Ok, seriously now. What REALLY is the best way to clean coins????

trpnd35

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Apr 3, 2011
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Martinez, Ga.
What a pain in the a$$ ! I have soaked coins in soapy water, I have dipped them in Muriatic acid, which I don't recommend by the way, I have done electrolysis, etc. etc. etc. The one thing that I have not done yet is tumble them with sand or gravel or anything. I even saw where people were using Acetone. So, WHAT REALLY IS THE BEST WAY TO CLEAN YOUR FINDS !!!!!!!
 
Has anyone ever used the vibrator/tumbler? Which would be better, that or the old rotary tumbler? I checked them out on Harbor Freight. Looks like the rotary got better reviews
 
Didnt find the CLR video. Check out GoodTimeCharlies "tumbling basics" thread (I dont know how to post the link on here). His results were absolutely amazing !!! I'm definately going to buy a tumbler and some aquarium gravel
 
Has anyone ever used the vibrator/tumbler? Which would be better, that or the old rotary tumbler? I checked them out on Harbor Freight. Looks like the rotary got better reviews


I have both tumblers and the rotary tumbler works much better than my vibratory tumbler. At least for me. :)

G2M
 
Tumbling is the best and safest way. Just check every 30 minutes or so if it's pitted. You have to be really careful.
 
I like rubbing baking soda on the coin with my thumb and index finger, if not a key date. Not the foil and baking soda trick, just using it to scrub the dirt off of the coin, then using toothpaste to smooth it out.
 
I hear that using a pre-soaped SOS pad (not a Brillo pad!) can do wonders. I have yet to try it. So far I use a Lortone tumbler, which works great for the regular dirty and stained coins, but not the ones with what seems to have centuries of grime and dried gunk on them. Also hear that using hot hydrogen peroxide (microwave a coin in a small amount of H2O2) works well, but I have not tried this yet either.
 
When I mentioned rubbing with baking soda I meant wet baking soda, with frequent rinsing. It removes the dirt/grime/corrosion on wheats, IHs, and my rough barber dime.

I dip the coin in water then use my fingers & rub cream of tartar on wheat cents to read the dates..

Cream of tarter is an acid like CLR, lemon juice, or vinegar. Just a note.
 
Depends. If it just clad you are talking about, the best results I've seen are tumbling. Don't do that though with any coin that has value...
 
I hear that using a pre-soaped SOS pad (not a Brillo pad!) can do wonders. I have yet to try it. So far I use a Lortone tumbler, which works great for the regular dirty and stained coins, but not the ones with what seems to have centuries of grime and dried gunk on them. Also hear that using hot hydrogen peroxide (microwave a coin in a small amount of H2O2) works well, but I have not tried this yet either.

Don't microwave the coin, only heat the peroxide to boiling in the microwave then put in the coin. The best method for cleaning clad and the fastest is the tumbler, use dawn,gravel and water. For really heavy crud more gravel and more time, about 3 to 4 hours.
 
On a few of the coins Ive found ive just used dawn and a micro fiber to scrub. So far so good. But ive not come across anything is major need of help.
 
There's no one right way because it depends on the coin. Anyone who suggests how to clean something without even seeing it, their advice you should not follow... unless of course it's something simple like tumbling modern change.
 
for clad i use the tumbler with water/aquarium gravel and gel dishwasher detergent(this doesn't foam up in the tumbler like regular soaps do) for old coppers it all depends on condition and i'll use the boiling peroxide bath or if its real bad i'll hit it with electrolysis, on wheat pennies "bar keepers friend" made into a paste works very well
 

In my opinion I would agree with Iron Patch that there is no one right way, as it depends on the metal composition of the coin/find and what kind of gunk/corrosion is attached.

As for the ultrasonic cleaners I recently picked one up and had some mixed results. attached is the before/after best result I have had with it so far (I have no idea how this would affect grading).

I found the ultrasonic cleaner worked well to get rid of dirt on dug coins (especially around the details, but doesn't remove tarnish on silver very well. Also on occasion the ultrasonic process will chip off corrosion if left on too long on copper coins (which can affect the patina/aesthetics of the coin).

Disclaimer: I am new to the hobby and am having fun experimenting different cleaning processes on dug coins that I don't mind devaluing.

At the moment I would love to hear any tips on cleaning heavy dirt off brass/bronze coins, as I find using any water on brass/bronze coins affects the patina.
 

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I found the ultrasonic cleaner worked well to get rid of dirt on dug coins (especially around the details, but doesn't remove tarnish on silver very well. Also on occasion the ultrasonic process will chip off corrosion if left on too long on copper coins (which can affect the patina/aesthetics of the coin).
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At the moment I would love to hear any tips on cleaning heavy dirt off brass/bronze coins, as I find using any water on brass/bronze coins affects the patina.

I can't speak for whether it hurts resale value but if you want to remove tarnish off silver coins just clean them this way. Line bowl with aluminum foil and place coin on top of foil. In a large container put two tablespoons of baking soda into hot boiling water. Use big container because it starts fizzing up. Pour this mixture over the coin and let sit 10 minutes.

I can't fathom why collects would want patina on other items. I'm not a coin collector, but if I was I would want perfect shiny coins. These collectors seem impossible to please so if I find anything really old if I can't sale it on Ebay then its going to remelt if its worth much more than face value.
 
Has anyone ever used the vibrator/tumbler? Which would be better, that or the old rotary tumbler? I checked them out on Harbor Freight. Looks like the rotary got better reviews

I would think that the tumbler would be better than the vibrator. Less work on the hands. :lol::lol::lol:
 
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