| Author |
 Replies: 17 / Views: 3,260 |
Page 2 of 2
|
|
|
|
Valued Member
United States
406 Posts |
Cleaning coins is a bad idea, even just using water, for the reasons outlined above.
When you say "silver pennies", I assume that you are referring to 1943-dated cents. Please be aware, those are made from steel, not silver.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2130 Posts |
 to CCF! I would also get them out of plastic, as this will cause pvc damage (the green you may be seeing) |
|
New Member
United States
41 Posts |
I have read that if they are dirty you can try two things. Warm soapy water, rinse with tap water then rinse again in distilled water and let dry. You can also try olive oil for a period of time and it will loosen dirt and not hurt the coin. Again, it is what I have read. Also, not sure why not use water on the pennies. Considering pipes of old were made of copper and last for many years showing no signs of wear, curious what is meant by the water getting into the penny although I guess the penny could be somewhat porous but not sure.
Edited by Amadauss
10/19/2011 6:52 pm
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
1. Do not clean coins 2. Take them out of the plastic bag. It possibly holds moist air which is not good for coins or any metal. 3. DO NOT listen to anyone that says to use Olive Oil, tap water, wire brushes, toothpicks, baking soda/water solutions, Lemon Juice, Tomato Juice and on and on and on with all the so called "I've tried this and it works" stories. 4. Separate the different types of coins so any Silver, Steel, Copper ones do not touch each other. 5. Your so called Silver looking PENNIESE are possibly 1943 Steel Cents plated with Zinc. 6. Eventually purchase either an Album or 2x2 cardboard flips for those coins. For now you could also use plastic Rolls but if you do, read 4. above. The problem with tap water is it is different everywhere. In some areas people run it though a water softener which adds NaCl to the water. In many areas Chlorine or Florine is added to the water to kill bacterias and germs. Well waters contain almost anything on Earth and usually Iron. Any or all of them will leave contaminates on your coins or even attack the metals of coins. The above reasons are also why so many people have house plants that die. This type of water kills plants so imagine what it does to your coins and/or you. |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
19949 Posts |
Don't clean coins! Us collectors like them nice and dirty.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
58 Posts |
NEVER clean coins unless you have professional training
|
|
New Member
United States
41 Posts |
Thanks for enforcing the no clean of coins. I have read various suggestions on it but I guess you have to consider the source. I do have to ask in various topics it is brought up about acetone being used. Why would this be suggested?
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
You can clean them. You just probably won't like the aforementioned results that develop later on.
Edited by VisigothKing
10/21/2011 6:10 pm
|
|
Moderator
 Australia
16829 Posts |
Quote:
Considering pipes of old were made of copper and last for many years showing no signs of wear, curious what is meant by the water getting into the penny although I guess the penny could be somewhat porous but not sure. A water pipe is constantly full of water. Keeping copper or bronze coins underwater is OK (it's a standard treatment for cleaning ancient coins). Getting them wet (especially with tap water) and then taking them out and not drying them properly is where problems occur. Acetone is recommended because: - it removes organic "goo", like old coin album page residue, better than water; - it evaporates quickly, leaving no drops behind to form catalytic hot spots; - unlike water, acetone won't slowly react with air and the corrosion products on the surface of a coin to cause bronze disease. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
Considering pipes of old were made of copper and last for many years showing no signs of wear, curious what is meant by the water getting into the penny although I guess the penny could be somewhat porous but not sure.
In reality pipes of old were Steel, not Copper. All the pipes in my house are Steel and my house is on the old side. Same with almost all old houses. Copper and/or plastic piping is rather new for water in houses. AND if you ever replaced one of those old Steel pipes, you would probably get sick thinking about what you see in the inside delivering water to you. In many areas those steel pipes are almost completely closed by rust and stuff. And in many cases that is what people use for coins? |
|
Moderator
United States
16679 Posts |
I use distilled water only when I have to then, pat dry with soft cloth only, let air dry for hours before putting them in holder.
swcoin.ecrater.com
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
19949 Posts |
Quote:
Thanks for enforcing the no clean of coins. I have read various suggestions on it but I guess you have to consider the source. I do have to ask in various topics it is brought up about acetone being used. Why would this be suggested?
Using acetone is consider a conservation step and not cleaning. Careful use of water, acetone and xylene are all safe for coins. In this case, the OP was discussing a mass cleaning of his coins. This is a lot different than conserving a single coin with a specific problem. In general, only coins with problems should undergo conservation and only by an experienced hand. Just telling someone to go rinse all of their coins would be irresponsible and inappropriate. You have to consider that most of the people asking questions about cleaning are novice collectors and chances are great they will ruin their coins forever by making a grave mistake. Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/
|
|
New Member
United States
41 Posts |
Thanks all for clearing this up about the pipes and acetone when cleaning. You hear so many sides about how to and what not to do and it can get confusing. My thought now is just let them be and only if extremely necessary follow the suggestions listed here on this topic. Thanks.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
Thanks all for clearing this up about the pipes and acetone when cleaning. You hear so many sides about how to and what not to do and it can get confusing. My thought now is just let them be and only if extremely necessary follow the suggestions listed here on this topic. Thanks. Being old I remember all sorts of what they called OLD SAYINGS. One was to let sleeping dogs lie. With coins it is usually better to just leave them alone too. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
629 Posts |
If I were you, I would experiment.
You obviously have quite a few pennies with problems. These coins will never get back to 100% of mint fresh and probably are not that valuable since they are in need of cleaning.
What works? Try anything you want - so you will know what to avoid. Copper polish or any other substance with the word polish in it is probably a good thing to avoid.
If your not sure about something, dilute it.
Use your new techniques on coins that are common so your not destroying coins that are valuable even in a corroded state.
We all have to learn and this learning makes us smarter not only on what the cleaning process does to coins but also to recognize coins that are offered to you - have they been cleaned?
|
|
Page 2 of 2
|
Replies: 17 / Views: 3,260 |
Page 2 of 2
|
First Page
Posted 10/19/2011 3:49 pm
