how do you clean old coins?

[hornet2729]

hello everyone..i have found some good coins here these past few months...1901 indian head penny 1843 large cent 5 mercs dates range...lots of wheaties...an everytime i try to clean them i make them worse then when i dug them...
ive used soaking it an oil maybe im not soaking them long enough or rubing to hard tryin to clean them too fast...any ideas? thanks

[steve in so az]

I soak them in olive oil and every day work the surface with a wooden toothpick. After a week or so they usually look good. Sometimes it takes a month but not often. steve in so az

[colebear]

Well if you are cleaning with respect for value, you can do very little if you just want them to be cool pieces for you to look back on then olive oil and a soft tooth brush, scrubbing lightly every other day and having them soak in oil in a ultrasonic cleaner has been my tactic and has seemed to work quite well. Be careful and check this section of the forum for more medal specific cleaning tips
http://metaldetectingforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=11

[CTTodd]

heres the deal,don't clean your coins! Now that that has been said heres what I do.For silver coins I use a cleaner called Never Dull it comes in a Blue Tin can and you can get it at the hardware store.Whats neat about this stuff is that its cotton soaked with cleaner and you can do your coin a little at a time until its as cleaned up as much as you want it to be.Not like other things that go right to super shiney with silver which looks dumb on old coins.
For coppers that are in pretty good shape I use a soak in olive oil and then a old tooth brush after a week lightly.If the copper is weak then just water and very light fingers.If you go too tough you will lose all detail right off it in your fingers.If things are real tough and you got nothin to lose then its warm Peroxcide and a tooth brush.Try this one slowly as there is a learning curve.
Last resort is a Potato yes you heard me.You take the coin and push it into a potato and leave it there for two days take it out rinse it and push it back in in another spot and keep doing it.You will be amased.Takes off big crud.The down side is it will turn your copper coin Orange but this is cured with a product called Dells Darkner then the coin will be back to the normal color and be rid of the big crud stuck to it.
Do Not Clean Your Coins.....

[RickO]

First, get a Redbook. Check each coin for value. If no collector value, you can clean them any way you choose. If a coin has value, only soaking and rinsing (olive oil, acetone, mineral oil, alcohol, hot water) may be done without ruining the value. ANY RUBBING WILL RUIN THE VALUE!!! RickO

[stealer]

Cleaned coins, yum!

[daddydigger]

Here's how I clean my crusty Indian Head pennies and it works like a charm!! First soak it in hydrogen peroxide and then scrub it with a toothbrush until all detail is removed and the coin looks even worse than when you started. Next, go to the coin store and buy one exactly like it (same year, same condition) and then claim that's the one you found!! This gets great results and works EVERY time!! The best part is no one is the wiser

[stealer]

Originally Posted by stealer

Cleaned coins, yum!

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