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JWRAY
Penny Collector Member
USA
378 Posts |
 Posted - 03/22/2010 : 16:17:28
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So I know that 99% of all coin cleaning answers are a resounding DO NOT CLEAN IT. Lets move past that argument for a moment. Suppose I have dirty pennies that I want to clean, ones that have little numismatic value, but I want them shinier for a personal collection. I don't want to use an abrasive though, to ruin their look. Anybody got a good idea on a way to do this? Recently I have had some good luck with olive oil, but I have to soak the coins for months before they are nice.
Also, I have an Indian Head penny, the front you can barely make out the 1909, but the back surface is so covered in grime that I cannot possibly determine if a mint mark is present. What would be a decent way to try to degrease it in hopes of finding that ever valuable mint mark?
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MOVING SALE!!! Selling Copper Cents 1.4 shipped - in limited quantities PM me and we'll talk. |
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styropyro
Penny Sorter Member
USA
54 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2010 : 16:45:00
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I've used Hydrochloric (Muriatic) Acid on really dirty pennies to get them to the solid copper, it obviously gives them that pink cleaned look. Don't use this on zincs because the acid will dissolve the zinc out and leave you with a foil penny.
For the indian penny you could try rubbing acetone or paint thinner on the grease with a Q-tip. I've done this with nasty wheat pennies before and the grease came off with a bit of work. |
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PennySaved
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1720 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2010 : 17:03:19
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| Do you guys save the pennies that are stuck together with some kind of gunk? The ones you have to put some force behind to get apart?? There are some nasty pennies out there. |
SELLING COPPER PENNIES 1.4X FACE SHIPPED......“I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principles of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale” Thomas Jefferson |
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beauanderos
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2408 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2010 : 17:41:03
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I wouldn't mind having some kind of solution to degrime old old wheaties that I'll keep, if I could be sure it would just take off the dirt and not affect the luster... same thing with verdigris (there IS a product for that, I think it's called Verdigone, but haven't tried it). As far as modern pennies go, even the coppers... if they're cruddy out they go... I return them. I sure as heck wouldn't want to buy some from anyone (therefore won't sell them) as bad as some of them look  If I ever decide to sell, mine will be clean, problem-free cents and nothing else. I probably lose two percent with throwbacks, but... oh, well. Plenty of clean ones where the dirties came from, and it just isn't worth the effort to spend five minutes cleaning a penny when you can just find a clean replacement with little effort. A poor use of time and effort IMHO |
Hoard now and hold on!
http://coppermillions.blogspot.com/
http://wherewillyoubein2012.blogspot.com/ |
Edited by - beauanderos on 03/22/2010 17:41:38 |
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JWRAY
Penny Collector Member
USA
378 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2010 : 18:56:07
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| Most of the ones I want to clean up are pennies that are very near uncirculated but have some odd sort of blemish, like a large chunk of something melted to their surface. Also older pennies, like wheats, that are just gunky and unreadable, but may be in good shape beneath the mud. The olive oil works pretty well long term, but you really have to let the coins soak for a long time. I have a few that have been in there since December and are not quite clean yet. |
MOVING SALE!!! Selling Copper Cents 1.4 shipped - in limited quantities PM me and we'll talk. |
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Jason
Penny Pincher Member
USA
138 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2010 : 21:19:45
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| Had some I dug up while metal detecting. Put them in a ziplock bag with some wd-40 and let them sit. When I found them a couple years later, after having forgotten they existed, the bag was full of sludge and the pennies were reletively clean an free of all corrosion. I don't know how long it takes to get that result cause this ocurred over a long period of time, but eventually it will work. |
Rule six: There is no rule six. |
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mooski
Penny Sorter Member
USA
61 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2010 : 17:44:30
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I've got a bunch of pennies that are grimey. I've toyed with the idea of soaking them in a bucket of hot water and dish soap.
Any other suggestions on bulk cleaning? |
Sorting and hoarding in Seattle, WA |
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toomuchcopper
Penny Collector Member
USA
406 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2010 : 18:42:20
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| lemon juice.....I will use lemon juice to clean coins, it will not clean them completely but it is gentle enough where the effect is "almost" not noticed...I have tried other methods and they seem to leave the this is a cleaned coin look. I would rather have them cleaned enough to see what they are but not ruin their look. Usually I will put 20 coins or so in half a cup of lemon juice and swish it around a few times over a 5 minute period and then remove them and wipe them off. try it with some random coppers that you dont care about first to see if it is what you after before trying on anything important. |
visit www.crazycoinguy.com
for information on how to sort, what to sort, and sorting equipment. We also sell copper pennies in bulk, and other coins. |
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squashpup
New Member
9 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2010 : 11:51:48
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I've had good luck with vinegar and salt to remove tarnish. After that, to remove the grime, dip your fingers in water, then baking soda to make a paste on your fingertips. Rub the penny between your fingers to restore the shine.
The baking soda method works very well on silver, too. |
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dp2007
Penny Pincher Member
130 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 20:38:28
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| I use a tumbler to clean my really grimy coins. You can get one for about $30 at an arts and crafts store. I use a mixture of aquarium gravel, soap and water. The longer they are tumbled the shinier they get. I normally tumble them for about an hour. No fuss, no fumes and very little waiting. |
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JWRAY
Penny Collector Member
USA
378 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 21:58:04
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| Hmm, that might be a cool idea. I may have to try that. |
MOVING SALE!!! Selling Copper Cents 1.4 shipped - in limited quantities PM me and we'll talk. |
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Cleaning Dirty Pennies
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