Many times, people ask how to safely clean nickles as they usually look pretty bad coming out of the ground. Opinions are all over the board on this topic but my personal opinion is a method that Goesforever told me a few years back. I personally, still like my nickels to maintain a dug look because I'm proud to have recovered them from the ground. Keep in mind, I'm only really talking older nickels. Modern nickels go into the tumbler and off to the bank.
for those of you who want to make your dug Buffalos, V's, and Shield Nickles look nice, there is a way, but it seems crazy...
In my opinion, it captures the exact look i want for my nickels. The method is.... An SOS pad.
Many people gasp at the thought of putting something so abrasive on a coin, but nickels are surprisingly tough, and in order to get all the crud and some of the purple/Brown color off, this will do the trick.
Here is how I do it:
I start off by vigorously scrubbing the nickel under running water with soap and a toothbrush to get as much dirt and crud off first, then I take an SOS pad under running water and work back and forth only until the crud is gone. You can go to town with an SOS pad and bring some of the silver color back but, in my opinion, it doesn't look good.
Pictures say a thousand words, so here is a before and after of a recently dug Buffalo. Would love any comments or suggestions. Again, this is mere opinion, but for those of you who like the look, the method works every time.
Before: after being scrubbed with soap and water. As you can see, the toothbrush just won't cut it as most of the green crud just won't come off.
After: Yes, you can tell this Buffalo has been cleaned, but the crud is mostly gone, and it still shows evidence that it was dug
Thanks for looking.
for those of you who want to make your dug Buffalos, V's, and Shield Nickles look nice, there is a way, but it seems crazy...
In my opinion, it captures the exact look i want for my nickels. The method is.... An SOS pad.
Many people gasp at the thought of putting something so abrasive on a coin, but nickels are surprisingly tough, and in order to get all the crud and some of the purple/Brown color off, this will do the trick.
Here is how I do it:
I start off by vigorously scrubbing the nickel under running water with soap and a toothbrush to get as much dirt and crud off first, then I take an SOS pad under running water and work back and forth only until the crud is gone. You can go to town with an SOS pad and bring some of the silver color back but, in my opinion, it doesn't look good.
Pictures say a thousand words, so here is a before and after of a recently dug Buffalo. Would love any comments or suggestions. Again, this is mere opinion, but for those of you who like the look, the method works every time.
Before: after being scrubbed with soap and water. As you can see, the toothbrush just won't cut it as most of the green crud just won't come off.
After: Yes, you can tell this Buffalo has been cleaned, but the crud is mostly gone, and it still shows evidence that it was dug
Thanks for looking.