I Need Advice On Cleaning

I love it when this subject is raised.

You're going to hear differing opinions of cleaning coins. Obviously you already know that cleaning affects the value of the coin. There are circumstances, though, when the need to remove potentially-damaging stuff on the coin outweighs the need to keep the coin original. PVC damage, verdegris on copper and the like.

This is my personal policy, and my policy only: I generally leave circulated coins without harmful coatings untouched. Cleaning gives circulated coinage an "unnatural" look which is immediately obvious. In rare cases, with *really* cruddy coins, I will soak them in distilled water for a few days, and then freeze them - the freezing/cooling action tends to break the crud away from the surface, if it's something that is water-soluble.

I am willing to soak copper in olive oil to the same end, although the need hasn't come up in my collection yet. Olive oil is completely benign; you can leave copper in it for as long as you want.

Acetone is the same way with silver - you can leave it soak for months without affecting the metal. I have done this, for silver coins which needed help (you need to regularly change the acetone bath to get rid of what it's removed). Being an organic solvent, though, there is much that acetone will not remove.

I have no qualms about using acetone with uncirculated silver. It will not affect toning or inorganic matter on the coin, and it won't remove anything that would make the coin look unnatural. Acetone will halt PVC damage, although it will not restore a coin whose surface has already been affected by the PVC. I have heard empirical evidence that acetone does not affect copper, although I have no experience in that area.

It is only in dire circumstances that I will do anything more serious to a coin.

Now, let the debate begin (again).

Don't clean 'em unless and until you know what you're doing. Try methods on cheap, unimportant coins first. I will only use Acetone or Xylol (generic: Xylene) to soak coins in which have "gunk" or PVC on them. I have had good results with silver and copper coins. Always remember to rinse them with distilled water, NOT tap water, then a final rinse in fresh Acetone or Xylene, both of which evaporate almost immediately.

Interesting to hear there is no ultrasonics out there to clean coins. I can see where there might NOT be a proper "liquid" to clead as not all liquids would clean all liquids that may have dried on coins. What ever the reason behind cleaning the coin would just be to remove the coin and separate it from what is not the coin. Sounds like it is much harder than that.

cpfull, you have good advise from the others, same advise I received from them a month or two ago. I had some Lincoln cents with film on them. Thought it was lacquer, might have been PVC. Used acetone on them, removed the film and did not change the tone or surface of the coins at all. I have heard that it does effect the newer zinc cents and have not tried it. I purchased 3 ASEs with an enamel flag painted on liberty. I am sure you have seen them on tv. Per becky, I soaked them in acetone for about 3+ minutes and it came right off and did not harm the mint finish at all. The best advise has been olive oil on copper. Someone had suggested it for really corroded copper, said it works well but you have to leave them in it along time. I took two large cent and one Two Cent coin about a month ago and put them in EVOO (Rachel's extra virgin olive oil) and have not looked at them until reading your post. It is absolutely AMAZING. They looked like bubble gum all over and you could not read a thing, they were black. In one month I am seeing some copper color and a lot of the coin lettering and dates are legible. Weird thing is that the bubble gum corrosion is going away but it is not in the bottom of the jar.
They were heading for the garbage, not any more. Jim