To clean, or not to clean, that is the question.

[hoser]

I, along with a lot of folks on here have raised the question of cleaning dug coins. I have read a ton of do's and don'ts. This is my take on this question. The date and type of coin depicts whether or not I will clean and polish a coin or just wash it to get the dirt off and leave it alone. This is MY thoughts on this process. If I dig a coin that I feel has some historic value, I will treat it with care just to be safe. Now this is just for coin finds that I have removed from the ground. Not those I have bought from coin dealers. What is the drop off line with the rest of you here? I guess I mean when do you clean and polish, and when do you just WASH.

 

[Pete e]

As a general rule of thumb, I think if you ever wish to sell your coins, your better just rinsing them..

Personally, I don't sell them and don't intend to so I clean the coin such that I like it's finish..On older heavily tarnished silver coins, I will generally polish them lightly to clean some of the high relief areas...I have zapped silver coins when they were very bad, but it's definately a case of less is more...On modern silver, say post 1901, I will happily clean them til they are "bright" but I am not trying to get them to a mirror polish....

 

[markinmichigan]

Haven't got there yet but I will be watching the responses. I would clean and gently find a date and google that coin. Or ask Too POINTER, he knows everything

Mark in Michigan

 

[Tom_in_CA]

there was a treasure magazine article , decades ago (before the internet and forums), where a guy wrote an interesting article on this pro/con subject :

The east coast guy had amassed many dozens of LC's and colonial coppers over the years. One day he sat down with a coin-book in-hand, and studied the dates and conditions of all of them. Lo & behold, 5 or 6 of them he determined should be worth some collector money !

So he took them to a local coin store in his town, and laid them on the counter. The proprietor went through them, coin by coin, and offered a mere pittance for each of them. The md'r objected and tried to point out that the coins were better dates, details showing, etc.... But the coin-store guy said : "Yeah, but these are cruddy and dirty".

To which the md'r said : "Oh, then if I clean them, then will you offer more ?" . The coin store guy BRISTLED with disdain saying "Never never never clean your coins. If you did THAT, then we would CERTAINLY never buy them".

The dejected md'r left the store with his coins And now he figured that , shucks, since these aren't worth much, I might as well clean them so that they at least look good for my own home display trays. And he set about studying all the methods . He experimented on some of his common ones, and ...... after a month or two, settled on a particular method that he felt left the least trace of effort. I forget what method he chose.

A year went by and , one day he decided to go back in to the same coin store with the same 5 or 6 coins. When he walked in, he recognized that it was the same man that had waited on him a year before. But the clerk did not recognize the md'r man. He puts the same coins on the counter. And ..... one by one, as the clerk checked his price guides, he offered considerably more than he had the year before.

Moral of the story ? It depends on how you do it. How good you are at leaving no trace of you effort. But it is not true to say that you should NEVER clean your coins. Because, let's be honest : Some of the stuff we find will get you laughed out of the coin store. So we are often-time in a position where it doesn't hurt to try, in some cases.

 

[hoser]

. Or ask Too POINTER, he knows everything

Yeah I taught him well.

 

[hoser]

Some of the stuff we find will get you laughed out of the coin store.

Bingo! I got to know a coin dealer here that has now gone elsewhere. I took dug coins to him and he gave me recommendations of what I should do. 99% of the suggestions said just clean with soap and water, wipe clean with a soft cloth, and store in a safe space. OK that was his story. Mine is, if it came out of the dirt any cleaning is a good thing just shy of using a belt sander.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

.... just shy of using a belt sander.

The old adage of "Never clean your coins" was no doubt born out of horror stories of someone cleaning grandmas gold coins with Ajax, blah blah .

 

[KOB]

Back in the early days of coin collecting , it was common practice to use coin cloths and rub the tarnish or oxidation off of rare coins , particularly proofs. This was done by world renowned numismatic experts before we had the grading and conservation of today's standards.

 

[metaladdict]

How can I clean my Buffalo nickel? Any advise?

 

[hoser]

How can I clean my Buffalo nickel? Any advise?

Well here we go again. I have found quite a few buffs and they tend to be very dark and hard to see any detail at least where I'm located. Again, if it came out of the ground to me is a detriment so I use different mediums to clean my coins. Keep in mind if I clean a coin, I am pretty much gonna keep the coin for myself so I will do what I like the best. I have had good results cleaning old nickels with Brasso. WOW! I can hear the coin gurus gasp as we speak!

 

[stetam]

How can I clean my Buffalo nickel? Any advise?

Peroxide

 

[metaladdict]

Peroxide

Thanks Stetam.

 

[Cherry Picker]

I have never sold any of my old coins for rarity value. I have sold some silver coins, but just for the melt value.

I'm sure I have a few rare old coins in my collection of 50 years of detection, but I have never checked. I have a few special coins I will never sell and I have cleaned them for display purposes. My current oldest, an 1835 capped bust half dime, my profile/Avatar picture, for example.

 

[rreahard]

Sometimes I'll do a little cleaning, usually I dont.

 

[Jamflicker]

How can I clean my Buffalo nickel? Any advise?

I use SOS pads and get nice results.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I use SOS pads and get nice results.

As counter intuitive as this sounds (sounds abrasive), yet it's true for nickels ! There's something in the composition of each that leaves little to no trace of the effort. And .... let's be honest ...... the nickels we find in the ground are sickly corroded brown-ish red-ish junk anyhow , so ... this is an improvement no matter what.

 

[metaladdict]

I have never sold any of my old coins for rarity value. I have sold some silver coins, but just for the melt value.

I'm sure I have a few rare old coins in my collection of 50 years of detection, but I have never checked. I have a few special coins I will never sell and I have cleaned them for display purposes. My current oldest, an 1835 capped bust half dime, my profile/Avatar picture, for example.

I hear you, my avatar is a saltwater 1899 barber half that I will not sell.

 

[MasonDixonMding]

I don’t clean much. I can always clean it more later if I don’t like how it looks. Just to be on the safe side.

 

[Jamflicker]

As counter intuitive as this sounds (sounds abrasive), yet it's true for nickels ! There's something in the composition of each that leaves little to no trace of the effort. And .... let's be honest ...... the nickels we find in the ground are sickly corroded brown-ish red-ish junk anyhow , so ... this is an improvement no matter what.

Yes, it is weird but they do the job to get that crust off and look halfway decent. I have tried other ways and this seems like the best. Plus like you mentioned, most are pretty toasted anyways so why not make them look better.

 

[chillforlife]

I'm only wishing to find something this year worth cleaning.