Cleaning Crud From Dirty Coin

"I always wondered how the guys that metal
detect clean their coins when they find them in the ground or can you."

For silver coins, I let it soak in acetone for a couple days and then I use the sprayer on my sink to help dislodge any excess crud that may be on it, then I let it air dry on a clean paper towel. These are mostly common mercs and barbers and whatnot.

For coppers, it varies greatly on the soil condition and how it looks when it comes out. Some indian heads and wheaties I don't even bother with and toss into a bag. Other coins like large cents or better looking indians, I will pick off the outer layer of crud with a toothpick, and then roll a q-tip soaked with acetone over it. Once I am happy with the result, I will use another q-tip and apply some Verdi-Care to the coin and let it sit for a day. Pat dry when done. It isn't 100% perfect, but neither are the coins that come out of the ground, and I don't usually cause any more damage.

I find that the acetone dip by itself doesn't really seem to do much and if you use a Q-TIP with the acetone it does seem to clean the coin but also leaves shine to it so from now on, no more cleaning.