How To Clean Tarnished Silver Coins

The abrasives and acids in the polish may damage the collectible value of those types of silver coins.

How to clean tarnished silver coins. After the coin has sat in the olive oil remove it from the bowl and clean the coin with soap and distilled water gently scouring the currency with an old toothbrush. Add tarnished silver coins. Cleaning a rare collectible coin can reduce its value by over 50 due to tiny scratches or the removal of the tarnish. If the gentle cleaning methods above do not work it s safer to have it cleaned professionally or accept an imperfect appearance. Silver polish is an excellent tool for cleaning tarnished silver coins that are meant to be keepsakes but is not recommended for use on rare coins.

One method is to leave the coin in a bowl filled with lemon juice or vinegar for up to 24 hours or until the surfaces of the coin are clear. Add the tarnished silver into the middle of the container with the most tarnished side up. You can expedite the reduction reactions that remove tarnish by immersing some small iron nails along with the coin. Removing it will damage the coin s surface and greatly reduce its value. Add more baking soda hot water.

Use extreme caution with valuable coins. The dark tarnish in a silver coin is oxidation and immersion in an acid can remove it. If you do the coin should stay in the bath no. You may need to repeat steps if both sides are equally tarnished. Cover the silver with baking soda enough to totally obscure the silver.

Here s how to polish silver with this common condiment. Over the years coins can accumulate dirt germs corrosion and other gunk which removes the natural lustre from the coin and makes them visually unappealing. Coins tone when exposed to air. Heated electrochemical reduction cleaning of tarnished silver coins in progress. Squirt a small amount on a paper towel and rub gently over the tarnished areas.

Because of this you may want to clean your coins to try to restore them. If your silver is tarnished ketchup can help. Of course if you galvanically clean a few silver dollars you do not have to worry about a little weight the pebble and the boiling water. You can also use a dab of olive oil on a clean cloth for how to shine brass after you have removed tarnish. Tarnish on silver coins is called toning and the coin is worth more with the toning intact.