If you have a coin that is both dirty and valuable, you can submit it to a professional coin service like PCGS or NGC to have it professionally cleaned (also referred to as restoration or conservation). Look at all the small scratches on this quarter! Get a magnifying glass of some kind to check for tiny abrasions that follow similar circular patterns. If a coin looks suspiciously clean for its age, then look carefully! Check for small scratches on the surface that could indicate cleaning. On the contrary, I think it is important for collectors to know that a cleaner coin is not necessarily better. I know that by showing coins going from dirty to clean it may look like I am promoting for people to clean their coins. (Some people claim that leaving copper in acetone for too long can damage the coin, I don’t recommend leaving a penny in acetone for longer than a half hour.) The acetone ate away organic material on the top layer of the coin to help reveal the zinc below.Įven acetone cannot save a damaged coin, but it doesn’t hurt the metal when done properly. The obverse of our 1995D penny actually looks slightly worse after the acetone bath. As I ran hot water over the coin I continued to rub in circular motions.Īfter this, it looked a bit cleaner, but I decided to get some chemistry involved and let the coin sit in lemon and baking soda before I rubbed it with a Q-tip. Since this coin was the worst of the bunch, I decided to use the most abrasive cleaning methods on it.įirst I used a sponge with Dawn Dish soap aggressively on the surface of the coin. Put the pennies into the bowl for about 5 minutes. I could only barely make out the first part of the year (maybe 1968 or 1969?). What You Do: Put the salt and vinegar into the bowl and stir until it dissolves. The obverse (left) and reverse (right) of the coins before cleaning.ġ.) 196(?)D Nickel – Dish Soap, Sponge, Lemon, and Baking Soda Here are the coins I will be using to show the different cleaning methods sometimes prescribed.
Plus, by giving the coin a more scratched surface, the coin is now more prone to oxidation. These small scratches hurt the coins value for most collectors. In reality, the cleaned coin now has very small scratched called micro-abrasions. From afar, the coin would be shinier and look newer. The patina is a thin layer of green or brown film caused by oxidation on the surface of the metal.Ĭleaning a coin involves removing the thin layer of patina on the top of the coin to expose the shiny metal below. There is good reason for this.Īlthough a cleaned coin may look better to the human eye, it actually damages the coin.Īfter being exposed to oxygen, water, and other elements in circulation, coins develop a patina.
#CLEAN COPPER COINS HOW TO#
Post on any coin forum asking how to clean your coins and you will be accosted with angry coin collectors tell you to absolutely not try to clean them. Updated on JIn This Article View All How Often to Clean Copper What You'll Need: Clean With Lemon and Salt Clean With Vinegar or Ketchup Clean Tarnished Copper As one of the earth's naturally occurring minerals, copper used for cookware, jewelry, and household items brings a warmth that other metals can't match.
0 kommentar(er)
