First Coin.

Now your question is asking for personal opinions on cleaning, so I will give you mine. Cleaning this coin will probably not significantly increase the value. However, if the cleaning is done correctly, and the patina is left intact, a cleaned coin of this type might increase it's value by 50% (thus a $7 coin becomes a $10 coin). But generally the percentage will lessen as the value of the coin increases.

It would appear that the patina is intact on your coin, and the cleaning method does not seem to have marred the coin in any way. I would say you did a good job and you could expect the increase I mention above. BTW, you did not show the reverse prior to cleaning. Was it in about the same shape as the obverse image you show? If so, the reverse is very well done. The detail is great with the minor exception of a weak strike or heavy wear at 7 o'clock. I have several Fel Temp coins, but none with the detail on your coin. Very well done indeed. Have you attributed the coin or do you need any assistance?

Regards,

Welcome to the Forum. As a new member also, the folks here are absolutely tops!
You did a great job cleaning your coin. As JW said the detail in very sharp. Well done.

I cant seem to find an edit button so I suppose I'll have to post twice. I soaked the coin in vinegar and sometimes lime juice for about a day at a time, then rinsed it, put a bit of toothpaste on it, and scrubbed it with an electric toothbrush.

I have no idea if using toothpaste helped it at all or not, but it seemed to work. It took me about a week of baths and scrubbing to get it into that shape.

Im happy with the result though.

Gordon2108- I agree with jwharper that you did a wonderful job. In order to get it this clean and free of crud between the fine lines of the coin did you use some sort of electrolysis?

jwharper- Yeah, I suppose that you are right. Might you then have any guesses as to Gordon2108's method? (I want to try it, whatever it is).

Gordon2108- Ah, I didn't notice that you had chimed in with an answer to our cleaning question. Thanks for the info! Wonderful! So might I ask what kind of vinegar and what kind of toothpaste you used? You seem to have discovered a golden method!

echizento, jessvc1,& jwharper- What do you guys make of Gordon2108's method of cleaning using vinegar, lime juice, and brushing with toothpaste?

White vinegar and.. actually a few different kinds of toothpaste. Burts Bees natural toothpaste. Natural White Sensitive toothpaste. I think the lime juice actually worked better than the vinegar.

There's actually still some crud in the smaller hard to reach spots (especially around the lettering), but it's a bit hard to see in the pictures.