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 Replies: 16 / Views: 10,190 |
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New Member
Ireland
30 Posts |
Hi, I recently purchased few silver coins from ebay. After getting them I decided to clean them using foil and soda method. I was quite pleased with results, but after few days coins developed red spots/stains, not all of them, but with varying sizes.  Does anyone know what could have caused it and if there is any way to remove them or prevent them to appear in future |
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Moderator
 United States
188770 Posts |
 to the Community! |
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
24885 Posts |
To the Forum. |
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New Member
 Ireland
30 Posts |
Thank You for the greetings. Just trying to get into coin collecting more and get to know about it in more detail.
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Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
. I would guess the type of cleaning performed using soda is the culprit. |
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New Member
Ireland
30 Posts |
well, it was container lined with aluminium foil, some soda and warm to boiling water. after that rinsing under running water. Mind you not all coins developed them spots. Could it depend on amount of silver in coin alloy?
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
Never clean coins especially with soda .  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
You could try some Acetone. And also, do not use tap water on coins. Try distilled water only. |
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New Member
Ireland
30 Posts |
I found about cleaning with soda bicarbonate on quite few coin forums. Would I need pure acetone? Now I know it's personal opinion about cleaning coins, since I am starting to get more seriously into it, would you recommend to leave them as it is or is there anything can be done to remove dirt and tarnish? PS I am complete noob in coin care
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New Member
Ireland
30 Posts |
while we are on same topic, would you consider coins ruined and/or losing value?
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
while we are on same topic, would you consider coins ruined and/or losing value? Absolute loss of value. Although some people will buy a cleaned coin, as a general rule, many collectors shy away from those. Best leave them alone if not knowing what is ment by cleaning. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8715 Posts |
You're cleaning coins with soda?! That's sure to ruin the surfaces of the coin! Never clean coins, except with an acetone dip. That will not give a coin a cleaned appearance. And please, don't clean your coins with sodium bicarbonate. The best thing you can do it to leave them alone or soak them in acetone. Nothing else, unless you have experience using other substances. to the CCF! |
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New Member
Ireland
30 Posts |
does that apply to all coins? I mean soaking in acetone? I guess you can't believe everything you read on internet. I learned my lesson.... hopefully won't be so stupid anymore. At least didn't cost a fortune. How does acetone work on coins, can you use on any metal or just silver ones? As I understand cleaning is a big no no for coins, or there are some exceptions?
Edit: I read about cleaning with warm soapy water. is it a safe way to clean dirt from coin and will it affect coin tone/patina or value?
Edited by andr1us
05/01/2018 3:53 pm
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Moderator
United States
34419 Posts |
Quote:
does that apply to all coins? I mean soaking in acetone? Lots of good questions that you are asking--glad you found us. If you are collecting modern coins (such as the ones you have posted), then yes I would agree with the never clean or at most acetone bath method. However, if you are collecting ancient coins, then slightly different rules might apply. "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10038 Posts |
The people who generally post youtube vids etc. about using the foil and baking soda method are people who have the misunderstanding that a shiny coin is a valuable one. Two words for making our coins look more eye appealing have to be understood: cleaning, and conserving. In the hobby, the word " cleaning" generally is defined as doing something to a coin that removes some of the metal at a microscopic level. This would include metal polish, brushes that will scratch the surface, and chemicals that will react with the metal and remove a micro-layer of the metal. Scrubbing causes polishing marks (lines). Wiping with a tissue will scratch a coin. These are other examples of cleaning that removes value. So make sure never to use anything that will have a chemical reaction with the metal. Strong acids and bases (alkali) are a no no and will remove the value. Experienced collectors can most often tell a cleaned coin very easily. Conserving is removing dirt without removing metal. This can be as simple as rinsing a coin in distilled water to remove the Pepsi you just spilled onto it. Since no metal is actually removed, there is no value lost. Our own CCF member, Badthad makes a product called verdicare which is safe to use. Here is a thread from him describing what to use and why: http://goccf.com/t/39932It is well worth the read. Oh - Acetone. You need not buy the large can. Walmart -> health & Beauty section -> look for 100% pure acetone in the nail polish remover section. Do not use nail polish remover with perfumes or coloring added as these added ingredient can leave chemicals on the surface of the coin that may interact with other chemicals the coin is exposed to. You can search for acetone, cleaning, etc. here on CCF and get a lot of informative threads. How much squash could a Sasquatch squash if a Sasquatch would squash squash? Download and read: Grading the graders Costly TPG ineptitude and No FG Kennedy halveshttps://ln5.sync.com/dl/7ca91bdd0/w...i3b-rbj9fir2 |
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New Member
Ireland
30 Posts |
I mainly want to focus on ~20th century Europe coins. Obviously I won't discard any coin I come across not fitting into that category. Just can't decide if to collect every year particular coin was minted or just the ones that change it's design. Frankly collecting coins from every mint year looks very overwhelming. Any advice for starter collector?
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Replies: 16 / Views: 10,190 |
Posted 04/30/2018 5:23 pm
