Newbie Messed Up In Trying To Clean Coins...

The part where you "messed up" was in trying to clean them at all. Seasalt and vinegar? What sadist recommended such a thing for a coin? Whatever you do next is likely of no matter; the intrinsic value of these coins has already been erased for good by that first step.

Are these, by some saving grace, Ancients? More stringent measures are in many cases useful for Ancients, which of course have ~2000 years of history encrusted to them.

Did you want to eat the coins?

I HAVE cleaned a few low value coins in VF grades and lower with good 'ole soap 'n water to remove obvious dirt. However, trying to improve the appearance of such coins that are otherwise are nominally clean is simply not worth bothering with.

If you happen to have a high value coin in ANY grade that you wish 'clean', think carefully. If you don't know what you are doing, you will almost certainly damage it.

with buddie......we can maybe help......for copper I keep saying olive oil. take a pic before and right after olive oil to campare.......

LincolnGuy yu are right and wrong at the same Refined olive oil is the olive oil obtained from virgin olive oils by refining methods that do not lead to alterations in the initial glyceridic structure. It has a free acidity, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.3 grams per 100 grams (0.3%) and its other characteristics correspond to those fixed for this category in this standard. This is obtained by refining virgin olive oils with a high acidity level and/or organoleptic defects that are eliminated after refining. Note that no solvents have been used to extract the oil, but it has been refined with the use of charcoal and other chemical and physical filters. Oils labeled as Pure olive oil or Olive oil are primarily refined olive oil, with a small addition of virgin-production to give taste . QUANTitative anaysis can determine the oil's "Acidity", which refers NOT to its chemical acidity in the sence of PH (Wrong here LincolnG)but as the % (Measured by weight) of free oleic acid. this is a measure of the hydrolysis of the oils triglycerides : as the oil degrades, more fatty acids are freed from the glycerides, increasing the level of free acidity and thereby increasing hydrolytic rancidity. Another measure of the oils chemical degradation is the peroxide value, which measures the degree to which the oil is Oxidized. Different types of olive oil hav free fatty acid content of .8g per 100g or .8% ,some have 2%..To sum it all up yu are partially right--about Acid in future of coin...I worry about the future numismatists who get an unprotected coin and the Oxidation---So MS 1cents I leave alone- but low value lincolns I wipe with olive oil....Other ways to protect a coin are not as natural as Olive oil....keep paper and cardboard away from coins because of Acid.....

Welcome:

And great joke...got a number of us going.

Vinegar has a high acetic acid content - in practical terms, it is basically acid - which will damage metals. Adding salt puts another corrosive element (chloride ion) into the mix. This creates a very corrosive mixture and will permanently damage the surfaces of any coins it's used on.

Unfortunately, you have learned the hard way. The damage cannot be undone. That is the bad part about cleaning coins - once you clean them there is no going back. When you choose to use anything on a coin besides water, acetone or xylene, you are risking permanently damaging your coins.

Soap and water is definitely NOT safe either. I have used it on common circulated coins found while searching but only because I could not see any details and had no choice. It was either the junk pile to return to the bank or the possibility of finding something worth keeping. That's the ONLY time I would ever recommend using soap and water.

Colonial A is selling 9 and half pounds of mixxed world coins...for a cheap price,,because as they also say the coins hav rust on them.....They say up front all 9 punds are basically uselesss coins.....If I bought these what would be the Verdi-care fluid cost? If I put on olive oil I would wipe off again after overnight or even hour later sometimes,,look at then under loop (Magnify glass),, then staple 2X2 holder, I do occasioally wipe even a cu-ni coin but not many, wipe off in circle motion later,,A collector buddie of mine uses Mineral oil for his Lincolns.....What is the "Acidity" of the v-fluid (.8%)? Other coin fluids to use? What about the unprotected Salt&vin coins do we agree Unprotected, or stripped What about this?What is PH of v-fluid? That is a good joke about Robber Element....