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 Replies: 14 / Views: 3,270 |
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New Member
United States
6 Posts |
most of the coins I find are very corroded...(I have yet to find a real silver one) any hints on cleaning without damage? I've tried lemon juice, and vinegar with little success. I tried some acid that the local dairy uses to clean stainless steel, and it ate all the copper off a penny, leaving the core.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5953 Posts |
The most common way is to use a rock tumbler. (A rubber barrel that turn continuously). I put crushed pecan shells in mine with the coins and leave it overnight. For the most part this makes the coins at least readable and rollable
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Valued Member
United States
342 Posts |
Yep. I tumble mine too. Most coins only need an hour or so to make them spendable.
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New Member
United States
6 Posts |
A step up from the tumblers would be a sonic cleaner. Many of the coins you find will not be collectables so just clean them the best you can and spend them.
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
103 Posts |
For silver coins ( low relief/profile ) have you tried spit & tin foil/wrap? It causes a chemical reaction which removes the black. I use that method on some of the silver hammered I find & it cleans them up in no time.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
819 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
819 Posts |
if anyone tries the process mentioned above (or has tried it) I would like to know how it worked.
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Valued Member
United States
90 Posts |
This method works well for coins of similar metal.
It works exceptionally well on silver coins.
Don't use it for rare coins as these shouldn't really be cleaned unless done professionally.
Boil water
Place a smooth square of foil in the bottom of a dish or
something you can fill with water.
Put in your coin or coins. Do not overlap coins.
Pour boiling water to about an inch or so over the coins which are
laying on the foil.
Pour some "Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda" (found in the grocery store - it's not easy to find, so buy a few boxes when you finally do find it - it's in a yellow box) over the top of the coins.
They will begin to fizz and the water will turn dirty.
Let it cool down by leaving the coins in there for about 30 mins or longer (it won't hurt them).
Take the coin out and flip it over.
Replace the foil, clean out the container and repeat on the opposite side.
When done, roll the coin in baking soda and then rub each coin between your fingers with some more baking soda. Don't be gentle with this step as this is what gets the rest of the black off.
Dry your coins andd they will look like they were just minted.
If they still have tarnish spots and your want them cleaner, just keep repeating the process until you get the results you desire. It won't hurt the coins. Works best on silver, but will work with pennies and copper too.
Good luck! Morganator
Edited by Morganator
05/10/2007 01:48 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
717 Posts |
Morganator, Would a coin cleaned by your method be considered by a TPG or dealer as "cleaned?" |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
965 Posts |
Morganator, that is a "trick" I learned when repairing flutes. It removes any spots on those hard-to-reach places around the posts and springs. (Of course, this is AFTER you dismantled all the keys!) It never occurred to me to use it on coins, as well.
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Valued Member
United States
90 Posts |
Yes, these guys are good and would be able to tell right away.
The baking soda will leave "micro-scratches". You may not see them
with the naked eye, but these folks grade your coins using a microscope to see those scratches.
I had a 32 quarter I sent in to PCGS for grading. It looked like
it had never been cleaned, but they rejected it as cleaned. I was ticked because it didn't look like it had ever been cleaned, but I guess they can tell with a microscope.
Don't get me started on PCGS, I think they are a bunch of *********
for taking people's money and sending back their coins ungraded.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7123 Posts |
The tumbler are the best most effcient way to clean coins that are going to the bank !!
There are other methods and proceedures for the more collectable coins ,,
I use a vibrating tumbler .
Metalman
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Pillar of the Community
United States
819 Posts |
Why would you clean coins going to the bank?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5953 Posts |
Because when a Zincoln has been in the ground for some time it gets corroded and the coins get a layer of crud on them that can sometimes be twice the size of the original coin.
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Valued Member
United States
90 Posts |
I roll all the coins that are identifiable.
It's not worth the time to tumble them.
When I go to the bank, I just tell them to send all of the coins into the mint and not to open any of them in their drawers because they are beach and dirt coins. One teller told me a week later she had given some out. I just laughed because I had told her what to do with them when she got them originally.
The pennies that are too crusty to get rolled are saved up. I pool them with others in my detecting club and send them to the mint. Each person pays their portion of the postage based on how much weight they donate at first. We split the check proportionately the same way. The shipping is a flat rate USPS box so you can put as much weight as you can fit into it. I think our last one was about 38 lbs. The mint will pay you a percentage of the value, but at least that's better than nothing but a bunch of zinc pennies that nobody will take.
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Replies: 14 / Views: 3,270 |
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Posted 02/09/2007 5:18 pm
