About Cleaning Your Coins. - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,558
Dowhat Pillar of the Community United States 876 Posts	Posted 08/09/2021 7:18 pm Greetings to all. I read much ado about touching and cleaning your coins here. Many, many times I see "NEVER, NEVER clean your coins! If I have coins covered in crud,how do I see what is under the crud if I don't clean it? These are mostly coins that have been in circulation for decades if not centuries. Am I really going to harm them by improperly handling them? I give them a 100% acetone bath. About 15 coins a bath. After they soak about 15 or twenty minutes, I swrill them around in the acetone with a soft bristle plastic brush. The desposible ones used for applying contact cement. I have seen suggestions to use porcupine quills and wooden toothpicks. Is this not cleaning? I am confused. Never clean use porcupine quills. I cannot see it if it is covered with crud. The soft bristled brush I use is much less abrasive than porcupines quills. I will send an image of the brush if you desire. As well as microscopic images of the rounded brush tips. How do you see what you have if you NEVER clean your coin? Report this Post to the Staff

jmkendall Pillar of the Community United States 1590 Posts	Posted 08/09/2021 8:01 pm I think the better rule is to never clean an MS or high AU with full or almost full color. Even at that level a soft cleaning in acetone is generally fine. Below that level it is absolutely fine. If it is covered in crude then what you are describing is conservation rather than cleaning. I think people go overboard to keep new collectors from rubbing their coins clean; using brasso and rubbing, ketchup and rubbing ect. In other words its to instill a fear of destroying a coin, until such time as a proper education prepares them for an acceptable and safe conservation Report this Post to the Staff
sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21786 Posts	Posted 08/09/2021 8:58 pm jmkendall has said it right. Report this Post to the Staff
T-BOP Rest in Peace United States 18456 Posts	Posted 08/09/2021 9:16 pm If the crud don't come off a circulated worn coin by soaking it for 30 minutes in Acetone and using a toothpick or porcupine quill ,then in my opinion it's a goner . Do not attempt to use anything else except xylene ( similar to acetone , a little stronger but takes longer to dry ). Report this Post to the Staff
ijn1944 Bedrock of the Community United States 19133 Posts	Posted 08/09/2021 9:22 pm Just don't lose your coins in the dryer. Report this Post to the Staff
just carl Bedrock of the Community United States 20753 Posts	Posted 08/10/2021 08:06 am Always remember that those coins are yours so do with them as you wish. However, remember too that if and when you may want to sell them, much lower price if cleaned Report this Post to the Staff
BadThad Bedrock of the Community United States 19935 Posts	Posted 08/11/2021 5:05 pm When the choice comes to cleaning an unidentifiable slug and not cleaning it - I choose to clean it. There are many exceptions to the "naver clean coins" rule which mainly exists to keep newbies from ruining their coins. Lincoln Cent Lover! VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/ Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,558

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