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lukeownzu
Penny Collector Member
364 Posts |
 Posted - 03/20/2008 : 20:48:53
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How do I clean my wheats?
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aloneibreak
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
672 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 20:59:04
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| dont. light soap and water might help. anything else will give them an unnatural shine. |
My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.
Thomas Jefferson
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 21:11:22
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| Most people prefer that you don't clean them. Cleaned coins are much harder to sell than natural coins. |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 21:17:50
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For about 50-100 wheats I got from my sorting-by-eye-days (seems like ages ago now :) ) I committed the sin of soaking them for a day in dilute acetic acid.
I know this does nothing but hurt their numismatic value but I gave all these to my 9-year old son and he prefers them shiny.
Has anyone ever tried soaking some in blackstrap molasses for a week or two? Apparently it will remove oxidation but has none of the scouring effects of acids. I will try some in the near future and report back on it. |
Sorting In Northwest Mississippi |
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NDFARMER
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1197 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 22:25:47
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quote:
Originally posted by lukeownzu
How do I clean my wheats?
As others have said. DO NOT clean any old coins, it will decrease their value. |
COPPER - the "poormans" precious metal!!!
SELLING - $100.00 face copper shipped to you for $189.00 machine rolled or bagged - PM me if your interested. |
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penniesmakemedizzy
Penny Pincher Member
USA
135 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 23:03:32
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| cleaning coins is REALLY BAD |
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Art Tatum
Penny Collector Member
USA
400 Posts |
Posted - 03/21/2008 : 00:11:14
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quote:
Originally posted by HoardCopperByTheTon
Most people prefer that you don't clean them. Cleaned coins are much harder to sell than natural coins.
natural coins? what are those? I've heard of natural laxa tives! |
my machine is running! |
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horgad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1641 Posts |
Posted - 03/21/2008 : 08:05:20
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There is acutally one way that I know of to clean copper coins that will not decrease their value (they will retain their natural tone). Unfortunately, it is so gentle that it can be really slow and it only helps improve some coins. I have been able to dramatically improve some coins without making them look like they had been cleaned, but most coins show only very minor improvement. The secret is soaking them in vegetable oil for days, weeks, and even months and then rubbing them with a soft cloth and then repeating.
Also unfortunately it does not seem to help (or hurt) steelies. I have a couple that I have been soaking for months and I have not been able to improve them at all...
Of course, you will want to practice this on many, many less valuable coins until you are satisfied that the cleaning is impossible to detect. As already mentioned, cleaning is a "dirty" word to most people in the coin world. |
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Know Common Cents
Penny Pincher Member
195 Posts |
Posted - 03/21/2008 : 12:45:09
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| As painful as it is, the exceptionally dirty, crusty or otherwise disgusting wheats I encounter are sent back into circulation with the zincs. Found one last week that looked like it'd been in a fire or buried underground for decades. I was able to scrape away enough of the crud to see that date 1909. Took even longer to gently scrape away below the date to see if there was a S mint mark or a VDB on the lower reverse. Neither one being present, it's in the possession of my bank now along with a zillion other zinc castoffs. |
Here in Wisconsin, we have some of the highest property and gasoline taxes in the US. We're squeezed so much, I have to make my daughter wear penny boxes for shoes. At least she has an endless supply. |
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Cleaning pennies
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