Learn how to clean coins with baking soda to remove tarnish (patina) from coins that are discolored or unappealing to your eye.
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WARNING: all DIY methods of coin cleaning will damage the coins! This video is for demonstration purposes only on coins that are only worth face value. If you’re thinking of cleaning coins with Baking Soda… you’ll want to watch this video first!
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⚡TIMESTAMPS FROM THE VIDEO⚡
00:00 – How To Clean Coins With Baking Soda
00:37 – How To Clean A U.S. Penny Coin Using Baking Soda
00:54 – Reasons To NOT Clean Coins At Home Yourself
01:15 – Why Baking Soda Works At Lightening A Coin’s Color
01:57 – Step 1: Pour Baking Soda Into A Cup
02:11 – Step 2: Add Water To The Cup
02:20 – Step 3: Swish Baking Soda & Water Inside The Cup
02:25 – Step 4: Put Coin Inside Cup Of Baking Soda & Water
02:28 – Step 5: Swish All Contents Inside The Cup & Let Set
02:40 – IMPORTANT: Why Cleaning A Coin Reduces Its Value
03:14 – Step 6: Pour The Cup’s Contents Onto Paper Towel
03:21 – Step 7: Place Some Wet Baking Soda On Top Of Coin
03:31 – Step 8: Rub Baking Soda Into Coin’s Front Crevices
04:46 – Step 9: Rub Baking Soda Into Coin’s Back Crevices
05:00 – Step 10: Rinse The Coin In Cold Water (NOT Hot!)
05:47 – Step 11: Pat Dry The Coin Using A Soft, White Cloth
05:57 – END RESULT: After Cleaning Coins With Baking Soda
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hello, this is Josh with The Fun Times Guide to Coins and I’m going to address a question that we commonly get. And that is… How To Clean Coins Using Baking Soda.
Now, baking soda is a commonly cited method (or rather, medium) for cleaning coins. It is an abrasive. It’s a common household product. Many (or most) of us have it in our pantry or refrigerators. You see here, I’ve got some baking soda. And I’ve got a nice paper towel here. I’ve got a cup in which to place some baking soda. A soft towel here. And a 1982 Denver Lincoln cent. And as you’ll see, this coin has some luster to it. It’s got some natural sheen. But it does have some fingerprints and some other unsightly surface issues that maybe some baking soda can remove.
I want to stress off the bat here… I am not an advocate of cleaning coins because cleaning coins actually ruins the value of the coin itself and permanently alters the appearance of the coin. In the case of baking soda… even though many might say it’s an effective method for cleaning coins, it’s only really effective because of the fact that as an abrasive it actually will strip off the top layer of metal on the coin if used aggressively. Which I am going to show you… it’s a rather aggressive means of removing the top layer of the patina here. And this poor coin’s about to get it, that’s for sure.
Baking soda CAN be used to soak a coin rather than aggressively clean it. But even then, you’re altering the surface of the coin and it really will effectively alter the coin itself. So, I’m going to show you how to clean the coin using baking soda. But I do not suggest you do this yourself. The way I would start by cleaning coins using baking soda is to pour some into a cup like I’ve got here. Just a little bit will do. And then we’ll add some water – because you need a way to be able to manipulate the baking soda. Okay, let’s move that around a little bit – just for a moment. And then, I’m going to dip this coin into that little slurry of baking soda and water. And oh yeah… it is.. it’s immersed. You can see it’s in there. Let it set for a moment.
Yeah, you know a lot of times when people come to us asking about how to clean coins, they often have this notion that cleaning the coin will actually improve the way it’s going to look — enhance its value. And unfortunately, that’s just not the case. It’s the OPPOSITE of all those things. Again, you’re altering the coin’s appearance. You’re going to strip off the top layer of metal. And all that does – all that will ever effectively do – is lower the coin’s value and negatively impact its appearance. But I know a lot of people want to know how this is done, so we’re gonna do it here.
Alright, so the coin has been soaking for a little bit now in that baking soda slurry. And I’m going to go ahead and just pile some baking soda on it here. I’m going to scrub that in. I want to try to get all that grit out. You know, as we saw a minute ago, the coin had some fingerprints on there and kind of a heavy patina – which I as a Lincoln cent collector really love myself. A lot of folks will say that a coin looks dirty with a patina. But in actuality, a patina is very much desired on coins. So what I’m doing here is strictly for demonstration. And as we see… the coin already looks brighter than it did a minute ago! That’s for sure. My goodness me, that coin is glistening! Alright, we’ll keep on maneuvering that baking soda around for another minute or so – trying to get in all of the little crevices where the patina hides out and see if we can make this coin appear more uniform in color and appearance.
Yeah, so we can see… let’s see here… well, there’s still some baking soda on it. So it’ll kind of obscure the effect that it’s having on this coin. But I think… and you might think the same thing too… This coin definitely looks brighter than it did a minute ago. We can impart the same results are on the back of the coin. (Or the reverse, which is what we coin collectors officially call the back side of a coin – reverse. And the front is the obverse.) I can show you the front. There’s the obverse. Let’s go ahead and remove this baking soda which has really done a number on the surface. I’ll go ahead… I’m going to pull the stopper up on the back of the sink so that in case this coin falls out of my hand, it’ll not go down the drain. Because that would not be a video I want to do: How To Retrieve A Coin From A P-Trap. And let’s go ahead and get all that baking soda off. I didn’t really get at the reverse too much. Although you can see where I did start to rub it — it made an impact on the appearance. And this is just cold running water. You don’t ever really want to apply any heat to a coin, because that can also alter the way it looks. That’s good. Turn the water off. I’m going to simply pat dry – not rub – but pat dry the coin. And let’s go ahead and take a look at what we ended up with.
Okay, so it looks like all the offending things that one might WANT to try to remove from a coin they’re cleaning has been removed. I don’t see the fingerprints anymore. The patina is mostly gone. And the surface is definitely brighter. Now we compare it to the reverse, which still shows about three-quarters of the coin (maybe even more) of the reverse does contain the original color. [Unintelligible] almost 90%. So you can see the difference – just on the reverse versus the obverse – what the baking soda did to clean this coin. I wouldn’t say the coin is necessarily a ton lighter in color. But what it is… is it’s brighter. What I mean by brighter versus lighter… you can see that the coin reflects more of the light here where I’m cleaning this coin.
But one thing you’ll note that it lacks now is that classic lustrous cartwheel effect that it had a minute ago. And that’s why you don’t really clean coins. Because what that does is it removes the flow lines that are naturally imparted upon a coin when it’s struck. Abrasive cleaning can remove those flow lines — removes the luster. So yes, while it lightens the color and can brighten the sheen a little bit, the luster is what you will remove when you clean a coin using an aggressive method (or abrasive method) like baking soda.
I hope this answers your question on how to clean a coin using baking soda. Use a little bit of water a little bit elbow grease (or finger grease, you could say) and rub the surface to remove the patina and other detractions… and that’s what you end up with! So there you have it. That’s how you clean a coin using baking soda. I hope this video has been instructive to you. And I always appreciate any feedback. Please comment, share, and thank you for watching this video!
