markinswpa
Forum Supporter
If I dig a copper coin with a nice patina to it, especially a nice green patina I just rub it between thumb and forefinger and let the skin oil do its thing. But when I get a crusty one thats unreadable I have to try and at least get a date off it and if I see that maybe there is still a decent amount of detail I try to clean it. I have tried all the methods mentioned here and have found nothing is tried and true because of the soil composition the coin was laying in. Sometimes they clean up nice and other times it just makes thing worse. That said I usually work on the ones which really would be no better off. Heres a couple Indians, one I dug the other day and the 1902 I dug in a city park a week or so back. Lately I have been using Sprayaway brand stainless cleaner, I soak it down, let it set for a decent amount of time, at least a couple hours, I keep it wet and then start a polishing motion with a q-tip. This takes several q-tips and at least 3 or 4 tries. The 1905 had a very hard crust and I used a stiff bristle brush with the Sprayaway. I'm not worried about the little bit of fresh copper I get into that will dull in a little while but now at least I can enjoy the coin and see a little detail.