wash it more or leave it alone?

adaminnh

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Hi. I dug this nickel this morning. I'd really like to see better detail but dont want to 'clean' it. All ive done so far is rinsed off in a puddle and under tap water. What is the difference between washing and cleaning? What would you do?

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ForumRunner_20121114_170015.webp
 

Looks like you used a little vinegar on it. Makes them reddish in colour. With 75% copper and 25% nickel composition they are almost
impossible to restore to original lustre. Send PM if you want to whiz it up a little.
 

Unless it's a rare, key-date then you can try any method you want.
 

Looks like you used a little vinegar on it. Makes them reddish in colour. With 75% copper and 25% nickel composition they are almost
impossible to restore to original lustre. Send PM if you want to whiz it up a little.

Vinegar actually removes the red. I've used it on my dug coins and they turned out to be dark gray.

Results Of Using Vinegar And Salt On Dug Nickels
 

I would hesitate using more than soap and water on a coin. you can soak it, you can use a rose thorn to try to pry off grit. Anything more and you are "Cleaning" the coin and it will lose at least half of its value.
 

I would hesitate using more than soap and water on a coin. you can soak it, you can use a rose thorn to try to pry off grit. Anything more and you are "Cleaning" the coin and it will lose at least half of its value.

It's a dug coin with extreme environmental damage. There is no value to lose for common date coins.
 

No amount of washing is gonna make that coin look better. Do what you want to it - you can't hurt it.
 

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