Best way to clean old coins? Pre decimals.

[Goldbuzzhashit]

Cause a ultrasonic cleaner would work, but a cold beer and or rum and a little thumb and finger work does me, and gives you a good look at the coins

 

[sluice_goose]

Aldi have cheap (around $25.00?) ultrasonic cleaners at times, from what I've heard they work ok. Mick

I'll second that with the Aldi US cleaner

Also a cup of vinegar and a tablespoon of salt works well on pennies. Drop them in for around 15 minutes stirring every now and then.

I wouldn't use the vinegar on valuable coins though, it can be a little harsh if left too long.

Toothpaste (paste not gel) also works much like Nuggets Bi Carb and water idea.

 

[Jed]

Thanks sluice_goose for the tips.
My problem now is that Aldi last sold them in Feb13 & apparently only sell them once a year!

 

[sluice_goose]

Thanks sluice_goose for the tips.
My problem now is that Aldi last sold them in Feb13 & apparently only sell them once a year!

You can pick them up online for the same price. The cheaper ones take a little longer to clean the items but still work well.

 

[Jed]

Thanks sluice_goose - I might invest in a better unit online given Aldi ones are not readily available at Aldi.

Anyone used the Jaycar unit at http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=YH5408 ?

Cheers
Jed

 

[headbut]

Hi Jed , as Nugget said, Bi Carb Soda for silver or gold, as for copper ,DO NOTHING , it will deflate the value if cleaned, technically , you should not clean any coin, but dealers use bi carb for silver & gold as it does not scratch . The patina is what collectors are after, not cleaned coins ,Cheers Paul

 

[Mitch59]

decimal coins easy to clean - put dirty coins in coke machine, push cancel collect clean coins.

 

[Jed]

Many thanks Paul for the tips - so far only decimal coins (thx Mitch59 for your vending machine trick) but I am sure one day to stumble across a valueable coin :lol: cheers Jed

 

[Jasonc2861]

I clean my copper still with citric acid,don't know whether you'd use that on a copper coin.then nuetralize with bicarbonate soda.

 

[AussieTreasureDigger]

I use a tumbler on the coppers (i am putting together a vid on this) and Bicarb and some good old finger work on the silvers. The latter method cleans up the 1910-1945 silvers better than the 1946> on the later ones i use some Lectra washing soda foil and warm water. There's some video coming up on the cleaning, and yes i know the purests dont like the coins cleaned but they are my coins and have mostly been well used and in the ground for 100+ years and worth 11/10 of jack.

 

[Nugget]

Thanks ATD. I've been using the bi-carb method for a little while now https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=663.

I would love to see some before and after pics of your Coppers, I've all but given up on cleaning them.

 

[ColinD]

How do you guys go about cleaning all the old pennies etc?
Must say I got thinking about doing this for the potential of a gold nugget, but I'm really enjoying the video's with all the old coins coming out.
BB

 

[headbut]

Hi BB , you really shouldn't clean copper coins , silver OK with bi- carb soda. If the copper coin is corroded, it wont make that much difference if cleaned ,& would need to be scarce/rare to be worth anything.

Cheers Paul

 

[ColinD]

Thanks Paul, good to know.
BB

 

[Jasonc2861]

I soak my silver coins in lemon juice,makes em look brand new almost.!

 

[Nugget]

As headbut said, don't waste your time with copper coins as you'll most likely do more damage than good. Check out this previous post of mine regarding cleaning silvers https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=663

 

[ColinD]

Cheers guys... great tips.
BB

 

[the duck]

If you must soak them in olive oil for a few weeks you can tumble them in fine garnet but never clean a rare coin

 

[Muttering]

Don't clean coins. With copper bronze coins you can get the dirt off by dry brushing carefully with a stiff stubby arty brush, do this sowly and stop when you get out of the dirt and into corrosion.

Don't drop bronze and copper coins into water to wash them, especially if it is not de-ionised. I've seen it directly affect a possible $500 halfpenny. Seriously don't wash them. Let them dry out and then dry brush them with a paint brush. Unless you know for sure they are only worth bullion.

Definitely don't clean rare coins. Even silver. Coin traders can tell if they have been spruced up and this detracts from their value.

Of course you don't know if they are rare sometimes until after you have cleaned I mean, ruined them.

If a date is hard to read I try using a photo editing application like GIMP or photoshop or similar. I scan the coin directly in a flatbed scanner at the highest resolution and with the levels or curves tool I mucked around, focusing on the area I think is the date area. (google is your friend here if it is an unfamiliar coin type).

By watching the area you can get a good show of the date while manipulating the levels. A bit like tilting it in the light only digitally and at a goodly magnification.

Example:

This is a farthing and you can see the young Victoria's neckline, googling that coin type will let you know that the date is under the neckline. It would work better as a movie of of manipulating the curves or levels (contrast and balance in simpler tools) but the area below the neckline looks like:

 

[Nugget]

Thanks for sharing that Muttering. I'd actually thought about doing it to a couple of old coppers I've found but just got around to it yet, will have to give it a go soon.