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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,624 |
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New Member
United Kingdom
4 Posts |
Hi all, So was recently given a batch of coins which I decided to clean in vinegar (which I now understand is a no no, if only I had checked beforehand!) and several of the coins now have a bronze tarnish to them. Have I ruined them forever or is there a way to get rid of this tarnish?  Edited by Ruby77
02/25/2017 5:52 pm
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Pillar of the Community
7234 Posts |
Oh My!! Would need some pics to be sure BUT it sure doesn't sound good!!
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New Member
 United Kingdom
4 Posts |
I have now added a picture. It was originally silver in colour :-(
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3479 Posts |
I've done this before to remove coffee crud from some coins in my old truck's cup holder. It was just to make them presentable to the bank. The short answer is yes. They are toast in the eyes of collectors.
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Rest in Peace
10197 Posts |
I take it that Yugoslavia coin was CuNi? Is so, get another. The acid in vinegar, particularly apple cider, reacts to deeply and actually changes properties of metal a bit. Would have been better off sticking with acetone and soap/water cleansing afterward.  |
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Moderator
 Australia
16826 Posts |
This coin was made from the same nasty cupro-nickel-zinc alloy many Iron Curtain countries used to use. It was cheap, and it was nasty. It tarnished and corroded easily and nothing you or anyone else could do to try to "clean it" would actually make it look better.
Consider it lesson learned.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1314 Posts |
On the "bright" side, you seem to have mastered the most important lesson of all...
Experiment and learn on the cheap coins.
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New Member
United Kingdom
4 Posts |
Ok thanks all, you have confirmed what I suspected and definitely lesson learnt, silly me!
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5172 Posts |
I have an early (1920s or early 1930s, don't recall at the moment) Saudi Arabian coin with very similar color.
I paid something like 15 cents for it in the first place, but even so, when I realized how rare it was, I pretty much literally screamed.
I hoped it would be possible to at least restore the color, but apparently that's impossible without damaging the coin further.
At least this one appears to be common enough that it was probably never worth much, which makes it a nice learning opportunity.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4211 Posts |
 Ruby! Yes, it isn't an expensive coin so the education was not costly.  |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2781 Posts |
agree vinegar is a no-no, however as pointed out it's not a difficult coin to replace. that being said, get to 50 posts on CCF so you can message members directly - then shoot me an email and I'd be happy to send you a replacement. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1005 Posts |
Yes, the coins are now ruined.
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New Member
United Kingdom
4 Posts |
Thank you for the welcomes and I will bear that in mind! I will be sure to post more now that I have found this site :-)
Edited by Ruby77
02/26/2017 1:07 pm
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,624 |
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Posted 02/25/2017 5:53 pm
