See the 2 SAFEST ways of how to clean coins WITHOUT devaluing them. Watch BEFORE using baking soda or vinegar to clean coins!
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RELATED ARTICLE: Everything You Need To Know About Cleaning Coins
Be sure to try these 2 safe methods for cleaning coins yourself FIRST — because if you clean coins improperly, you could easily remove the coin’s outer layer of metal and/or seriously scratch the surface of the coin. (Yes, even hairline scratches can lower the value of a coin! And this video shows you how to PREVENT that when cleaning coins at home.) Also in this video, you’ll learn where you can take your coins to get them professionally cleaned — if you don’t achieve the results you’re looking for after cleaning the coins at home.
⚡TIMESTAMPS FROM THE VIDEO⚡
00:00 – How To Clean Coins Without Devaluing Them
01:01 – How To Clean A Dirty Coin Like This Lincoln Penny
01:25 – How To Make An Old Coin Look New Again
01:56 – How To Clean A Coin Using Just Water
03:11 – How To Prevent Scratching A Coin
03:50 – How To Clean A Coin Using Acetone
05:45 – Important Note When Using Your Sink To Clean Coins
07:06 – How To Clean Sticky Coins With Adhesive On Them
08:02 – How To Get Coins Professionally Cleaned
09:15 – Using Baking Soda, Vinegar, Toothpaste, Or Ketchup
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey there! This is Josh with The Fun Times Guide To Coins. Today I want to talk about how to clean coins without devaluing them. Now, it’s a common question… “How do you clean a coin without lowering its value or without damaging it further?”
Unfortunately, a lot of the methods that are out there that you might come across in different online forums will actually impart MORE damage to a coin. Take for example the common cleaning agents that are mentioned — baking soda, ketchup, vinegar, toothpaste. Those are all either abrasive and/or acidic and caustic methods for cleaning coins. And so then we go to the safe methods. Well, what are the safe methods for cleaning coins? How do you clean a coin without removing its outer layer of metal and without lowering the value?
There are two ways that I recommend. The first involves using running water. (Which we don’t have running water this moment, but we’re by a sink.) And, of course, another one that you might come across is using acetone.
Now, what I have here is a 2015 Lincoln cent. And I came across it in circulation. And it’s seen better days. You’ll note that it’s got some staining on the reverse and the obverse and maybe some kind of light film up near the top of the obverse across the motto “In God We Trust.” I hope that the camera is focusing correctly. You’ll take a coin like this and go, “Gee whiz… Well let’s clean it up and make it look nice and new.” That’s where I’m gonna stop you – because there’s really no way to make an old coin or a circulated coin or a stained copper coin (and this coin does have a copper outer layer over its zinc core). There’s no way to really make an old or circulated coin look brand new. There’s just no way to do it. (A) You can’t. And (B), the methods that people might typically use to try embarking on that will only create more damage.
So, the running water method… That’s really good for removing surface debris. Let’s say I found this coin buried in dirt. The running water would help to loosen and slough off the dirt. Or debris perhaps might be found on a coin that’s been in circulation for a long time and has dirt in the crevices. Running water really would not help here a whole lot – because this coin is rather clean. Not cleaned! But clean. So that is one thing that I would not recommend here. I’ll show you for the sake of presentation what that would look like cleaning a coin under running water. Just for the sake of demonstration… We use tepid water. So that means turning on the cold and the hot water so we have a nice even temperature. Because temperature extremes (especially HOT temperatures) can wreak havoc on a coin like this. Really any coin – but especially copper coins. Again, copper is a highly reactive metal. So anything you do to it beyond looking at it pretty much can affect the way the coin’s going to look.
Let’s say this coin was found in a dirt – let’s say a pot – for example a gardening pot, or maybe in the front yard. You’d use some running water to slough off that dirt… that debris. Leave it there for a few moments. And you would pat dry – NOT rub, but pat dry that coin. Because rubbing, as you might suspect, will impart hairlines across the coin. What do hairlines do? They devalue coins! So that is not something you want to do. You don’t want to rub a coin with a cloth of any kind. But you could pat it dry right with a nice soft, dry cloth like this one here and remove that water without much issue at all. So we see a coin here that really doesn’t look any different than it did a minute ago. And that’s what I expected – because this coin again didn’t really have any loose dirt & debris to remove under running water.
So you might go, “Well okay, let’s try the second method for safely cleaning coins without devaluing them.” And that would be the acetone solution. Now, acetone is a very tricky animal – because (A) It can be very dangerous. I’m in a ventilated room. I’m wearing a glove here on the hand that will be handling the coin. Also note I’m using a pie pan – an aluminum pie pan. So, as experience has taught me, acetone being a very reactive and possibly dangerous agent eats through paper, eats through styrofoam, eats through plastic. I’ve had the best success when it comes to soaking coins using aluminum pie pans. There are other safe methods out there too for creating a nice basin for an acetone bath for coins. I just happen to have pie pans on hand – so I’m using that. I would definitely look up and see what you have in your repertoire that would be safe to use for serving as a basin (as a vessel) for acetone. Just make sure whatever you do, you’re in a ventilated room or a ventilated area, you’re wearing gloves you’re not taking the acetone too close to your face, you’re not letting it sit in your hands too long. And as you might have seen here – due to the glistening inside.
In this pie pan, there’s acetone already inside the pie pan. So, I’ve created a little basin in there for this penny in which to sit and hopefully remove some of the whitish film and maybe the residue on the reverse here off the coin. So, I’m gonna let it soak in there for just a little bit. And now let me be very careful about how I move this penny on the aluminum because of course a metal pie pan could scrape the surface of the coin — if I move this coin around too much. I’ll warn you with that – be careful when handling your coins. And I’ll let it set there just for a few moments. Both the obverse and reverse. Let it just soak in the acetone. And while I’m letting this happen here, I’m going to go back to the sink for a moment. Do bear in mind that when I was rinsing the coin in the sink, I had pulled up the drain stopper. That’s so in case the coin slips out of my hand, it wouldn’t go down the drain. I’m not really in the mood to try to rescue a coin from the p-trap of this drain. Nor do I really wish to make a video about how to remove coins from p-traps. So bear in mind when using any sinks or whatever… bathtubs… what have you with coins. Always pull up the drain stopper so that you don’t have any problems with the coins going down the drain.
And as I stand here talking to you letting this coin soak… let’s see what has happened. Well it didn’t remove the stains – which I expected fully. Because the goal is not to remove stains or discoloration from coins. That will only impair the surfaces more. Again with copper coins it’s very tricky to remove stains and discoloration from any coin that has a copper composition. Because copper being so highly reactive… anything you do to it practically will create further damage. There’s still some film there on top of the “In God We Trust.” I do notice that some of the crud that actually… I did see like some embedded crud inside of Lincoln’s details there on the head. Those appear to be gone. Oh, and look at that!
There is some kind of a residue back here — light residue — on the reverse. Maybe from being adhered to like a postcard or something like a coupon. You know, sometimes there are mailers that will… in which you’ll see like a coin affixed to the postcard. And they will glue the coin onto that postcard sometimes with like a glue. That is gone. The film… Okay, so here’s what I see… The film appears to have been removed but there’s still some kind of discoloration there under where the film was. So, the acetone was successful to the extent that it removed the film. But it looks like the discoloration is still there. But again, we removed the residue on the reverse and the relief (or the kind of cruddy film) has been removed.
You know, this is where I say you know, if you can’t beat it with acetone or beat with water… your next best bet is to consult the services of a professional coin restoration or conservation service. They are out there. They do charge some money. And they don’t guarantee results. But if running water doesn’t remove what you want off your coin, and then acetone doesn’t impart the results you want, that is the next best method. It’s not free, but it is safe.
So, hopefully this gives you some ideas as to how to approach cleaning your coins without devaluing them. Again, there really aren’t many methods for doing so. And I really would advise you to stay away from any websites that tout excellent results or guarantee results when it comes to cleaning coins because there’s no guarantees when it comes to cleaning ANY coins. I can promise you that. But at least again we have made some improvement with that adhesive and the film, if not the discoloration that was under the film that leads to the film itself that was on there. So, we can call it at least a half success anyway.
I would advise you to always play it safe when trying to clean coins. Start conservative. Don’t go for the baking soda. Don’t go for the toothpaste. Avoid the temptation of vinegars and ketchups and taco sauce and all those things. You almost never end up better off after trying to clean a coin especially with abrasive and caustic methods like those. But with water and acetone it’s a great way to start to see how far you can get. I’d say start with the water first – that’s the most conservative method. Then go to the acetone. Then if that doesn’t work, then go to a professional Conservation Restoration Service. This is Josh with The Fun Times Guide To Coins. I appreciate your time. I hope you’ve learned something in this video. Please do comment, like, and share as you feel fit. And it’s been great talking with you. All the best to you with your collecting adventures – and stay safe.
