Distilled water: Distilled water is best for cleaning silver coins and bars because it does not contain minerals that can leave marks on the surface. Baking soda: Baking soda is a natural cleaner used to clean tarnished silver coins and bars.
Add a small amount of water to a tablespoon of baking soda to form a paste. Apply the paste to each coin using an old toothbrush and scrub gently. Rinse the coins to reveal the now-shiny surfaces.
Pour your coins into one bowl and fill with cold water until the money is well covered. In the other bowl, pour about 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Dip the toothbrush into the bowl of baking soda and scrub the coins. The baking soda should remove any dirt and grime and won't scratch the metal.
Distilled water is recommended as tap water contains chlorine. The coin is dipped into olive oil which according to Hudgeons, works best for common copper or bronze coins.
Since it was first produced and sold in the United States in the mid-1800s, baking soda has been a popular product with many useful purposes. One of these is to clean certain valuable items in a safe, effective way. As for whether or not baking soda damages silver coins, the short answer is typically no.
Even though it's counterintuitive, you should never clean a coin, as it can significantly reduce its value. Even coins that have substantial dirt, tarnishing, or toning should be kept in their original condition.
The salt and acetic acid in vinegar do the trick. Hot sauce, like Tabasco or taco sauce, also will remove the oxides off pennies. As in ketchup, salt and vinegar are both in hot sauce. Coke and off-brand colas will quickly remove the tarnish.
Don't use toothpaste - Toothpaste is extremely abrasive. It can make your coins appear shiny, but cause significant damage to the surface.
Most Cleaning is Destructive: It Can Literally Change the Surface of a Coin. Any cleaning that requires rubbing leaves microscopic scratches. They are not apparent to the naked eye, but a collector will see them. A collector will look for them.
For coins that are more than 50% corroded, it's advisable to soak them overnight. Take the coins out and sprinkle some baking soda over them; then use a soft-bristled toothbrush to brush them clean. Rinse them out thoroughly with hot water; using tongs or gloves to hold them to avoid burning your fingers.
Simply pour the coke into a bowl and submerge your silver into it. The acid in the coke will quickly remove the tarnish. Keep an eye on it – just a few minutes should be enough. Rinse with warm water and dry carefully with a soft cloth.
Put the silver items in a bowl of appropriate size and cover them with white distilled vinegar. Add baking soda into the bowl – the approximate proportions are 4 tablespoons of baking soda for every cup of vinegar. Leave the silver in the mixture for 1 hour. Rinse with clean water and dry well with soft cotton cloth.
Quickly restore your jewelry or tableware with vinegar, water and baking soda. This cleaning agent is a great option for many things, including your tarnished silver. Mix 1/2 cup of white vinegar with 2 tablespoons of baking soda in a bowl of lukewarm water. Let the silver soak for two to three hours.
Add a few drops of mild soap (not detergent) to a glass of warm distilled water. Put the coins in gently and leave them to soak, turning them over every few hours. This is the only guaranteed safe way to clean silver-plated coins (though pure silver is a little hardier).
Copper oxide dissolves in a mixture of weak acid and table salt-and vinegar is an acid. You could also clean your pennies with salt and lemon juice or orange juice, because those juices are acids, too.
STEP2 - Pour out a glass of your cola. STEP3 - Cover one side of each coin with Blu-Tac but leave the other side open. STEP4 - Pop your coins into your glass of coke. STEP5 - Sit back and wait but you should be able to see a difference in the colour of your coins within about an hour.
Lemon juice has acid in it that removes the dirty color or oxidation and makes the penny nice and shiny again!
Cleaning or polishing rare coins devalues them. So, if you're planning on selling them, get an appraisal before attempting to clean your coins.
1. The most important thing NOT to do is clean your coins. Cleaning rare numismatic coins will significantly reduce their value – plain and simple. Although you don't lose much by cleaning a coin which derives value only from its silver content, it's not worth the risk.
Why does silver tarnish? Silver tarnishes due to a chemical reaction that naturally occurs when the silver is exposed to moisture and chemicals in the air. When the atoms of silver come into contact with oxygen, a film of silver sulphide forms on the coin surface, with the underlying layers not being affected.
There is another way. If you need clean silver now, pour lemon juice over the tarnished pieces. Polish with a soft, clean cotton cloth. The acid begins cleaning as soon as it hits the silver's surface.
Keep silver coins in a cool, dry place.
Temperature-controlled storage is preferred, as significant fluctuations in temperature and humidity is a noted factor in coin tarnishing.