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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,999 |
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New Member
United States
1 Posts |
I have $500 in silver coins from a cache find, none are newer than 1944. I have been able to scan them and can really see nothing notable value-wise - they were buried in 2 (disintegrated) coffee cans. Many of the coins have taken on the appearance of rust, probably from a reaction with the iron oxide, and on some it's pretty caked on. How do I get it off, without scrubbing each coin? I'm just trying to clean them to sell for the silver value and have them presentable.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
737 Posts |
A lot of people have used vinegar/acetone and soaked the coins for a few hours/days. Of course this isn't advisable if your going to sell them for their numismatic value, but if you're just trying to clean them up for the silver content, then I don't see why not. I could be completely wrong though.  . As always, wait for a few more people to respond. You can also do a search, I've seen a few threads about cleaning coins. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
737 Posts |
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Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
Before using acetone read the warnings.Type acetone in the search box upper left of the page. John1  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19931 Posts |
As long as there's no valuable/key dates or conditional rarities, don't waste time/money, just take them to a sink with hot running water and start washing. Get the bulk of the crud off them, then sell them as junk silver.
Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
As long as there's no valuable/key dates or conditional rarities, don't waste time/money, just take them to a sink with hot running water and start washing. Get the bulk of the crud off them, then sell them as junk silver.
A little soap too. Any kind will do. I'd dump a little Baking soda in the sink also. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2448 Posts |
Just curius, if you find something you want to keep, what would you use?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3592 Posts |
Quote:
Just curius, if you find something you want to keep, what would you use Nothing is first choice...second would be acetone for me...and always take your time...if really valuable, find a professional. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
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Just curius, if you find something you want to keep, what would you use?
Brass wire wheel of course. But only on Copper coins. For Silver coins you need a Silver wire wheel.  The problem here is since those are in such horrible condition, it would be way to late to notice a rare coin after the scrubbing, cleaning, etc. |
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Valued Member
United States
425 Posts |
I wanna hear about how, when, where, etc.... you found these!! Sounds like a great story!!
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
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I wanna hear about how, when, where, etc.... you found these! Sounds like a great story!
Same here. Always interesting where and how people find coins buried somewhere. Not to long ago I was on a job where they were tearing up and entire street for reconstruction. One of the electrical workers constantly found coins and showed me a large bag of them he found under the ground where his company was putting in conduits. Said he had thousands of them. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Get a polishing machine like they use on bullet casings. That and some fine white sand or walnut shells should clean up any non-collectable stuff. Try a few minutes to start, depending on how bad they are, maybe several hours.
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
I remember back in the 70s, a dealer at a show brought in some WL that an Amish man bought new, put in a lead pipe, smashed the ends shut, and buried. Every coin had great luster that you just don't see, even on slobbed coins that keep getting passed around.
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,999 |
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Posted 02/21/2011 04:45 am
