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 Replies: 13 / Views: 1,522 |
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Valued Member
United States
80 Posts |
I've read many posts here about cleaning and should not even be asking (b/c the overall opinion is to not clean).
If there are thick, oily dirts on a coin (or you want to spiffy it up just a little) is baking soda and water okay? A local dealer told me this is a solution.
Thanks in advance!
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Valued Member
United States
357 Posts |
What kind of a coin is it cooper, silver etc etc It can make a difference on what method to use. I am a fan of acetone if this does not work then I leave it as it is.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Ummm, no, not unless you want fine scratches(aka hairlines) all over you coins. Baking soda is an abrasive and will pretty much kill most of the numismatic value of a coin, you might as well use brillo  Anything oily can be removed with an organic solvent like acetone or xylene(caution: flammable and volatile) and water will remove plain old dirt. |
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Valued Member
 United States
80 Posts |
Right now I'm focusing on Lincoln pennies so copper. Is acetone okay with that?
Maybe I'll just do water and scrub with a nice soft cloth.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
No scrubbing of any kind unless you are talking common pocket change(not 100 year old pocket change  ), scrubbing with anything, regardless of how soft you may think it is, will produce hairlines as well. Edited by biokemist6
02/18/2009 3:59 pm
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Valued Member
United States
80 Posts |
So you just let em soak? I guess that makes sense.
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Valued Member
United States
357 Posts |
 with biokemist6 don't scrub or rub the coin as he said it will leave hairline on the coins. Either let it soak in acetone or GENTLY go over the coin with a good Q-tip soaked in acetone it will only take a minute soaking in acetone to remove anything that is removable on the coin. As far as xylene I never used the stuff before and I would take biokemist6 word on that usage. Good luck with your coins. OH remember to rinse real good with water and pat dry Edited by norseman012
02/18/2009 4:23 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
If there are thick, oily dirts on a coin (or you want to spiffy it up just a little) is baking soda and water okay? A local dealer told me this is a solution.
Of course he said that. He want's you to ruin the coins so you have to go back to him for new ones. Quote:
Right now I'm focusing on Lincoln pennies so copper. Is acetone okay with that?
Maybe I'll just do water and scrub with a nice soft cloth. I've used Acetone on every type of coin ever made. No problems. Just be careful. AND NO SCRUBBING PLEASE. 1. You don't know what that so called soft cloth is made of 2. you may just use a cloth that was used for something else and something is on that clost that could damage the coin 3. Some so called soft cloths are made of all kinds of wierd materials so don't. What is sort of nice about Baking soda and water solution is it is considered a base and would neutralize most acids on the coins if there were any. Of course there aren't to many acids on coins except your fingerprints though. Some people, I'm one, have used Baking Soda and distilled water solution, very watery though, to just allow a Copper coin to sit in that stuff. Uusually very little to no difference is noticed. Mostly just to unacidize any possible finger prints. As usual though the best policy if your not sure of what your doing is DON'T CLEAN COINS. |
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Valued Member
United States
80 Posts |
How long do you soak them in acetone? Would I be just as good soaking in water for a day or so and shaking them around in there by hand?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1026 Posts |
I have used dawn dish soap and rub with my fingers rince good in hot water and let dry worked good foe me with very dirty coins.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19945 Posts |
Quote:
I have used dawn dish soap and rub with my fingers rince good in hot water and let dry worked good foe me with very dirty coins.
I do the same thing, just hold it under as hot of water as you can stand, maybe put a drop of liquid dish soap on it and rub it under the running water. It leaves no scratches and no indication of cleaning....it's a pretty mild process on copper. The next choice is xylene, acetone just doesn't do much on copper. However, xylene is real good as removing organics from the surface without causing damage. Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
I have used dawn dish soap and rub with my fingers rince good in hot water and let dry worked good foe me with very dirty coins.
I've explained this before many times. Be carefull using anything on a coin that is manufactured. All dish soaps are different from each other due to a propritary situation where the manufacturers don't want to be copies. Even the same brands can be different at times. Many manufacturers change the formulae for products slighly or massively for the reasons noted. If someone tries to copy by the time they figure out what is what it is changed. What works for one person may have horrible effects by you. And sorry Thad but telling people to run a coin under water would mean to them tap water. Remember that some people use well water, some chemically treated water, water through a water softener, etc. As with dish soaps, not all water is the same. If your not sure of what your using the best policy is to just DON'T CLEAN COINS. There is an old saying "Let sleeping dogs lie" Or leave well enough alone. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19945 Posts |
I use tap water Carl....now, I should have added....NEVER do this to a coin of significant value! I only do this to coins I find while searching circulated bank rolls. Sometimes they have just a little dirt on them that comes right off. These are coins that even in BU are worth less than $1.
Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3077 Posts |
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Replies: 13 / Views: 1,522 |
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Posted 02/18/2009 2:50 pm
