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.
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Posted 10/17/2011 12:32 pm
