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 Replies: 10 / Views: 910 |
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Valued Member
United States
346 Posts |
I just thought id ask. I have been cleaning some circulating change. mainly pennies and putting them back into circulation. Ive only been cleaning the ones that look like theyve been in the river or under the dirt for 20 years and are either caked with the nasty green stuff or have some kind of goo on them. I dont clean any toned coins or coins that are just dirty or anything like that. its only the ones with stuff stuck on them and you cant see most or all of the coin. I dont think its much different then metal detecting and cleaning all the modern coins before spending them. but I wanted to ask and get your opinions. so what do ya think  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
756 Posts |
I see no problem with it. I touch enough nasty stuff on a day to day basis. Nasty looking/feeling coins give me the creeps.
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Valued Member
 United States
346 Posts |
Thats what I thought for a very long time and its actually what got me to start cleaning them. I got sick of touching them nasty coins and such so I figured others felt the same. the way I see it is they already have no numismatic value and once they are cleaned they are obviously cleaned and most of them are very pitted so noone will think they found something good. It does me and everyone else a favor. as of right now I have about 2.00 dollars in pennies that ive cleaned and 90% of them are very pitted and the rest are a pale color that would not be on a penny so its all good. no worries about someone getting tricked or anything.
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1091 Posts |
Just be sure to check the dates BEFORE you clean them.
With many trillions of these coins in existance cleaning a few thousand isn't going to matter one bit.
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Rest in Peace
United States
3730 Posts |
Cleaning in some situations is probably a good thing.
We just recently sorted through 15 pounds of foreign coins in order to pick out about 30 for a grandson. When finished, our hands were nearly black from the coins.
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Valued Member
United States
346 Posts |
i only clean the newer coins that are very nasty trust me even if these coins were a scarce date they still wouldnt be worth more than face value.
i know what ya mean about coming out with black hands. I do a first cleaning with lemon juice which loosens must of the gunk off then wipe it with qtips dipped in rubbing alcohol. the qtips turn green and black very quick. its rather discusting when you see what is really on those coins. but hey it does a favor for more than just me and its actually rather cool seeing a coin go from black to being able to see the coin again lol
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Valued Member
United States
79 Posts |
Have fun cleaning these dirty old valueless coins;part of the fun of collecting is touching and experimenting with them. If not rare you cant hurt them;once funky always funky.
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Pillar Of The Community
3147 Posts |
demonboy279 I will have to disagree with the statement "even if the coins were scarce dates they still wouldn't be worth more than face value?" Have you seen some of the prices on scarce date coins in a lowly AG-3 lately? I have a pretty pathetic 1885 Liberty (V) nickel that I paid $235.00, and hated myself for doing it, and now its worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $350 to $450? ALWAYS check dates before cleaning for your own sake and when in doubt, check it out!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1203 Posts |
quote:
Originally posted by demonboy279
i do a first cleaning with lemon juice which loosens must of the gunk off then wipe it with qtips dipped in rubbing alcohol. the qtips turn green and black very quick. its rather discusting when you see what is really on those coins. but hey it does a favor for more than just me and its actually rather cool seeing a coin go from black to being able to see the coin again.
Don't worry about it demonboy, the method you are using sure beats just tossing them in a rock tumbler and letting it spin. Your odds of destroying or damaging something valuable is practically nil. |
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Valued Member
United States
346 Posts |
the only real damage I do is change the color to a pale color and show the true damage already done.
and CRYSTALK trust me the coins I'm cleaning are usually pitted so bad noone would pay for them or they are so covered you couldnt see the date anyways. dont worry I dont clean wheaties silver or any nickels. the oldest thing ive cleaned was a 1969 cent. I try to be extra careful anyways but the coins seem to do more damage to the qtip than I do to them lol
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Pillar of the Community
United States
867 Posts |
I personally don't have a problem with it- I've done it myself. I've tried cleaning some common date cents with acetone just to see what happened (not much!). I see some seriously nasty coins that customers bring in to be counted, and they get crabby with us when we say they're too crusty to go through the counter!  Rachel [:p] |
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Replies: 10 / Views: 910 |
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Posted 03/08/2006 02:38 am
