cleaning ideas

[treasurehound]

I would like to see some posts on how people clean each type of coins. I am always wanting to learn from others who have success in how they clean their finds. Buckleboy has the best cleaning method for buttons so I would like to hear your best cleaning methods for coins. I don't have a tumbler so what methods do you use to clean pennies (wheats, indian heads, etc.), nickels, silver etc... Perhaps others can learn as well.

 

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[BuckleBoy]

Hi!

Here's what I do for coins:

Usually a toothbrush and water for wheats. I sometimes scrub off clad with a toothbrush too, and spend it little by little throughout the year. Of course, I don't find much clad, so this isn't a big problem. For those that find lots of it, they may wish to go the "coin tumbler" route (recipes for which are posted throughout this section of the forum).

For IH's, 2c's, Large Cents, Colonial Coppers--first a wet cotton swab rolled over the coin gently to tell more about what it is--not using force, just wet the swab (do not wet the whole coin) and roll it over the face of the coin to remove the dirt. (It takes a while.) Then I might use the peroxide method ONLY IF the patina looks solid. NEVER use olive oil on a coin, button, or relic.

For nickels, usually I toothbrush with water, then bring out the detail with the oil from my fingers rubbed LIGHTLY on only the highest points of the coin. I use this method for CN IH's and FE cents too--since the nickel in them will generally mean that they're reddish colored fresh out of the ground. Some folks also use the salt and vinegar method with good results--but I like my nickels to look "dug." My method may not produce good results for all soil types, but it works well on nickels that are "red" underneath the crud.

For silver--when you dig it--do NOT field clean it. The date will still be there when you get home. (IMO, it's kind of like digging the coin again when you get it home undamaged and blast it with water to check it out. )If you rub it at all, or pick at the dirt, you will scratch the coin. I place them in a medicine bottle (free at any Walgreens, etc.) that is filled with cotton balls. Then when I get home, I soak the coin for a few minutes in water, then use warm water (with the drain plugged!) to BLAST the dirt from the coin. Then while the water is running, use a camel's hair Very Soft make up brush to tease the remaining dirt off the coin (while the water is running the whole time over the coin--the water will carry the loose dirt away so that you won't scratch the coin). When it is done, let it air dry.

That is what I used to do for silver coins--but I may switch to the peroxide method, because it is "touchless" and seems to produce the same results (see Don in SJ's results with the peroxide method on two Beautiful Capped Bust Halves he found in the link below. If he had field cleaned them, in that high of a grade, the scratches would've been VERY obvious).

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,318248.html

In general, the more mirror-like and new a silver coin's surfaces are when it was lost, and the more mint luster remains, the more damage can be done by wiping it with a finger (Grinding the dirt into the surface of the coin). I wait to get home to clean ALL silver coins--even Barber coins. I never know what the date will be, or how nice the coin will be until then--and I don't want to risk it.


You have mentioned my "How to Clean Buttons" post, so I will give the link to it:

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,165857.0.html

And I have also found a new method to clean nicer iron relics:

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,343876.0.html


Best Wishes and HH,


Buckleboy

 

[treasurehound]

Thanks BB. I am pretty much doing everything you mentioned. I had to laugh about the drain plug. I was cleaning a wheat or Indian head earlier this year when I dropped it in the sink. I had to get under the sink and take apart the drain pipes to get it back. My wife just about lost it when she saw what I was doing. Her response "Honey, why didn't you use the drain plug?"

 

[BuckleBoy]

Thanks BB. I am pretty much doing everything you mentioned. I had to laugh about the drain plug. I was cleaning a wheat or Indian head earlier this year when I dropped it in the sink. I had to get under the sink and take apart the drain pipes to get it back. My wife just about lost it when she saw what I was doing. Her response "Honey, why didn't you use the drain plug?"

I learned the hard way too. I'm just glad I managed to get that Barber dime out of there.