How to clean old Austria-Hungary coins?

Question

I have a lil collection of old coins. Mainly from Austria-Hungary era. Some of them are more than 200 years old. Any tips how to clean them?

Answer 1

You should not clean your coins. Most coin collectors see cleaning a coin as the equivalent of stripping down antique furniture and refinishing it.

When cleaning, the surface metal of the coin is often stripped. Anything used to scrub the coin will leave scratches (even 100% pure silk will leave hairline scratches). Most cleaning products will have some type of reaction with the coin's metal and the surface metal can also be removed in this manner.

Your best bet is to leave the coins alone. Cleaning the coin will leave traces - which can be found by the knowledgeable collector - who in turn will not buy the cleaned coin. Also if you ever wanted to send your coin into a grading company, they can recognize signs of cleaning and will send your coin back in a "cleaned" slab (also called a "body bag" in the coin world) - which is usually a greatly decreased value.

If you absolutely must must must clean your coins do not use the method described above as it will react with the metal in your coin. Use 100% acetone (do not use fingernail polish remover!). It must be 100% pure because other additives will react with the coin metal. Place your coin(s) in the solution for several minutes (do not leave in for long periods of time). Rinse your coin(s) in distilled water. Next remove your coins and either pat dry with a soft cloth or allow the coin to air dry (air drying is better as you don't risk scratching the coin with the cloth). NEVER scrub your coins!

I would still advise you to leave your coins as they are. They may not be bright and shiny but that is what most collectors prefer.

Answer 2

You don't clean coins period, there is no safe way. Nice and bright coins that show wear, loose their value real fast. This cleaning coins thing is getting out of hand and people are loosing a lot of money. A person cleaned a rare $20 gold piece that would have sold in the 100's of thousand dollar range, but only got a thousand for it. Pass the word you do not clean coins and also that antique travel show is telling people to leave the old silver and gold items alone also, even refinishing furniture can ruin its value. Rare coins that are damaged are sent to pro's that know what they can and can not do and they are not cheap. as time goes by a lot of things I thought were safe I find are not, best thing don't clean coins.

Answer 3

Most likely, they are very sensitive, so I recommend you keep them the way they are, BUT if you really need to clean them...Here are some steps for you to safely clean them!
Hope it helps =)


Fill a small plastic container with warm tap water. Do not use glass, china, or metal, as these hard surfaces can scratch your coins! Disposable food storage containers are perfect for this. Just don't store your coins in them permanently. Add a small amout of mild dish-washing detergent to the container filled with warm water. Don't overdo it - all you need is a really tiny squirt.



Prepare your final rinse bath.
Fill a second plastic container with distilled water, for the final rinse. Although distilled water is by far the best, you can substitute hot running tap water.

Clean the coin.
Pick up the first coin, and immerse it in the soapy water. Gently rub both sides of the coin between your fingers, paying attention to any stickiness or gunk. Rub gunk near the edges away from the center of the coin, not into it. Always work in an outward pattern. Dirt and gunk near the edges should simply be made to go over the side with your thumb, not all the way across the coin. Don't put all of your coins in the water at once! Do them one at a time, to avoid their coming in contact with each other and causing scratch marks on the surfaces.

Rinse the coin.
Rinse the coin under running water, gently rubbing until all soap residue is gone. Always remember, gentleness is the key! Don't rub hard, and if you feel any grit, even light grit, don't rub it into the coin because it will scratch the coin very easily. Instead, sort of agitate the coin by moving it quickly in the water to dislodge the grit, touch it gently only if needed to free it up.

Every motion you make with your fingers should be focused on not causing scratches to the coin's surface.

Do the finishing rinse.
Swish the coin around in the distilled water, to remove the chlorine residue and other contaminants that are found in tap water. Hold it by the edges and agitate gently. At this point, you should no longer touch the coin on its faces. Touch it only by the edges when using your bare fingers.

If you must use tap water for the final rinse, then run the coin under fairly hot water.

Allow the coin to dry.
If you use a distilled water rinse, you can set the coin on the towel to air dry. The coin should dry spot-free, because distilled water is free of dissolved minerals and other impurities.

If you had to do the final rinse in hot tap water, then gently pat the coin dry to help prevent spotting. Never rub a coin dry! Always pat it dry gently with a soft cloth or tissue.

Repeat until finished.
Now wash the rest of your coins, one at a time, following Steps 5 through 8 carefully. If you run across a coin that needs to soak for awhile to get clean, put it in the tub of water off to the side, so you don't accidentally ding it with another coin you are working on.

Store your coins.
Make sure your coins are absolutely dry before putting them away. Damp coins can suffer damage over time. Remember to always handle coins only by the edges. The only coins I ever touch the faces on are the ones I am about to spend! :)