cleaning coins
Me and My friend have a science fair coming up and weve decided to do it on cleaning coins. got any tips?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by True Money on -
Don't do it unless it is coins you don't want the value of the coins to be lost. It would be great to see the results though.
-True Money!
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Permalink Reply by Indentured Servant on -
Cleaning coins destroys the numismatic value. You will not find many fans of the practice here. I have however, used an ultrasonic cleaner on some very ugly pocket change with pretty good results. I would suggest using a plastic liner in an ultrasonic system as mine is stainless steel and there seems to be some amount of electrolysis that occurs without one.
Bill
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Permalink Reply by Buffalo on -
The major third party grading companies differentiate between "cleaning" and "improper cleaning", but many collectors do not and appear to consider all cleaning bad. Personally, I think most coins are best left alone, but there are times "judicious cleaning" as PCGS calls it can be beneficial. From PCGS:
Lumped with doctoring is the cleaning of coins that really do need it. This is an area of much confusion, as evidenced by letters written to coin publications about coins that have been graded and placed in holders after being "cleaned" by dipping them in a commercial solvent or dip. Not all coins that have been altered by chemicals are considered doctored. No matter how the results are achieved, many coins have been improved by judicious cleaning with commercial dips, solvents, or plain soap and water. PCGS grades many coins that have had their surfaces altered by the removal of "problems," perceived or otherwise. The coins it does not grade are the ones altered by adding substances to the surface or altering the surfaces by physical methods.
This post at the PCGS forums discusses the topic and a couple of the commercial products on the market, and I have seen several posts about good results from an ultrasonic cleaner like Bill mentioned.
http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=26&threadid=...
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