Cleaning Wheat Pennies

[Craneman57]

Hi everybody, I have a question. How do the majority of you clean wheat pennies? Olive oil? Electrolysis? A few days ago I found 5 wheat pennies, a silver Rosie(1964) and a 1942 Washington quarter. The wheat's are so corroded that I am having a very hard time seeing the dates(under good magnification). I can make out a few of the wheaties but there are a few I can't tell anything except that they are wheaties. Thanks for any help given (ahead of time). Happy detecting!!

 

[treasure sstate]

I use WD-40, let soak for a couple days. Also acetone makes a good cleaner

 

[treasure sstate]

By the way if you use acetone it melts plastic so use a glass container. It is also flammable and fumes should not be breathed. Use in a well ventilated area or outside.

 

[BarberDan]

I use a tumbler, unless of course they are a key date or semi-key date. I just found a 1910-s and used some hot peroxide and then baking soda. Cleaned up very nicely. Looks almost brand new!....ok maybe that's a slight exaggeration.

 

[Elusion]

I like to use a brass brush on a dremel.. Especially if they are really rough looking. It takes off the crud without taking the copper off the coin (brass is softer than copper). Try it, it really works well.

 

[ZOFCHAK]

The only way I have found to be effective at cleaning, but not damaging copper coins is hot peroxide. Olive oil can help on some coins, but it normally darkens the coin considerably, and will not remove heavy buildup.


My middle school Home Ec. teacher would probably kill me for doing so, but I use the microwave to heat the peroxide (While the coins are in it). I use a shallow Lexan dish and line it with a piece of cotton fabric (If you skip the fabric the coins will bounce all over the place). I then lay the coins out evenly on the fabric and cover them with about 1/2" of peroxide. In the microwave they go! I will heat them in the microwave until the peroxide boils, then turn it off and let them sit for a couple minutes. I'll repeat that process until the coins no longer bubble, which means the peroxide needs to be changed, or the coin no longer has any buildup that interacts with the Peroxide. ( If the pennies are really dirty you can take a soft bristled brush and gently clean them between turns in the microwave. )

One word of warning. If the Wheaties have corrosion that has affected the actual surface of the coin, peroxide may remove what little details remain. Most the copper coins I encounter have a heavy organic buildup as opposed to corrosion, so the peroxide bath works well. There's no fixing corrosion, and sometimes it's better to just leave it be as it may be the only thing holding the details.

 

[Smack]

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