To clean or not to clean.

[Bullion Buzzard]

Everyone knows good ole vinegar and a little salt will clean up those coppers with no effort at all, but should you?

[Investin Cents]

Bullion cents - yes.
Numismatic (very old, rare, etc.) - definitely NO!

IMHO

[penny pretty]

I only clean to read the date, and very carefully.if you have a date worth selling, dealears can see a cleaned coin a mile away.

[robroy]

I only clean to read the date, and very carefully.if you have a date worth selling, dealears can see a cleaned coin a mile away.

agreed - in my searching I have come across a lot of coins that I probably should have cleaned just to see what the year was but didn't. Maybe I will in the future but was in done and gone is gone for good. I'm not going back to try and clean anything that I have passed on already.

However, what is the opinion of wheat coins that you cannot make out the date because of dirt, grime or pitting????

[Engineer]

Vinegar and salt eat the the metal...which is bad.

To get rid of the grime without etching the metal, go with the old tried and true mechanic's method of soaking greasy metal in mineral spirits (paint thinner). I've used this on a lot of old dimes that wanted to stick together or were unnaturally gunked up, and it does a great job of dissolving the gunk without affecting the patina of the coin. A parts washer in the garage would be ideal, but for small volume people a capped mason jar full of mineral spirits will work well indoors. If the gunk is especially thick and the coin is worth the effort, putting the jar in a 150F oven for a few hours will help even more.

[silverhedgehog]

I only clean the ugly abes with CLR. The problem I have found is that a year later they are getting ugly again. My coin dealer informed me that the oil on the coins gathered from passing through hands in use protects the coins. In the past I would reroll the cleaned coins and now am considering adding a bit
of very light oil or rust preventative to a large jar and shaking them a bit. I'll have a count on them so I will not need to run them through the counter again.

[atticus]

i've mentioned this idea of coating coins in a thin film of RemOil or similar silicon based gun oil etc. I'm still hoping someone will chime in on their thoughts.

in the interim, i've cleaned up a bunch of copper 82's and will start a test with the oil soon. will keep everyone posted once i work out the test details.

[Mossy]

An old trick for getting pocket watches running again was to hang them in a jar above some kerosine or diesel fuel for several days (weeks?). The fumes would "oil" the gears. Might be some way to make that idea useful.

[tinhorn]

I only clean the ugly abes with CLR.

I have a bottle of CLR but it says not to use it on copper or brass. Any idea why?

i've mentioned this idea of coating coins in a thin film of RemOil or similar silicon based gun oil etc. I'm still hoping someone will chime in on their thoughts.

I'm guessing some type of protectant is a good idea. I've powdered some carnauba wax and mixed it with drying/polishing media in a jewelry tumbler. I put a few of the treated coins outside in the salty air along with some untreated coins, and there was an obvious difference in the two groups after about a week or week and a half. (You oughta see the waxed pennies slipping through the Ryedale!)

[silverhedgehog]

Wow! I never read the label on CLR. I soak them for about 5 minutes and rinse them very well. It works quick and I recycle the CLR to use over and over again, adding a little fresh to it when it gets low. I am looking into a water based corrosion inhibitor that drys to a light film. All corrosion inhibitors or rust preventatives generally have a duration of time that they protect for. A light oil may still be the best choice.

[getdong]

I generally don't like to clean my pennies but if a penny is heavily corroded with that green junk I normally just throw it back in with my regular pocket change and spend it. Don't want it messing with my other coins.

[Bullion Buzzard]

Vinegar and salt eat the the metal...which is bad.

To get rid of the grime without etching the metal, go with the old tried and true mechanic's method of soaking greasy metal in mineral spirits (paint thinner). I've used this on a lot of old dimes that wanted to stick together or were unnaturally gunked up, and it does a great job of dissolving the gunk without affecting the patina of the coin. A parts washer in the garage would be ideal, but for small volume people a capped mason jar full of mineral spirits will work well indoors. If the gunk is especially thick and the coin is worth the effort, putting the jar in a 150F oven for a few hours will help even more.

A sure way to stop any metal from being worn is a quick dunk in the vinny bath( like 5 seconds) and rinse with water.

[knibloe]

I only clean the ugly abes with CLR.

I have a bottle of CLR but it says not to use it on copper or brass. Any idea why?

i've mentioned this idea of coating coins in a thin film of RemOil or similar silicon based gun oil etc. I'm still hoping someone will chime in on their thoughts.

If I am correct, the CLR contains a strong acid for dissolving lime scale. Strong acids are murder on soft metals like brass.

[Rodebaugh]

+ =

[Rosco]

+ =

BullXXX

[John_doe]

I never clean coins. I have heard acetone will get some gunk off coins without them being regarded as "cleaned".

[penny pretty]

today I just tried soaking some of my BU coppers with a few blemishes in lemon juice. left em in only a few hours and the difference is great!seems to get off the grime without affecting color.

[exbingoaddict]

BullXXX

Don't doubt the powers of Doc Rodebaugh. I've heard he can also turn water into whiskey.

[Dave]

I have tried CLR and it does not work on copper. I soak them in acetic acid for 2-3 days and they come out like new.