Cleaning Your Finds: Coins and Relics

[coinman123]

Thanks for the information guys. I wasn't aware of the negative effects of oil when I wrote this three years ago. I removed my dug coppers from the oil this spring after hearing that it was bad for coins. The one thing I noticed is, yes, the coins were much darker. They also do seem to have much more detail showing than when I put them in though. A problem was that they felt oily even after rinsing for 10 minutes, and still smelled like the oil. I would still say that for very bad coins, no date or detail, it doesn't hurt to put them in oil for a day or two just to try to get some details to show up for basic identification. On a nice coin, I would advise against doing this though. It seems like olive oil's negative reputation is rather recent, I remember hearing it being used by many members until 2013/2014. The guy at my coin shop first told me about using olive oil for coins, claiming to have coins in a sealed jar of olive oil for over 10 years (I could only imagine how bad that olive oil smells, or how dark the coins are).

 

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[Honest Samuel]

Soak in warm water with dish soap and clean with a soft cloth.

 

[mrwilburino]

I've always use olive oil on the really bad ones. I'll soak them for a year or more if needed. Yep, turns them dark. Then I'll scratch (yes I said scratch) off the remaining crud with the sharpened tip of a lead pencil. After that, wash it a few times in dish soap and water, then lightly touch it with just a little bit of powdered makeup on the tip of my finger to highlight the details. Of course I wouldn't use this method on anything valuable, or something in better shape that I could simply dry brush off.

 

[Eu_citzen]

Thanks for the information guys. I wasn't aware of the negative effects of oil when I wrote this three years ago. I removed my dug coppers from the oil this spring after hearing that it was bad for coins. The one thing I noticed is, yes, the coins were much darker. They also do seem to have much more detail showing than when I put them in though. A problem was that they felt oily even after rinsing for 10 minutes, and still smelled like the oil. I would still say that for very bad coins, no date or detail, it doesn't hurt to put them in oil for a day or two just to try to get some details to show up for basic identification. On a nice coin, I would advise against doing this though. It seems like olive oil's negative reputation is rather recent, I remember hearing it being used by many members until 2013/2014. The guy at my coin shop first told me about using olive oil for coins, claiming to have coins in a sealed jar of olive oil for over 10 years (I could only imagine how bad that olive oil smells, or how dark the coins are).

When the details are weak after cleaning, rubb them gently on your forehead. The oils there will temporarily improve any details.
The amount is also so minute, a quick rinse with dishwashing liquid and water should fix it. (if you're being picky about it)

Don't know how good/bad that is, but that's often how a gemstone cutter evaluates rough. I found it works with coins and buttons as well.

 

[sprailroad]

Gold coins. Found my first after 35 years of detecting. Sprayed some water on it in the field, nothing after that. Found it 3 days ago, still has dirt on it, but have not removed it based on a big mistake I made years ago. My question: just soak it in water for a while, then rinse and air dry, or use an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner to knock the dirt off, then air dry, or... I would like to send it in to one of the coin grading outfits, to be graded and slabbed, would THEY prefer to remove the remaining dirt? I have been told that PGCS will not grade it because of being dug, but NGS or someone else would, not call it "cleaning" but rather restoration. I believe the ultrasonic would be fine, and then place it into my own slab type holder until such time I find a place to send it to. Any thoughts fellas? It is a 1854 S 10$ Gold coin, with really sharp detail. I have no interest in selling it, I just like looking at it, perhaps a little bit of bragging rights with show and tell. Good stories thought, the guy I was with, "Dirt Bandit Brian" found what turned out to be 10 Seated Liberty Halves in a 2 ft square area, ALL of which had been chopped up into small pieces. Go figure, have never heard of anything like that before. I say 10 because we found ten pieces with the dates. on them.