Who leaves a coin uncleaned?

[Weasel_Loader]

I'm all new to coinshooting, but have a question in regard to cleaning coins. I hear cleaning is a big no-no if it's a key date. Don't we all rub the dirt off to see the date on all our coins we pull? I don't see too many valuable coins pictured on the net with dirt on them and pictured as found. All the purdy coins I see posted look like they were never in the ground. What should I do if I pull a coin out that looks old but can't see the date?

 

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[desertfox]

Wash gently with warm soapy water, maybe use a soft toothbrush. You can also check out the coin cleaning fourm on this site for more tips.

 

[l.cutler]

The first thing not to do is rub the dirt off. While this is a great temptation, you may as well rub sandpaper across it. Notice how many photos of found coins have hairline scratches across them, this is from rubbing the dirt off. Wait until you get home and rinse the dirt off without rubbing.

 

[Jagdpanther]

I take a small plastic bottle that has a tight fitting lid with a little water in it. I can drop the coin in, give it a shake and remove the coin. This will usually do the trick of letting you ID in the field without scratching the coin.

HH

 

[BuckleBoy]

I take a small plastic bottle that has a tight fitting lid with a little water in it. I can drop the coin in, give it a shake and remove the coin. This will usually do the trick of letting you ID in the field without scratching the coin.

HH

I place all my silver coins in a plastic bottle filled with cotton balls--it keeps them from getting scratched. Then when I get home, I soak them for a while to loosen the dirt, then blast them with hard running water (with the drain plugged!) and use a camel's hair make-up brush to tease the dirt off of them (I keep the water running over the coin the whole time to remove the grit and dirt rather than grinding it into the face of the coin!). I would go with a make-up brush rather than a toothbrush...and you really don't need soap. Silver doesn't corrode underground, so you only need to remove the dirt. If silver is oxidized (stained), there's not much you can do about that unless you resort to harsher cleaning methods or professional coin conservation.

That way you don't get all the scratches that folks get when they wipe it to see the date. It ain't that important to see the date--by the time you wipe it with your hands (if it's a rare one), you've already destroyed part of its value! But if you just can't wait to see it, I advocate the suggestion I quoted above--it is less likely to scratch it...

Here's an example of one I did as I described...with the camel's hair brush. And here is a before and after photo (this was posted in my post--and I always try to photograph my silvers as-found before I clean them...)





Regards,


Buckleboy

 

[Weasel_Loader]

Thanks Buckle Boy. I'll follow that method as it sounds like a safe way to treat those silvers.

 

[BuckleBoy]

Thanks Buckle Boy. I'll follow that method as it sounds like a safe way to treat those silvers.

No problem, buddy. Any that you could want to have graded *might* still come back as "dug" due to ground action while the coin was buried... but the way I figure it, at least they won't be damaged any further by the finder.

Cheers,


Buckleboy

 

[Born2Dtect]

I have found that most coins look better if not over cleaned. I clean my finds just enough to get good detail. I don,t polish them to shine like a new penny. I do love good shiny proofs and uncirculated coins in almost perfect condition, but when it comes to a found coins, clean but don,t polish. One good tip I have found is after you are satisfied with the cleaning, rinse the coin in distilled water, dry, then coat with "Renaissance" wax. Museums use it on metal, leather and wood. By keeping the air off the item it will age well.

Ed D.

 

[BuckleBoy]

I have found that most coins look better if not over cleaned. I clean my finds just enough to get good detail. I don,t polish them to shine like a new penny. I do love good shiny proofs and uncirculated coins in almost perfect condition, but when it comes to a found coins, clean but don,t polish. One good tip I have found is after you are satisfied with the cleaning, rinse the coin in distilled water, dry, then coat with "Renaissance" wax. Museums use it on metal, leather and wood. By keeping the air off the item it will age well.

Ed D.

For copper coins, I wholeheartedly agree. I myself, as well as many others have had great success with the peroxide cleaning method in the link below.

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,117293.0.html

For nickels, I really haven't found a satisfactory cleaning method. It looks like some great results have been achieved with Lime-Away--although I haven't tried them yet...and I wouldn't clean a valuable nickel with that method. I'll get around to trying it soon, but in the meantime here are links to those posts:

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,145273.0.html

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,147895.0.html



Regards,


Buckleboy

 

[curbdiggercarl57]

It's hard, but try and get out of the habit of rubbing coins in the field. I know i've damaged quite a few that way. Good luck!
CurbdiggerCarl