washing circulated (average wear) coins

konsole

Suppose that when I wash a gold or silver circulated coin all it does is remove any foreign stuff like fingerprints and dirt and it doesnt alter the physical surface of the coin at all. Suppose I wash the coins with just warm water, mild hand soap and a soft toothbrush or cloth with NO CHEMICAL CLEANERS. Is this washing of the coins guaranteed to decrease the value of all circulated coins or just certain coins or what? I'd like to wash circulated coins that I have with that method to remove that foreign stuff and bring out some more detail and shine and preserve the coins better, but not if it invariable decreases the value of the coins (unless I plan on keeping them).

coppercoins

Washing coins can harm them unless you know very well what you are doing. Different metals will react with different soaps in different ways, and without knowing the end result before you start, it's best not to start. Cleaning is irreversible, so if you do any damage by cleaning them, you end up with far less value than when you started.

konsole

What if you did not damage the coin at all though? Will the value still descrease because the coin is not in its natural appearance anymore?

I know these coins dont really make much difference but I have a bunch of circulated average wear jefferson war nickels and I'd like to wash them in hopes of maybe increasing there eye appearl if I decide to sell them.

ziggy29

<< <i>What if you did not damage the coin at all though? Will the value still descrease because the coin is not in its natural appearance anymore? >>

Probably.

Though I think you contradicted yourself here -- if the coin loses its natural appearance, then it has in fact been damaged, at least in the eyes of most collectors.

konsole

So the general prefered appearance is to have coins with dirt and other foreign material rather then removing that material?

lathmach

Go ahead and wash your dirty old common circulated coins that aren't worth much more'n face value.
Use water with a mild soap, konsole.
Don't use anything abrasive, and make sure you rinse them well. Pat dry with a soft cotton towel.
Don't use anything acidic on your copper pennies. It'll turn them a strange pink color.
Boiling copper coins in salt water will remove some amount of verdigris.
"Verdigris" is the "beautiful sea green toning" that your dealer showed you on the copper coins, as he was telling you how everybody on Collectors Universe loves "toned coins".
Don't clean any coins that have any value, though.

Ray

TomB

I hate to tell you this but warm water and mild hand soap are chemicals. If you don't believe me you can look it up.

coppercoins

The point here is this...until you know what your cleaning method does to coins, don't do it on anything of any value. If your coins are valueless to begin with, experiment away. if there is any chance that your coins might have value and you don't know, then don't screw with them. Collectors prefer coins with their natural tone and associated "dirt" more than they like worn coins that look like a bathroom mirror. Sometimes that "dirt" actually tells people who know what they are doing that the coin in question hasn't been monkeyed around with.

War nickels as a series have some quite valuable die varieties in them that, if cleaned, have far less value. The 1943/2 P is the first one that comes to mind. The 1945P DDR is another. These coins, when left original, sell for upwards of $20 in original circulated grades, while those that have the "dirt" removed in any harmful way are generally considered to be "problem" coins and would be rendered worthless.

If you think you need to clean them just follow what Lathmach said and you should be okay.

coppercoins

<< <i>I hate to tell you this but warm water and mild hand soap are chemicals. If you don't believe me you can look it up. >>



That and a toothbrush, no matter how soft, is considered an abrasive and will scratch any coin if you're moving dirt around on the surface.

Dirt is nothing less than tiny rocks, metal fragments, and other bits of matter that scratch metal easily.

mozin

It sounds like your coins are only worth melt anyway, so go ahead and run them through the clothes washer next time you need your blue-jeans washed. You could wrap them individually in a hanky and stuff them into a pocket. I would not attempt this with any coin that has more than face/melt value.