coin cleaning

[SULLA]

I have an example of a half-cleaned 2 cent piece.

Can anyone tell me how this was done?
No polishing/rubbing marks.
The image makes the coin look rather bland but it still retains a lot of "reflectivity"/lustre.

[ausjack]

I'd say CLR clear as it makes them go a funny colour but then you get a similar effect with lemon juice as well

[Fulvio]

I'd say CLR clear as it makes them go a funny colour but then you get a similar effect with lemon juice as well

Yep. A dip in some type of cleaner. What exactly is a moot point... the coin's ruined no matter what it was.

[SULLA]

I'd say CLR clear as it makes them go a funny colour but then you get a similar effect with lemon juice as well

CLR = Calcium Lime & Rust Remover ??

[trout]

I'd say CLR clear as it makes them go a funny colour but then you get a similar effect with lemon juice as well

CLR = Calcium Lime & Rust Remover ??

You can get pretty much the same results as CLR using a mixture of salt and vinegar , which works great on battery terminals and the like :ok:
Drop a coin in the mixture and you will instantly ruin that coin , These type of mixtures are great for cleaning hardware and household items but are a death sentence to coins :dodgy:

[ausjack]

:i_agree:
Yep that's the one sulla :good:

I'd say CLR clear as it makes them go a funny colour but then you get a similar effect with lemon juice as well

CLR = Calcium Lime & Rust Remover ??

[Fulvio]

These type of mixtures are great for cleaning hardware and household items but are a death sentence to coins

:agreed: Yet still people do this... :dodgy:

[Cooper S]

correct  me if im wrong but doesn't cleaning your coins decrease the value?

[Fulvio]

correct  me if im wrong but doesn't cleaning your coins decrease the value?

Often to zero, yes.

[Cooper S]

so why do people do it? if anything salt and vinegar to soak usually brings the dirt out then get an extra soft toothbrush to clean any excess off, after that wipe over it with a micro fibre cloth or glove. always does the trick!

[keldaw]

decrease the value and will also stuff the coin up ,.

 don't do it . no no no no   ,, kel ,,

[Fulvio]

so why do people do it? if anything salt and vinegar to soak usually brings the dirt out then get an extra soft toothbrush to clean any excess off, after that wipe over it with a micro fibre cloth or glove. always does the trick!

Nonononononooooooooo...

Anything acidic will eat away the metal. Anything abrasive will scratch the metal. That includes dilute vinegar and microfibre cloths.

The very best advice regarding cleaning is DON'T. There are things that you can do, which have been documented here and elsewhere, but you really have to know what you're doing, how to do it, and what the result is likely to be. At best, you can only hope to halt deterioration, not improve or reverse damage.

[SULLA]

so why do people do it? if anything salt and vinegar to soak usually brings the dirt out then get an extra soft toothbrush to clean any excess off, after that wipe over it with a micro fibre cloth or glove. always does the trick!

Thanks mini.

It was cleaned with a saturated salt  / white vinegar solution.

Just hoping to make more collectors aware of this.

[Goldseeker]

I was looking at my coin collection today and realized that my pre decimal silver coins looked dirty.   Si I decided to give them 30 minutes in an ultra sonic cleaner.   The results are below:

Before cleaning:



After cleaning:




I know people will say I was wrong in doing it but they were circulated coins anyway.   Further, I do believe that there has been quite a bit of improvement regardless.

[interest]

I met a guy through a friend last year who has been collecting coins for a number of years, & every one of his coins have been cleaned,
by either soaking them in coke over night or some other mysteries fluid.
We got into a bit of discussion as to why he did that and his theory was,
apart from the fact that they were his coins & he liked them to look shiny, but also he had just bought a new car & said he had spent over $30,000 on that & what if he never cleaned that, would it be worth more money when time came to trade it in, or should he wash & polish his $30,000 investment?