The aluminum foil/baking soda method
thisistheshow
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Edit to add: The tone of the replies suggest that you think I am going to be cleaning my coins with this method. I have long been aware of the damage it does.
I told someone on a different forum that this causes scratches, after they suggested it to someone else, and was given the reply that
"There is no rubbing involved in an electrochemical reaction".
Can I get confirmation on this?
1
Comments
Don't clean your coins!!
I would never clean them. I was advising someone else not to, and a third party said that. I just want to get some more expert confirmation, so I can go back and give a strong warning to that guy not to ever do it himself.
Even if there is no rubbing, it would still remove metal from the coin surface. It’s a harsh clean.
TurtleCat Gold Dollars
There is no rubbing in the reaction but generally the last step in cleaning and polishing silverware (forks, spoons, plates, etc.), i.e., is to “dry and polish” the silverware after the soak. Failure to do so will leave spotting on the silverware.
Note that I typed “silverware” and not coins.
Do not recommend any cleaning of coins.
A non-expert opinion.
Again, I would never do this and always warn against it.
Not meant at you but for you to use/modify or not.
Rubbing and polishing abrasively removes metal and can cause an unnatural surface including visible scratches and hairlines. Electrochemical cleaning removes metal and can leave unnatural looking surfaces. Because it works on an atomic scale, scratches are not a common outcome
@Hemispherical said:
A non-expert opinion.
That's nonsense .... you know your stuff.
An archaic cleaning method. With any type of cleaning, it depends entirely on the object and what you wish to do/remove. Extreme example to make the point: A sea salvage coin is treated differently than a Proof.