Be gentle with me
do you clean coins - if so how.
I have a few pre decimal and just wondering what the go was with giving them, a gentle wash/clean
General answer is no,best left alone,old Coins in their natural aged state have a certain charm to most collectors and in most cases more value than ones that have been 'treated' in some way.
Only exception is if Verdigris is growing on the Coin,it will ruin the Coin if not treated,low value Coins can be treated at home,valuable ones best left to an expert.
Quote from: 'Basil' pid='106978' dateline='1490232799'General answer is no,best left alone,old Coins in their natural aged state have a certain charm to most collectors and in most cases more value than ones that have been 'treated' in some way.
Only exception is if Verdigris is growing on the Coin,it will ruin the Coin if not treated,low value Coins can be treated at home,valuable ones best left to an expert.
OK Thanks Basil
Was wondering if they were done in any way and in hindsight they could be ruined
Third Party Graders clean coins as a service but this is an old argument and
many collectors don't know what they are doing so would be best to leave them
for someone who does.You can experiment with rubbish coins to work out what
works and what doesn't .Acetone and WD40 work to a degree but it depends on
what type of coin it is and what contaminant they have on them
Some people don't advocate the cleaning of coins at all, but I see it as a matter of preservation versus a slow death, whether it be in a slab or in the raw.
I possess no technical learning on this subject, only what I've gleaned from others or arrived at myself through trial and ERROR, but hope this helps.
If you're talking about copper coins, the most common issue you may strike would be verdigris which can vary from a bright green to a faded green or even whitish in colour. I've read where one of the causes of this condition on copper is from acetic acid which is transferred from our skin.
http://www.paulaschoice.com/cosmetic-ingredient-dictionary/definition/acetic-acid
If the contamination is a softish texture, a soak in olive oil for a few days will often free it, and can then be dislodged by the gentle use of a sharpened bamboo tooth pick. Because the long soak will have also softened up the dirt and grot within the coins devices, at this point I prefer to also gently remove it as well, as this stuff is just a breeding ground for more trouble. The main thing to remember here is not to press too hard with the tooth pick, as this can easily remove toning and leave unsightly marks.
If the contamination has become hard and crusty the task may be more difficult, and something like WD40 as mentioned by other posters may be better. In this case the chances are the verdigris has already eaten into the surface of the coin.
Whichever method you use, do NOT rub the coin when cleaning off whatever medium was used, just dab dry with a paper towel. Follow this with multiple rinses in a mild detergent solution, dab drying with a paper towel after each rinse. When satisfied, rinse the coin under a strong flow of cold water from the tap (not the hot water tap as all kinds of nasties can linger in the system), this will remove any small pieces of paper towel that may have lodged in the devices. Then flush the coin well with demineralised or distilled water before shaking off any excess droplets, and finish by drying the coin under a hair dryer while gritting the teeth and withstanding as much pain as you can :shock: Maybe rubber gloves are the solution here :dodgy:
I'm not too sure about the hair dryer though, it may actually increase the presence of oxides at the surface, I don't really know but it works for me and time will tell I guess.
I have found that soaking a silver coin in olive oil will dull any lustre considerably.
Yeah what Stevo and auto said and there's three things I'd add 1 toothpicks are good for hard to get at areas. 2 give a good rise with warm soapy water (again try not to rub). 3 Try not to let the coins rest on each other if you put them in olive oil. But like mentioned above, experiment on crappy coins first.
I don't do olive oil as it takes too long as they have to soak for a really long time and I just don't have the patience so I use wd or some sort of crc spray for the green death and if it's glue or PVC I use acetone.
Any green coins separate them as they will contaminate your other coins, verdigris is the worst thing and you can get cleaners just for it but they're normally pretty pricey.
if you look here there's a few threads that mention cleaning coins :good:
https://www.australian-coins.net/search.php?action=results&sid=3e360fb2d6bd90848ad8ccb773d268f0&sortby=lastpost&order=desc
Quote from: 'autocoupler' pid='106990' dateline='1490255052'I have found that soaking a silver coin in olive oil will dull any lustre considerably.
Also don't allow coins to touch in olive oil. I made that mistake with a batch of $1 error coins, and where they overlapped they turned a chocolate brown. :(
Basically, the advice is don't clean. You will almost certainly degrade a coin, and you will never upgrade it.
The exception to the rule is PVC damage and verdigris. Your coin WILL slowly deteriorate, and while you can't fix it, you can stop the process, or at least slow it down. The advice above is good, and you should start at the low end and work your way up. Acetone and RP7/WD40 won't damage your coins, but they also won't do much about what ails them. Olive oil is a little more aggressive, but it will also do damage if not watched carefully. Lemon juice, vinegar and other mild acids are difficult to control and should be avoided if you're not totally certain what you're doing. Mechanical abrasion may be OK for heavily encrusted long-lost pirate treasure, but is generally a bad idea. And never rub or wipe coins, not even with super-gentle cloths. They WILL leave microscopic scratches which will show up under magnification.
The most important thing is probably storage though. Read up on various options (we've discussed this topic a-plenty here), and be aware of the pros and cons of each. Your main enemies are Oxygen and Water, followed by anything outgassed by the storage medium, or in close proximity which may pass through the material. I ruined MANY purple $2 coronations by leaving LDPE bags resting on a foam cushion. Foam decays, and gives off fumes which pass right through LDPE and turns AlBr a bright green. Not good. Likewise, wood and metal are problematic. And of course PVC is the devil's work. Terminate with extreme prejudice on sight.
Thanks for all the advice gang - very helpful.
Will start (as suggested) at the low end with crappy ones until my skills and knowledge pick up
dug this up
https://www.australian-coins.net/showthread.php?tid=627