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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,305 |
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Pillar of the Community
Philippines
1156 Posts |
I just saw this gadget jewelers use to clean silver rings, bracelets etc. It uses sound technology, sound is used to resonate with the metal to be cleaned and therefore vibrates the metal to take out all the dirt. They say the dirt has a different frequency so it doesn't vibrate along with the metal and it just flakes off.
I'm thinking of geting one, has anyone tried this before to clean dirty coins?
thanks for any info
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
9865 Posts |
Been there,done that  "Dipping" is not considered cleaning...
-from PCGS website
Edited by DBM
09/02/2012 9:19 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8517 Posts |
DBM can you expand a bit and let us know your results. I'm curious.
Oregon coin geek.....*** GO BEAVS ! ! ! ***
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
9865 Posts |
Only gets rid of dirt.Not effective on crud,crap,gunk,verdigris or PVC damage.
Gets dirt out of those nasty crevices on rings and bacelets,but for coins a gentle wash with Ivory soap and water does more than a cycle in the machine.
"Dipping" is not considered cleaning...
-from PCGS website
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2624 Posts |
A jewellers machine is a bath of heated ammonia normally...
Ammonia is a little strong for coins and you would have the problem of the coin vibrating against whatever holds it. I think if held carefully in rubber tipped tweezers and using a milder solution (like washing-up liquid and water) it probably wouldn't do any harm but it would only be useful in a small number of cases.
Acetone and verdicare are the main tools to be using on coins and you probably wont need more unless you are into buying uncleaned ancients... in which case listen to the guys who have some experience in that.
Edited by DavidUK
09/02/2012 10:50 pm
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Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
It's called an ultra sonic cleaner and it doesn't really work very well on coins. It can even damage the coins with the chemicals and the vibrations can scratch as well. John1  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2224 Posts |
A VERY long time ago I had a 1864L Indian cent that I picked up really cheap because it had glue from old scotch tape stuck all over the obverse. I used water in an ultrasonic cleaner for a few hours in a plastic basket with the obverse facing up. It came out perfect! They are pretty good for getting the gunk off of ancients out of the ground. But like mentioned above, they also can harm. I got lucky; be careful using one. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2077 Posts |
I think it sounds like a very fast and efficient way to reduce the value of a coin.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3692 Posts |
John1's got it right. Not a good idea.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
If only wanted to clean coins, waste of money. Use that money to buy coins.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
965 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19961 Posts |
The ONLY time an ultrasonic bath is useful is for heavily encrusted coins. This would be coins that you're normally have to scrub with a brush just to see what they are. Richard Barnes (cc member) has done some good work with an ultrasonic bath....his coins were barely readable.
In general, I would never recommend using this on your coins. Most of the time people end up ruining their coins. Really, there's nothing wrong with a little gunk on your coins. It shows the originality of the surfaces which experienced collectors prefer.
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Pillar of the Community
 Philippines
1156 Posts |
Thanks all! Thanks BadThad! Quote:
The ONLY time an ultrasonic bath is useful is for heavily encrusted coins. I don't collect or get these type of coins, so it's a complete out for me..  |
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,305 |
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Posted 09/02/2012 9:22 pm
