Cleaning coins is a difficult task. It requires suitable materials and the knowledge of how to clean them to get your money’s worth properly.
If you are considering cleaning coins, then this blog post will help you with that process. We will discuss what type of material is necessary for cleaning and what techniques work best on different types of dirt.
We’ll also talk about how to store your coins after they’ve been cleaned so that they stay protected from dirt and other debris!
Cleaning coins is an easy project that can be done at home. Depending on the material, you may need to use different techniques.
A couple of standard methods are described in this article, along with some images of before and after cleaning results for several types of metals commonly found in circulated U.S. coinage.
The first step is to remove any loose dirt or debris from the surface using a soft toothbrush, old cotton swabs, or your hands if possible (wear gloves when handling copper). If stubborn stains have adhered to the metal, try gently scrubbing them off with fine 0000 steel wool until they fade away. After brushing, clean all surfaces thoroughly rinse each piece under warm water while rubbing it firmly between your fingers.
The next step is to dry the coins thoroughly and remove any moisture by placing them on a paper towel. Last, you want to buff each currency with a soft cloth, gently moving away from the raised areas of design until they shine. It may take some time, but eventually, your result will be worth it!
If desired, you can even try using toothpaste or baking soda mixed with water as an alternative cleaning solution. Just make sure not to rub too hard when scrubbing stains off metal since this could scratch up both sides of the coin’s surface.
A common question for those new at cleaning their coins has to do with whether or not there are specific chemicals that should never be used during this process—the answer is yes! The following are considered harmful to both the metal and your health.
Ammonia, chlorine bleach, or any other solution containing these chemicals should never be used for cleaning coins since they will cause them to corrode over time. Other products that contain harsh acids like vinegar, muriatic acid (pool grade), hydrochloric acid, etc., can also ruin metals, so it’s best not to use those either if possible.
It may take more effort, but you’ll have a much better result in the end without using anything too risky during this process.
Alternatively, some organic solutions work well on copper-alloy pieces, such as Indian head pennies, including lemon juice mixed with water or baking soda, salt water, or white vinegar.
White distilled vinegar is one of the better choices since it does not contain any harmful chemicals and can help remove stains from copper coins without damaging them.
Other options for cleaning pennies include using toothpaste (gel types work best) on a soft cloth or even mixing some warm water with table salt to clean away any stubborn dirt that may be present—a bit more elbow grease will likely be needed, though!
Using these techniques, you should have no problem removing most tarnish marks very quickly, along with getting rid of other blemishes which are stuck onto your coin’s surface once they’ve been thoroughly cleaned off.
If there are still persistent problems after trying different methods consulting an expert specializing in rare coins may be your best bet.
To conclude, cleaning coins is a great activity to do at home if you know what you’re doing and have the proper supplies on hand. Even damage caused by corrosion can often be reversed as long as it hasn’t eaten away too much of the metal or gone too deep into any crevices around raised markings.
Sometimes older pieces will even show off oil-like stains, which are hard to remove, but these issues can usually be dealt with relatively quickly using one of many different techniques for this purpose!
Just make sure not to use anything harsh like bleach or acid-based cleaners when trying out new solutions since those could potentially damage both sides of the coin’s surface instead.
As good luck and happy collecting!
Cleaning Coins: Cleaning Techniques for Dirty Coins
How to clean coins by brushing them off with fine #0000 steel wool until they fade away.
- After brushing clean, all surfaces thoroughly rinse each piece under warm water while rubbing it firmly between your fingers.
- The next step is to dry the coins thoroughly and remove any moisture by placing them on a paper towel.
- Last, you want to buff each currency with a soft cloth, gently moving away from the raised areas of design until they shine.
It may take some time, but eventually, your result will be worth it!
If desired, you can even try using toothpaste or baking soda mixed with water as an alternative cleaning solution. Just make sure not to rub too hard when scrubbing stains off metal since that can cause more damage.
If you’re worried about damaging your coins, one of the safest ways to clean them is to use a coin cleaning kit.
HOW TO CLEAN CORRODED COINS
First
- Soak coin in vinegar for 24 hours. This will remove the black tarnish and corrosion on your cash!
- If you don’t have any white or apple cider vinegar, use one bottle of regular distilled vinegar and add a teaspoon of salt to help draw out more dirt and corrosion from the coin.
- You can also use lemon juice if you prefer not to use vinegar; however, it is not as effective at removing heavy spots on your pennies as this method is.
Next
- Ensure to clean off all remnants of wetness with warm water after soaking (also dry completely) before adding baking soda paste next because this could cause additional spotting later when we wipe away everything with a toothbrush.
- Add some baking powder/soda to a bowl of water and mix it to make your paste.
- Apply the baking soda mixture with an old toothbrush, being careful not to scrub away any details on the coin’s surface, which you don’t want removing!
- Use a soft circular motion when applying so as not to scratch the metal either.
Lastly
- Use vinegar again for this next step because it will help remove refined grains of dirt or corrosion that remain after the brushing process is complete.
- Soak coins in vinegar solution again until all tarnish appears gone (allow 24 hours).
- After soaking time is up, dry off completely before placing them back in an airtight container if you will store them somewhere else later on.
Refined details are still unclear?
- If some more refined details are still unclear, you can try using toothpaste or baking soda paste once more to clean up the surface.
- If this doesn’t do it, then you might need to use fine #0000 steel wool instead for your final cleaning step. This will help remove any stubborn rust deposits so they don’t damage the coin further in future handling or if left untouched over time.
- Be very careful when doing this last bit, though, because it could scratch away details on coins!
- Repeat the same process to another side of the penny only if needed after completing the first side with the steps above, making sure both sides are fully dry before storing them back into an airtight container.
- If none of these works, use a coin cleaning kit and add water with a few drops of dish soap.
- Try avoiding touching surfaces again until the next time you get ready to work on these pennies again.
- Seal container to keep all your pennies protected, organized, and separated from other coins! (You could also store these in paper coin sleeves instead if you don’t have any airtight containers.)
HOW TO CLEAN SILVER DOLLARS
First
- Soak silver dollars for at least 24 hours first before beginning the scrubbing process with a toothbrush because this will help loosen up dirt/corrosion already on the surface of each coin; allow them to dry completely after soaking time is over before applying the paste.
- You can use regular baking soda or mix some water + dishwashing liquid soap into a bowl until it forms a thick white mixture that looks like frosting.
- When ready, Add more salt again as you did before if you feel this would help more.
Next
- Apply the mixture using a toothbrush to the coin’s surface until all corrosion is removed, being careful not to remove any details or designs on the front side of cash that you don’t want to be scratched away.
- Allow time for the paste to dry completely after application so it can work effectively without damaging surfaces further in the scrubbing process (you could speed up the drying by fanning off with a hairdryer).
Lastly
- Avoid touching areas again until next time when getting ready to clean coins because dirt/residue will be transferred back onto them from hands easily during handling.
- Be sure both sides are thoroughly dried before storing each one into the airtight container!
- When silver coins look dull and tarnished, a good way of cleaning them is by soaking the coins overnight in milk. This will help remove stains from either side of the coin.
If you don’t have time to go through the steps, we recommend using a coin-cleaning kit. This is one of the easiest ways to clean coins by just using water.
Thank you for reading our blog post about how to clean dirty or tarnished old pennies! We hope this has been helpful to those who need it most!
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