Well beyond the obvious answer of yes I clean my finds, that question is for all of you.
I wonder how many here fall into several different groups?
#1 I never clean anything because it destroys value.
#2 I have tried before and it didn't work.
#3 I am afraid to but have never tried.
#4 clean everything and sometimes it works well and sometimes it doesn't.
This post is about one particular find that came as part of the best day so far this year.
This was a pretty good day for me. And this is what the target looked like coming out of the ground. Once I got home a slight tap with a brass hammer to knock the outer rust of showed some of the items inside of the clump. A bit more tapping with the hammer and cleaning was about to begin.
The 2 rusted steel nickels, yes 2
If you look closely you can see 2 of them here. And the 1940 wheat penny were of no consequence so I concentrated on the 2 silvers.
The 1943 war nickel simply sat in vinegar while I concentrated on the half.
It took about a week to get the 1949 half to where I liked it.
It was put through repeated steps of first reverse electrolysis and then a vinegar soak.
Once the rust was completely removed and short 15 minute tumble in vinegar and water did the trick.
As you can see it is now nice and clean. And there is no damage to either coin.
I wonder how many here fall into several different groups?
#1 I never clean anything because it destroys value.
#2 I have tried before and it didn't work.
#3 I am afraid to but have never tried.
#4 clean everything and sometimes it works well and sometimes it doesn't.
This post is about one particular find that came as part of the best day so far this year.
This was a pretty good day for me. And this is what the target looked like coming out of the ground. Once I got home a slight tap with a brass hammer to knock the outer rust of showed some of the items inside of the clump. A bit more tapping with the hammer and cleaning was about to begin.
The 2 rusted steel nickels, yes 2
If you look closely you can see 2 of them here. And the 1940 wheat penny were of no consequence so I concentrated on the 2 silvers.
The 1943 war nickel simply sat in vinegar while I concentrated on the half.
It took about a week to get the 1949 half to where I liked it.
It was put through repeated steps of first reverse electrolysis and then a vinegar soak.
Once the rust was completely removed and short 15 minute tumble in vinegar and water did the trick.
As you can see it is now nice and clean. And there is no damage to either coin.
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