Cleaning coins and relics?

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gleaner1 said:
You do not tumble collectible coins or relics. No matter what kind of tumbler it is.
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Actually, that's not entirely accurate. Tumblers are good for cleaning bulk amounts of clad, to get them in spendable shape. To get so that you can spend or role them for the bank.

I suppose you could roll the clad just like they are, and technically, the banks would still accept them (dark brown dimes and quarters, etc...). But ..... it's not really nice to do. I did it once (figuring "that's their problem"), but ..... the bank called me a few days later. Apparently whomever received those rolls next from the bank (a retail store or whatever entity had come in next to purchase rolls for their business), had opened the rolls, only to find nearly un-recognizable disks (unless you hold each one up for close scrutiny). So they, in turn, had called the bank to complain. The bank, in turn .... looked at the acct. # written on the roll, to determine that they had come from me. And ..... they weren't too happy :tongue3:

Anyhow, tumblers are good for cleaning clad. But no, you wouldn't want to clean old valuable coins that way.
 

Take a good sturdy plastic container gallon size with lid. Put the dirty clad and and equal part water and equal part fine gravel like aquarium gravel. Some sand if you wish. Two or three drops of soap. Shake vigorously, they'll be purdy in no time.
 

I first soak all coins in straight Simple Green to break the crud loose. Then I use a water pic to blast them clean. That's as far as I go with collectables. I've got a batch of zinc pennies in a vibrating case cleaner as I type this. It gets all the corrosion off of them. I also clean clad coins that way. It makes them all shiny for taking to the bank.

Storm
 

For cleaning coins in a tumbler I use Magic Tumble Clean and they come out great.
 

hvacker said:
So what's the best process for collectable relics?
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For smaller items I use an ultrasonic jewelery cleaner. It is powered by two "C" batteries. I fill it with water, add a drop of cleaner, turn it on and it removes all dirt and such in a few minutes. It is primarily used to clean gold chains, diamond rings and such. It is just a mild soap, so you do not alter the artifact in a way that would hurt its value. Amazon has several of them for about 25 bucks. I agree that for putting some shine back on a clad the tumbler would be better.
 

gleaner1 said:
Cannon ball? Gilt button? Depends on what you are trying to clean. There is no best way anyway so the question is not valid.
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Of course the question is valid. There are just different answers for different items. Validity has to do with logic.
 

GrizLeeBear said:
For smaller items I use an ultrasonic jewelery cleaner. It is powered by two "C" batteries. I fill it with water, add a drop of cleaner, turn it on and it removes all dirt and such in a few minutes. It is primarily used to clean gold chains, diamond rings and such. It is just a mild soap, so you do not alter the artifact in a way that would hurt its value. Amazon has several of them for about 25 bucks. I agree that for putting some shine back on a clad the tumbler would be better.
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I've wondered about the ultrasonic cleaners. I've seen similar cleaners in industry using heated solvents. I saw a cheap ultrasound one at Harbor Freight that probably used water. I've found a number of descriptions on how to use dc powered battery chargers in chemical tanks for rust on iron/steel but don't know if there would be a lot of pitting left behind.
In the 70's a lot of valuable antique furniture was ruined by the popular kits sold to make them look a certain way. I think the more known about how to protect your stash the better. A lot of us know next to nothing about this although I have learned to avoid wire wheels (sometimes).
 

hvacker said:
Of course the question is valid. There are just different answers for different items. Validity has to do with logic.
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Good point hvacer, you are right, of course all questions are valid. I just hope the op does not put a GW button or a rare coin in a cartridge case tumbler. I am just trying to say that there is no best way to clean something, that is up the the discretion of the cleaner, considering the item to be cleaned, of course. At the end of the day, there is no best way to clean anything really. On the other side of the coin, there is no worst way to clean a goody either. I mean, who is to say acid, or sandblasting, or tumbling is any worse than the other, for cleaning?
 

gleaner1 said:
Good point hvacer, you are right, of course all questions are valid. I just hope the op does not put a GW button or a rare coin in a cartridge case tumbler. I am just trying to say that there is no best way to clean something, that is up the the discretion of the cleaner, considering the item to be cleaned, of course. At the end of the day, there is no best way to clean anything really. On the other side of the coin, there is no worst way to clean a goody either. I mean, who is to say acid, or sandblasting, or tumbling is any worse than the other, for cleaning?
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Like skinning a cat I guess. This is an area I know little about and find information scarce. I wouldn't want to wreck a good find and improper cleaning seems like an ez way to ruin a day. Even the ? if to clean at all. I've got a civil war bayonet I found at an antique store that is rusty. Shiny is better, right? I guess not. Just leave it be? Let the rust be part of it's history.
 

hvacker said:
Like skinning a cat I guess. This is an area I know little about and find information scarce. I wouldn't want to wreck a good find and improper cleaning seems like an ez way to ruin a day. Even the ? if to clean at all. I've got a civil war bayonet I found at an antique store that is rusty. Shiny is better, right? I guess not. Just leave it be? Let the rust be part of it's history.
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There's a difference between completely removing rust and stopping its progress. After all, the bluing or browning on a firearm is nothing more than controlled rust. You should keep the bayonet lightly oiled. The rust absorbs and holds the oil preventing moisture and air from reaching the metal and causing more rust. When customers would bring antique firearms in for inspection/preservation I would go so far as to oil and rub lightly with 0000 steel wool.

Storm
 

Stormrider1951 said:
There's a difference between completely removing rust and stopping its progress. After all, the bluing or browning on a firearm is nothing more than controlled rust. You should keep the bayonet lightly oiled. The rust absorbs and holds the oil preventing moisture and air from reaching the metal and causing more rust. When customers would bring antique firearms in for inspection/preservation I would go so far as to oil and rub lightly with 0000 steel wool.

Storm
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Thanks for the info. I know some advise for meteorites, they are mostly iron, after a slice is made to use transmission fluid for rust protection. Not sure why. Maybe it;s less oily after a time.
 

I have cleaned coins with hot sauce before. Works really well. Give it a shot with a gross coin you don't care about first and see the results for your self!
 

gleaner1 said:
There is no best way to clean a relic. Or old coin. Period. But there is a worst way. Tumble it in a tumbler.
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I disagree. Cleaning certain types of relics in a tumbler works well. Shell frags, horseshoes for example:

 

Cleaning coins that are worth more the face value, be careful and soak in warm water with dish soap, and clean with a soft cloth. Good hunting and good luck.
 

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