac McDonald

    Mac McDonald Well-Known Member

    Agree and Amen...and my two "sense" is more than "sometimes"...like most of the time...certainly with any coin with any value much beyond face...!:woot:
     
  8. Darkside

    Darkside Member

    That's a sweet VAM 1F. I actually prefer it without the fingerprints.

    OP: I've soaked a lot of coins in acetone and it has never harmed them or specifically caused a details grade. It will remove any biological issues if given enough time. Just make sure you rinse them well in either more acetone or distilled water after the soak. Don't take a toothpick or anything to them until you learn how not to cause harm.
     
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  9. VistaCruiser69

    VistaCruiser69 Well-Known Member

    Only thing I like to do to the coins of interest that I find in my daily change is disinfect them. Usually this means I dip them in rubbing alcohol and allow them to drip dry. However, this week I unintentionally figured out a new way. On Monday I bought two rolls of pennies from a friend of mine who works at a gas station. Thought I'd try my hand at roll searching. I set them on my dash for the entire 8 hours I was at work. For most of that 8 hours the temperatures outside the car were in the upper 80's. Car is parked out in the sun. So I got off work and the sun was just blazing down on the car, and the coins. I got inside and picked up one of the rolls from the dash and couldn't even hold onto it, it was that hot. So, basically I disinfected them all at the same time by sun-baking the pzz out of them in the blazing direct sun light for 8 hours in a locked up car.
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2021
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  10. masterswimmer

    masterswimmer A Caretaker, can't take it with me

    Although scalding hot, I wouldn't count on that method for sterilization. ;)
    An autoclave typically gets set at 121°C (250°F) and minimum 15 psi for sterilization.
    What you did could almost be akin to an incubator. ;)
     
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  11. VistaCruiser69

    VistaCruiser69 Well-Known Member

    It was hot enough I couldn't hold onto the roll. And I have incredibly thick skin built up on my hands from years of hard physical labor.
     
  12. masterswimmer

    masterswimmer A Caretaker, can't take it with me

    So you have incredibly thick skin huh? Let's see if you can handle this. Yo mama wears army boots! :smug:
     
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  13. Helen L Byers

    Helen L Byers Member

     
  14. Helen L Byers

    Helen L Byers Member

    Thank you, cuz everything I find is circulated. I literally check my till all day. Sometimes grandpa's addicted grandson gets a hold of things they shouldn't. But that's fairly rare. But yeah, I'm looking for errors on coins mostly. Ever since I learned about it I'm dying for a double die. That may never happen but the hunt keeps me going. Thanks so much for the advice because I was beginning to thing that pile of change a bum brings in covered in god knows what were just gonna have to be passed up. You've given me hope.
     
  15. John Burgess

    John Burgess Well-Known Member

    I will say this about cleaning coins. If you look up on the Internet "how to" there's a ton of bad advice that will destroy a coin. The only real way to learn what to do or not do is to ask someone that won't steer you wrong, and even then you'll destroy a coin or two learning how far you can go before you've gone to far.

    Sometimes with circulation finds there no choice but to have to clean up a filthy coin of gunk. It is what it is. Best advice I can give to not do too much damage is to be mindful of pH. Not too acid, not to alkline, stick to neutral 7 pH stuff to clean with whether it's water or solvents. If it sounds acidic or caustic it probably is and those things and metals don't mix and have short windows before permanent unsavable damage occurs.

    You can't go too wrong on circulation found coins, they get destroyed all the time and if you are gonna figure out how to clean coins up, what works and what don't, I can't think of a better place to learn than circulation and save something that would be a lost cause.
    Now if you're spending money on a nice collector coin, don't clean it without knowing exactly what you can and can't do without permanent damage, practice and learn on face value circulation stuff instead but again, it's your money and your coin..... I guess if you want to practice on expensive stuff and take losses you can do that too, it's your property. Hahaaha.

    I hope it helped some on what to do. There's some nasty coins in circulation that if cleaned up and given a little more wear and time might go down in maximum value due to the additional wear, but so gunked up nobody would want it so it's valueless also. Cleaning a coin isn't so black and white as "don't ever do it". Sometimes it's the only option in order to conserve it and save it from being lost forever. There's cleaning to conserve, then there's cleaning attempting to improve. Cleaning to improve value never works out, you can't clean your way to a better coin, but cleaning to conserve and save a junked coin is possible.
     
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  16. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    Quibble...water is a chemical!!! NEVER RUB COINS!!! Pure chemicals safe to use with coins include water, alcohol, acetone and xylene. Soaking and patting or blotting won't hurt anything, rubbing is in general, a no no. except with ancients, but that's a whole different story...
     
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  17. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    I've been told I have a thick skull...
     
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  18. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    What pH is acetone?
     
  19. Helen L Byers

    Helen L Byers Member

    Thank you, very much
     
  20. Hookman

    Hookman Well-Known Member

    .
     
  21. Hookman

    Hookman Well-Known Member

    Helen, while you have access to a register full of money, don't pass on the paper money.
    There are lots of forms of collectible paper money. They are referred to as notes, not bills.
    There is much more to learn about collecting than we could school you on in one visit.
    I'll give you some basic info to get you started, and then you keep coming back to learn more. Everyone here is happy to help.

    Star Notes (replacement notes)
    Silver Certificates
    Fancy Serial Numbers
    Different Color Seals

    The first 2 are easy to spot : The Star ( * , an actual star, not this asterisk ) is printed at the beginning or end (depending on the year/series) of the serial number of the note. The words " Silver Certificate " are printed at the top center of the note.
    Both are relatively easy to find/spot but are not always valuable. That's where your "education" will come in.

    Fancy Serial Numbers are right there on the note also but are not so easy to recognize until you get used to looking for them. There are about 8 or so different FSNs to look for. I'll give you a link to help you with them.

    There are several different color Seals to look for. Each color means something different. A brown seal means it is a Hawaii emergency note. It will have the name Hawaii, in small letters, in 2 places on the front, and 1 really big Hawaii on the back.
    A yellow seal means that it is WW II North Africa money, but it doesn't say anything about Africa, it just has a yellow seal. There are others such as Blue, Black, and Red. Most modern notes have a green Seal.

    There are guys here who know far more about coins and notes than I do so don't hesitate to ask questions. Also, we LOVE pictures.

    CoolSerialNumbers.com - Fancy Serial Numbers

    Star Note Lookup | My Currency Collection

    PMG Paper Money Grading Scale | PMG

    termsmethods

    cool-serial-numbers-worth-more

     
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