Extra Soft Toothbrush...okay?

Around $30 on ebay...

vermontensium: As you well know, we don't clean coins.

Sometimes when all else fails, ya gotta do what ya gotta do!

When a copper coin is as dark as you have indicated, some of that darkness needs to be lessened just to see the coin at all.

I have vigorously rubbed coins such as this with wet fingers and soap and water, but the high points in the detail loose their patina first, with not necessarily the best results. This method MAY help, if used judiciously.

LTmets44 may wery well be right. The only way to find out is to test these methods on cheaper coins, which also may help develop your technique.

I have even used a pin, applying pressure ONLY, (NOT scraping), to pop verdigris lumps off a copper coin.

If you have been around coins for many years, it is now time to rely on your own judgement and skill. Ya makes ya decision, and ya runs with it.

Wouldn't knowing the composition of the dirt determine the cleaning method? I'd take a look through a microscope before doing anything. Maybe you've already done that. I find that the coins that were dirty from being in circulation have greasy dirt and that the ones I dug up in my yard tend to have tiny crystaline bits that I am sure would cause scratches.

Very good point Buddy. Dirt has micro bits of minerals like quartz and such...no, I don't have a microscope but this looks light tan in color and dusty looking. I did find them in the desert.

Here's a link to a place that sells Mercury dime rings.
http://www.flintski.com/Dime_jewelry__page.htm

They also sell just the mounts without the dimes. I kind of like them and they don't physically alter the coins. For a common date I think its OK

I have coins that need cleaning -- I can't even read the years on some because of the dirt. So I have been trying to find information about cleaning...and I'm not talking about polishing or anything.

What we need is an itty bitty vacuum with a lot of power.

Anyway, I think that what is needed is the patience of an acheologist and maybe some of their tools. I figure that at some point acheologists have dug up coins and sent them along to a museum conservator...so what do they do to remove the dirt? Time to hit the web.

Another idea: silly putty -- press it into the coin and maybe it will lift the dirt up when you remove it. I think office supply stores carry something akin to silly putty to use to clean keyboards and cell phones. The stuff is made to lift off those cruddy dead skin cells that get into the crevices and stick to the keys, etc. I don't know how it would work on sand or dirt, but if you didn't push it into the coin with much force, maybe it wouldn't cause any scratches.

One part method I'm using is what pls just mentioned but I thought I would describe it.

I've been trying to develop my cleaning methods lately. I read a lot of sites to try and figure out exactly what to do. What I really figured out was to only clean coins that are not real valuable and ones that you can't identify. So, it would be appropriate to evaluate the coin based on what metal composition it is and what type of damage or dirt is on the coin. Sometimes you find out a coin that you can't identify turns out to be valuable.

The goal is to clean a coin that is as gental as possible.

I recently cleaned a 1907 Indian Head cent that was a black and green color. It was so bad that I didn't even know it was a Indian Head cent. First thing I done was to run cold water on it for several minutes. Very gently and slow running water. Then I dried the coin off very gently.

I then used a glass shot glass and used 3% Hydrogen Peroxide. After that I microwaved the peroxide for 45 seconds. Time could vary per microwave, be careful because it is a chemical and could be potentially dangerous.

I threw the coin in and it fizzed like crazy for a very long time. I done this several times over many days until it stopped fizzing and then carefully used a Q-Tip. By this time most if not all of anything that could scratch the coin was on the bottom of the shot glass.

I also used a toothpick to clean stubborn areas. After I was done with all that, I coated the coin with a very thin layer of oil to prevent any more corrosion of the metal. I used sunflower oil for it. It still has a lot of damage to the coin and other stains that I haven't been able to remove yet. I decided to stop where I was.

If you really have a real valuable coin and you can identify it. It would be wise to have it professionally cleaned.