Where I am finding my coins, etc. they are very corroded. Any idea how to clean them? And can I clean a penny the same as a dime or nickel? I did a test cleaning run and LOL my whole batch of coins turned copper color.
I could post a photo of the coins if that would help.
Also, anyone have a way to clean gold jewelry I am finding? Is a sonic cleaner sufficient?
Thank for your input.
Replies
No not salt water..... but they are in a pretty corrosive environment. it is interesting, half the coins I find are paper thin due to the corrosion. But I can tell you gold hold up great LOL.
As far as I am concerned the zinc penny is the enemy, at about 2% copper plated zinc it is easy for corrosion to occur. I have a 1929 copper wheat penny and it looks better than a 2015 zinc penny buried for a few months. When another civilization comes picking through our trash a thousand years from now they won't find any zinc pennies from 2015 because they will be dust but my copper penny will still be here.
Wow those are crusty! From saltwater?
First off....can you post pics of the coins you want to clean? The type of coin will depend on the cleaning method. Some coins shouldnt be cleaned depending on type and rarity. I'll post some methods I've used and results I have got.
1. Old copper coins...
First time cleaning was with an 182? copper large cent. Was heavily corroded and heard warm peroxide would clean it up. I tried it and it was working well and I forgot about it overnight. Next morning i took it out of cup and wiped it off and it was a blank copper disk. All the detail was in the corroded surface and I killed it. lesson learned! If heavily corroded, dont do peroxide. I have dug some indian heads that cleaned up great with peroxide but they werent as crusty as that largie was.
Olive oil...
I dug a few other large cents that looked rough and decided to try the olive oil method. This is a largie I dug when it came out of the ground...
Next is silvers....
If value is in question...DONT clean it! If you want to make it pretty for you there is a couple methods to clean.
First....baking soda
place a piece of tin foil (shiney side up) in a non metallic bowl and fill with hot water.
push coin into bottom of bowl as to make good contact with foil.
sprinkle a few grains of sea salt into water and swish around
add a heaping teaspoon of baking soda on top of coin and let sit for a few minutes
I've had limited succes with this method but it does make a difference
Next is electrolysis...
This is a DIY experiment I did and so I dont have to type it all again I'll just post a link :)
http://www.goldprospectorsspace.com/forum/topics/my-diy-electrolysi...
Thats a few of my mistakes and successes. Please post pics of the coins you want to clean and I'm sure we can point you in the right direction. Hope some of that helps!
Some people like the olive oil and baking soda method for cleaning coins.
http://www.ebay.com.au/gds/Cleaning-coins-old-and-new-How-to-guide-...
The link is very informative, thanks for posting. I know it is a hair brained idea but I won't resist the temptation to fill my ultrasonic cleaner with distilled water, olive oil, TSP and baking soda. I have no shortage of nasty rotten coins to test it on. Not saying use them all at once but maybe. I am gonna have fun with this and will get back to you with the results.
I just got an ultra-sonic coin and jewelry cleaner and it does real good at getting the crud off but not the tarnish. You use tap water and a few drops of dish washing detergent. This is the one I got and think it is the best one for the money. Hope I am not violating any rule by posting this link.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E5PCX1A?psc=1&redirect=true...
Thank you for the information :-) I am thinking the coins I find all covered in caked on "stuff" will stay that way LOL. I am seriously thinking of getting a ultra-sonic cleaner though. Thanks for the link.
jewelery would be ok to clean . but cleaning the coins with anything more then water and a very mild detergent you can take away the value of the coins by removing the patina that they have to it.
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