I use this product - Connoisseurs which can be bought from some Jewellery stores and costs about $20. You just put it in a glass container put your coins in jiggle them around for about 1 minute, then pour the SILVER DIP back into your original container. I rinse the coins in warm water & then lay them out on newspaper, or dry with a cloth. The job is finished in 10 minutes. Warning: the dip will damage (stain) your metal sink if you spill it on there. For larger items with intricate patterns I use a soft tooth brush dipped with the stuff. Cheers _JLG.
The Silver dips like the one above, Goddards and Ezest are thiourea in an acidic solution. Thiourea is carcinogenic so please wear gloves. It only removes tarnish on Silver and coin dip should be quick otherwise it damages the surface. The best cleaning agent which does not remove tarnish is MS70 which is KOH. You can use sodium hydroxide also works well - very corrosive but safe on 999 gold and silver coins okish for 925. Wouldn’t use on anything less than 925. Not for copper. None of these methods removes milk spots. For that you need other methods.
I used some very old silver dip, it cleaned the coins nicely but then they turned golden. Not a bad look and still nice and shiny, but gold in colour. Copper coins in cloudy ammonia and bi-carb just end up looking really weird, worth a try just for fun.
Never us Silver dip to clean copper coins, that may be your problem if you have put the solution back in the container after cleaning copper with it. Somebody suggested cloudy ammonia to clean some silver crocodiles - what a no, no. I ended up using a white pencil eraser to fix the problem. (bought from the Newsagents). _JLG.
I have tried several types of dips (tarnish removers) over the years. The best one I've used that doesn't harm the coin (to the naked eye) if used properly is Tarnx. I don't know if they sell it in Oz or if it is the same formulation there, but I like it better than the blue liquid dips (although they are good too). I don't advise people to dip coins generally. But sometimes I get a coin with mild unattractive toning that I can "fix" and make it look perfect. I pay close attention to the coin's mint luster and don't want to ruin that. The coins I dip aren't darkly toned (those never come out right). I appreciate attractive toning and leave those coins alone. I would never dip any coin that has any numismatic value (rare coins, old coins, etc). My technique with the Tarnx is to put one or more coins in a plastic butter type container and pour enough to just cover the coins. Gently swirly the contents around for up to 5-6 seconds max without having the coins bang against each other. The light toning disappears fast. Pour out the Tarnx carefully and rise, then let the coins dry on towel carefully (no rubbing coins and wear gloves). I've seen it take off "some" fingerprints as well with no damage showing afterwards. PS The bottle says to put it on towel and rub to apply - that's only for silverware - NOT COINS. https://clrbrands.com/Products/Tarn-X/Tarn-X-Tarnish-Remover
We do get the CLR products Down-under Jim4. I wonder if, after using it on copper it is o.k. to use it on silver. Good post, thanks.
Great advice! I am happy to find it and to follow. Especially after the recommendation of such a respected professional in the area having great experience in cleaning service of all the types. Thanks!
From what I have read online, vinegar and salt will clean coins very well. I remember doing that about 35 years ago on pennies and they came out looking like new without having to rub. From what I have read, it works well on silver too. For gold, you don't need to do any of that, just soak in water with a mid detergent to remove the oils and dirt from the surface. Gold's doesn't oxyde.
All these suggestions are great if you want to destroy any numismatic value of the coins. The silver dip is no more than thiourea with sulphuric acid in a weak detergent. It removes toning ( which usually has no negative impact on a coin and may increase its value) but also rapidly removes the lustre of a struck coin if you are not very careful. Best advice is do nothing. There are ways to restore Silver coins but these methods described above are not going to add any value only destroy the coin surface. Copper is a real challenge and the best advice is to use Verdi-care a product available to stabilise the coin surface and remove green verdigris.
