coin restoration?

[Anonymous]

What is the best thing to do with the coins and such after you get them.Starting to find a few decent finds,a 43 merc and 41 wheat the other day.Now, we just throw it all in ziplock bags and look it over once in a while.I know this is not the "proper" thing to do.Would appreciate some help with this,I do see that some clean and card there better coins.Best way to clean,silver , copper? thanks again,scott.

 

[Anonymous]

Well since those are common coins from a coin collecting perspective there isn't any harm in cleaning them. (the going rate for them would be about 70 cents for the merc and about 6 cents for the wheat - let me know if you want more 1941 wheats - I'll sell you a roll of 50 1941 wheats - average circulated condition and none dug - for $5 including shipping)
My favorite ways to clean copper is to use hot hydrogen peroxide and for silver I like the washing soda + aluminum foil and hot water method. However, I seldom clean coins unless they are so far gone that you can't hardly tell what they are and I never clean coins that I put in my coin collection (I keep my detecting finds separate for the most part but have found a few that ended up in 2x2's.

 

[Anonymous]

peroxide method, washing soda and foil?Would you elaborate some on these.Please, thanks scott.

 

[Anonymous]

The peroxide method is you get some hydrogen peroxide from the supermarket or drug store, the kind you use as a disinfectant. Pour a little in a microwave safe bowl, enough to cover whatever it is your are cleaning then heat it in the microwave until it is hot (but not boiling). Drop the coin in it and it will start bubbling and a lot of the gunk will come off. This seems to work fairly well with copper coins though you can take it too far and get some pitting on the surface of the coin. The thing I like the most about this method is that it seems to do less damage to the patina then other methods so you don't get a shiney, fake looking old coin - there's nothing that looks as bad to me as an old coin with obvious wear on its surfaces that has been shined up to look like it just left the mint. Coins that have been polished up like that don't even look like real uncirculated coins of their age as the mint luster ages too.
Now the washing soda method is a stronger method than the peroxide method and if used on copper it will usually cause pitting on the surface of the coin but it seems to work great on silver, though it can strip the patina off an old coin if used too many times so you have to watch it.
For this you need to get a box of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda from the laundry detergent section of a supermarket. Next you need a sheet of aluminum foil and some hot water - boiling hot water. First find a container that is big enough so you can put at least say a 3 inch by 3 inch square of aluminum foil in the bottom. You'll want to keep it as smooth as possible as if it gets wrinkles in it they can be imprinted on what you are cleaning by taking off extra dirt where the wrinkles unevenly touch the coin. After you have the aluminum foil placed in the bottom of the cointainer pour in some boiling water, I usually use a cup of boiling water. Next drop the coin into the water and then finally put in some Washing Soda. I usually use 2 or 3 teaspoon fulls - the more washing soda you put in the stronger the effect and higher posssibility of damaging the coin. I usually put the coin in the middle and try to put the washing soda around the edges so you don't get a lot of washing soda falling directly on the coin.
Anyway the mixture will start bubbling kind of like you dropped an alka seltzer in it. You can let it sit until it cools down to room temperature - though if you are worried about damaging the coin you can scoop it up with a spoon and check it out. This method seems to work well on silver.
Finally, the standard disclaimer - always check to make sure you don't have a key date coin - cleaning a key date coin will likely cut its value in half to a collector. If you do find a key date coin and it is need of restoration - let a pro do it - try