polishing of coins

Hi,
I was wondering about polish my coins collections, if it is wise or not. Sorry if this topic has been already discussed, but I am new here. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks
Stef

DO NOT polish your coins!

Hi Yvon,

Thanks for it, is it ok to use just a cloth ?

I use Copperwool to clean my coins.

Cleaned coins also increase their value in my opinion.

There are myriad of articles about this subject on the internet. I suggest you read them for yourself and make your own judgement. I agree with a previous comment and recommend that you DONT clean your coins. EVER.

Let's be realistic, most coins are worthless, scrap metal value only. You can buy them by the kilo.
If you know that about the coins you want to polish, modify, or make art with, go ahead and do whatever you want to make them more appealing to you.

other coins are valuable in their own right, and the numismtic community values them for their history and preservation. these should not be tapered with. valuable items like this- we are custodians of history, a bad job of renovation can never be undone.

If you wish,pick a few cheap circulation coins with different metal composition and try few different ways to clean them(and eventually destroy few)...then once you see the results in front of you,you'll find out alone...this method worked good for me :)
*Be sure to not use strong chemicals or acids,unless you don't really know how to use them :)

Quote: "Muenzenhamster"​I use Copperwool to clean my coins.
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​Cleaned coins also increase their value in my opinion.
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​LOL. You evil, evil hamster!

In case the above post wasn't clear enough to a new collector reading this thread, don't listen to Hamster and never clean your coins. I believe he's already been warned about spreading deliberate misinformation elsewhere.

But yeah, to add my voice to the choir, don't clean your coins, with the possible exception of some particularly corroded ancients, which collectors seem to be more open to cleaning than modern coins.

I would suggest a special mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids called Aqua Regia if you have some gold to polish! All those ugly dirty spots will disappear in an instant! Whooosh! Nitric Acid alone is excellent for silver, hydrochloric won't do it there, but it will work excellently for copper.

BUT SERIOUSLY DON'T.
Polishing coins is a no-no. There are examples where cleaning coins is considered legitimate, but they are few and far between. For most pieces you'll see, collectors will prefer an ugly old dirty black coin to a polished one. There are many occasions on the forum of right and wrong in coin cleaning. I am pretty adventurous myself with low value coins, and have also (guilty as charged), "conserved" a number of multi-hundred dollar pieces. But not before having attempted similar techniques with dozens of cheap-os. Take a look around before you do anything, and post some images of coins you had in mind to polish to check if you aren't destroying value.

I think cleaning is ok, but polishing is not. Cleaning with something that will remove grease that builds up from people handling a coin but does not affect the coin's surface is fine. I usually give mine a quick clean with isopropyl alcohol and a soft cotton make-up remover pad.

If there's any silver lining (pun intended) to be had with polished coins, it's that their market value becomes lowered significantly, to within my affordability range. I was able to afford my first shooting thaler because it was cleaned.

So please, do go ahead and experiment on those thalers.

You wouldn't have any 1901 5 lire to polish would you?

Wait, that would still be out of my range...
So, in short, DON'T POLISH!!!

Three hours in the rock tumbler followed by a long soak in battery acid is the second best method.

Quote: "CassTaylor"​In case the above post wasn't clear enough to a new collector reading this thread, don't listen to Hamster and never clean your coins. I believe he's already been warned about spreading deliberate misinformation elsewhere.
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So we are not allowed anymore to tell how we treat our coins because its not with numista-mainstream-opinion?

Muenzenhamster: Is your expressed opinion a genuine belief?

Oh come on, it's pretty obvious he was being sarcastic.

There is a place in my town that specializes in the cleaning of coins and even though I pass it from time to time I have never stopped in and used their services and my only knowledge of the place is what I see on the sign ;
COIN LAUNDRY.

I'm surprised that place has not been closed down for money laundering.