Hi Guys, at the moment, been buying some AU Junk Silver Coins. They have no Numismatics value, so I'm want to clean them. Tried the Baking Soda thing, and frankly, just to abrasive for my liking. Came across e-Zest, looks like a great Product. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPukRDj-wic[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tiRgTMP4IM[/youtube] Air-Tites https://www.air-tites.com/ sells the Coin "Dip" Cleaner, apart from other Coin Products. But after the 9/11 thing, they're not allowed to ship chemicals Internationally....DAMN! So is there a Aussie Distributor or Local Equivalent Product that works just as good?
Most of the dirt on Junk silver is just that, dirt! Chemicals will remove tarnish with no scrubbing needed. They will not remove actual dirt, for that you need mechanical action. Also I have found some dips discolour the coins, I have some very gold looking silver now. Cloudy Ammoniia will shift grease which will loosen up dirt and bring a bit of a shine to the coins. A light going over with a paste of sodium bicard will bring them up nicely. But... You have to spend money on cleaning chemicals. It is time consuming and can be messy. Making junk silver shiney does not make them worth more, they still sell for less than spot. The best way to convert junk coins into shiney coins is to sell them and use the money to buy shiney coins. I know where you are coming from, I bought 23Kg of dirty junk silver coins and have managed to go through at least 10 bottles of cloudy ammonia and 4-5 packs of sodium bicarbonate. I have barely made a dent in the collection. Most is still dirty and now I have two piles, one for cleaned and a larger one for dirty. Who knows how many evenings I spent cleaning coins when I could have been doing something constructive. The hardest bit is the reeding on the edges, the dirt needs to be taken out of that with a toothbrush or by rubbing the edges along a piece of cloth, impregnated with sodium bicarb. Inbetween the letters is also a bit of a pain. I am happy to clean up 1937 Crowns but the rest is just junk, junk doesn't need special attention, it needs to be dumped into a box and ignored until silver goes to the moon. Don't have all your stack in junk silver, buy some nice 999 coins and look at those instead.
It does do an awesome job cleaning BUT a 1988 ASE is NOT "junk silver". By cleaning it with a chemical cleaner you reduce it to junk silver. As for removing dirt or particulate from an old coin, an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner with hot soapy water works the best and does not affect the numismatic value. And I wouldn't reccomend any cleaning on a rare or unknown coin. Best left to a dealer or prospective buyer to decide. If it's a generic round or bar...dip away. Make them as shiney as you want. It won't affect the value.
Dont bother.. as you say they have no numismatic value = you are wasting your time. Unless you are deriving some pleasure from doing so its a zero sum gain - the next person will be annoyed youve cleaned them and you have just spent hours cleaning them both losing time and percieved worth. There are very good reasons why people with skin in the game for decades say strictly dont clean. You should listen to them. On the other hand if anyone knows any fail-safe methods of toning up a coin please let me know. 1for1
WARNING: extremely boring guy narrates in monotone!! [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrA7Jyw1uOs[/youtube]
Buy some sulphur! or hard boil an egg, peel it and put it in a ziplock bag with the coins you want toned. or put the coins in a paper envelope and leave them for a long time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE-YDGjctwY
Thanks Golden Pelican......Spot on with the cloudy Ammonia.... The Ammonia really did a great job on my Round 50c....I picked up a couple of bottles of Coles Smartbuy for $1.40 each, talk about cheap... But the smell will knock you out, and doing this outside is the way to go. Basically did the same as the guy in the link....minus the Baking Soda bit... Thanks Heaps.
Have got some display cases at the office with some synthetic velvet lining - after sitting in there for a week, an ASE, Maple, Cougar, Moose and Philharmonic all have complete rainbow toning on the side that was in contact with the velvet. So try some cheap synthetic velvet :/
I've had a few questions about the results of the Cloudy Ammonia......So here is my response. Hello.... Yes the Ammonia works great..... It does a wonderful job of removing the majority of things.... For the more stubborn stains/dirt, then Baking Soda (Bi-Carb) will do the job. Just be aware this is abrasive and should be avoided if you can. Below is an outline of my steps: 1) Soak Coins in concentrated Ammonia for 12-24 Hours - (Liquid will turn Blue) 2) If still dirty brush with a soft bristle toothbrush. 3) If still no joy....then Baking Soda, should be used sparingly, but will finish off the job. Hope this helps. P.S. The Ammonia turns blue because of the Copper content of the Coins, refer to Links below: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090830115241AAWUI1y http://ronortiz.blogspot.com.au/2007/11/copperiiammineprecip.html
