Cleaning coins: My favorite technique 

FYI ... using abrasives on ANY copper coins leaves brush marks and any professional coin dealer will tell you that you damaged the strike plate of the coin. Never use abrasives on any coin. It’s liquid sand paper and it DOES damage the coin and reduces the value. Yes it looks nice and shiny and clean but under a microscope, it will show the abrasive lines and damage to the strike plate. I have been collecting coins since 1975, and I never “polish” them. However, on some coins ( not copper ) I use a professional cleaner and a cotton swab. This removes just the dirt and does not damage the coin. Abrasives leave swirl marks. I have over 5,000 wheat pennies that have patina. A coin dealer will give you a better appraisal on non cleaned coins vs cleaned coins.

You scrub the toothbrush so fast... Your teeth must look amazing!

Wow...in 3 months the whole tray will be clean !

I clean them with vinegar and salt and they come up brand new in 2 minutes

I had an uncle that collected as well, and he swore by using pure acetone in an electronic ring cleaner (it may have actually been a small ultrasonic cleaner). It wouldn't take away the patina or scratch the cents, and it would eat away the oxidation. He showed me the large cents he had cleaned up and they looked great, still nice and chocolatey brown

I like to use white diamond metal polish with a microfiber towel. Leaves a super shiny finish

I used to collect coins as a child, cleaned about roll of pennies over 20 years ago with vinegar and water, I still have them in a closed capsule today, they are mint. Probably not worth anything but fun to see coin content. Brings me to my past. I'll have to try this method, seems to work so well. 😁

I cover coins in vinegar, (single layer)sprinkle some salt on x 15 minutes, put in dishsoap and water, scrub with old toothbrush, rinse with clear water, then put them in baking soda and water paste to counteract acid of vinegar, use paste and rub coin between finger and thumb, rinse again with water, and they look brand new. Baking soda polishes without scratching.

Just mix white vinegar and salt in a jar, drop your coins in, leave for 30 mins, rinse with water and voila. Easiest way to do a lot of coins without using abrasive tools. Wear some gloves when you do it as it can cause irritation to skin.

I use baking soda and water, it works really well

A friend of mine rolled up a bunch of modern coins he found with a metal detector; they were dirty and corroded. He turned them in to his bank and had to leave his name and phone number. Later he got a phone call from the bank; they did not want the dirty coins and if he didn't come buy them back they would take that amount out of his account. That's why to clean some coins.

Salt and vinegar paste works fine. Rinse with warm water.

I just recently discovered that using an eraser works pretty good.

Remember, don’t do this with valuable coins, please.

Simply place the rusty coin in a bowl of hot sauce over night . My grandma told me to do this and it actually worked!!!

I found that using an eraser on copper can clean it up real nice

I came to see coins and seen a mustang so I turned it off

I use hot sauce, I put the penny in a dish put some hot sauce and cover the penny with it, after about 5 to 10 minutes I take my fingers and rub it and then I put it under running water and rinse it off. Then I polish it up with a paste made with baking soda and water, you would be amazed how quick and easy this is..

I use "Connoisseurs" jewelry wipes for cleaning my coins..makes them really nice looking!! no scrubbing needed, just gentle rubbing and you're done!!

Hahaha everyone's a smartass. I love it

Just so you know the 1944 copper wheat penny can be one of the rarest errored doubled stamped pennies out there. Be careful with abrasives. If that's a double stamped 1944 wheat penny, it could be worth over $2,000 with the scratches you just put on it. A lot more without the scratches.

Yours is the first method I've seen that actually works in removing the guck off coins! Thank you very much for sharing that information with us. it's very much appreciated.

Let them sit in ketchup,vinegar and salt rense with water no scrubbing or scratching involved. That's the way moonshine makers clean their moonshine stills.

An eraser works, but ONLY IF you don't care about minor scratches. An eraser can & will pick up tiny granular particles when you're rubbing it along the surface & those in turn will scratch up the coin. I like using erasers only when I know for certain the value of the coin isn't an issue.

If you are trying to find coins to fill the spaces in your coin album, and they are common coins, then go ahead. But do not even try to clean something considered a semi-key or key date, or any coin you are unsure of about just how scarce or rare it might be. And absolutely never clean old American copper coins like Colonials, Half Cents, Large Cents, Flying Eagle Cents, and even Indian Cents. Doing so might cut the value of coin way down, versus what you might have gotten if you sold it as is. If you want scarce or rare coins cleaned (commonly called conserving), then send them to NGC's NCS, who specialize in conserving scarce and rare coins that are valuable. They have experts who can examine a coin to determine if it is possible to actually recover the coin, or if it is best to leave it as is. If they return as not recoverable, still, DO NOT do anything to that coin. It is still worth more the way it is, than if you clean it with something that alters the natural surface of the metal. What I mean by that is, the when some things are forcefully removed from the surface of a coin, it damages the natural metal. What you are doing with an abrasive and a toothbrush is exactly that, disturbing the natural metal as it came from the US Mint.

You need an ultrasonic parts cleaner mate :) It's just a viberating tub filled with soapy water

I use 91% isopropyl alcohol and a pencil eraser... Just dip the eraser in the alcohol and rub the coin back and forth until its dry. Repeat as many times as necessary...

Lemon juice literally makes them shine like brand new. Learned that in school lol

Soak them in taco bells hot sauce for a bit. Works like a charm.

I use Colgate toothpaste sometimes when I want my coin to be as shiny as a mirror. Takes a while but does the job. Usually use a cotton stick thingy with it

My findings best to clean any coin is to use a pink eraser and little bit of water. And rub in little circles cleans amazingly

I just use fine sandpaper. If I don't have any sandpaper I just rub the coin on the ground. Works great, you should try it.

Put them in vinegar and salt mixture, works wonders, of course you need to scrub it afterwards anyway with a rough surface sponge.

I have some coins that were burnt, in my grandparents house fire 33 years ago. A giant change jar. I would like to clean them. Wonder if this would work for that. Just curious about what’s in there, even if it isn’t worth any more then the coin.

I had a bunch of coins in my center console in my car. I spilled soda on it. I was just cleaning them with water. I enjoyed it, now I want to start actually making them shiny.

We made the original mechanics orange hand cleaner.. the grit was aggressive be careful...VIM utilizes and very fine grit (Pumice) will not harm a coin if not applied with force.. lemon juice is a good go to ...

Turtle Wax scratch and swirl remover worked wonders on my collection. It does take a few repetitions to get the coin shiny but it looks amazing afterwards.

So satisfying, and nothing is a waste of time or effort if you enjoy it. If anything it's a good thing because you can get enjoyment from something that literally only costs you pennies.

Good tip if you are not collecting or selling to a collector, just using the change and giving it to the stores in a cleaner condition.

Another thing to try is CLR, works fasta nd gets rid of a lot of blemishes if you want to make it look nice. Can however decrease value!

Ketchup always worked great for me.

Using an eraser works pretty well but it’s kinda hard. It works well too because it won’t wear on the penny much

I use Ajax or commit and scrub they come out good as new. Or hot sauce

Try a taco bell sauce packet or ketchup. You will be amazed. The acid in it will really clean and shine it up.

A 1944 San Francisco mint penny with "S"on it is worth $10k , Denver mint penny $12k , unminted (usually from Philly mint) $15k .. and the ones with Errors auction off for way more 👍🍺🍺 cheers!

For pennies and relics only, I sometimes use a wire brush works like a charm!

Very nice 👍 it is hard to clean coins after many many years circulation !!!!

To each its own way, but coins by coins that’s a lot of work. Well my way is soaking it in CLR for two or three days and it works instead of corn buy coins. Try like it great if you don’t then do it the best way thank you for the input.

Just soak it in water for some time. Wash the coin and rub using rubber/eraser (Stationery). It will be glossy.

Good to know,...as i just found an old coin dated 1861 behind my skirting board in my house!

Fast Orange also makes Fast Orange with out pumice. Keep the scratches off.

If you want to clean coins that won't be used for grading, use Franks Red Hot Sauce. Leave it on for a few minutes and simply wipe it of. No scrubbing. I do not recommend cleaning coins by any means if you intend to have them sent off for grading.

That's what I've been doing! Lol it works great

I've used lime juice. I just let them sit and the black came off leaving a nice copper color with no scrubbing.

Does baking soda work as well to clean pennies?

You could also mix white vinegar and salt then just dip them in and take them back out.

When I started collecting I cleaned a couple of roman coins with a wire brush. They came up shiny but were almost blank lol.

Again, do not do the high value coins, just the ones that have minimal value & need to be read. And use the softest of brushes. Cleaning scratch marks destroy a coins value.

Great Video.

Diamond paste is often used for the most effective restorations.

Cleaning old coins always worth time. Brasso works great!

Looks good, but losing the grade value

If you wouldn't do it to an old valuable coin you probably shouldn't do it to a coin you don't know what it is. Could be destroying an extremely valuable coin

You my friend have a lot of time in your hands

You got a taco bell or jimboys in your town grab a hand full of taco sauce (hot sauce) put enough in a small bowl put just enough to cover the coins shake the bowl to get them all good and covered let sit for a couple minutes rinse and there your done brand new coins no scratches nothing,your welcome

I used tooth paste and a tooth brush to clean my pennies it works well

My little brother washed his coins thinking they would get shinier, but bad things happened, that's why I am here.

Yes vinegar and salt does both side you can add s bit of lemon

Thanks! I've got a huge coin collection and I've been looking for a simple cleaning method.

I use 100 grit sandpaper....Does a GREAT job.....

When we were kids we cleaned them to a shine with a simple pencil eraser. Not suggesting this for collectable coins .

You removed the surface of that coin. Good job👍

I have a 1911 1p coin I found yesterday and Im looking for ways to clean it. It's not rare, but it is massive to the 1p coins we have today and I think it looks nice so I'm trying to clean it

Love them pipes 👍👍 Cool info 👍👍 and whilst you're commenting on a 44 I'm checking out a 45 👍🤗 ‼ Thanks a bunch 👍🤗‼

Curious to see what they look like under microscope arfter this process. Very dope. Def testing this 🤘🙌🔥

Yes, you can clean coins, but if you have that one rare one in the lot worth thousands??? Every stroke of abrasive contact is cleaning the value of the coin down in value. A collector can see exactly what you did and while it might look pretty, it leaves tell tale abrasive marks that distort and destroy pocket wear and circulation indicators. While your at it, you might as well refinish Lincolns desk with sand paper and poly urethane.

That 1944 in that color is worth money. Donut clean them odds what i was told

My question is will they detect that cleaning of the coin at PCGS? And send it back to you without a grade at all

I use Texas Pete It’s the best thing I’ve found

Just drop them in a small plastic container of vinegar, water, and salt. They will be clean almost instantly.

Well good thing it was a penny. There's very valuable pennies too so check first.

Great idea! Where do you usually get the Fast Orange?

Try mixing vinegar and salt creates a weak acid and dissolves the coin making it shiny again

I've found that vinegar and table salt works pretty good as well.

I have more 1944 penny more. 1944 S 1944D and 1944 no mint mark sir. How tosold this couns and HM value??

I tried ketchup and baking soda cleaned them great just don't try with gold coins

I use 5ml vinegar 1tbls salt and a little alcohol

Use eriser after soaking in vinegar and salt do not use tutbrash.

I used regular ketchup on my coins. The end result is like your 1944 coin.

Dip them in ketchup for a little while

i have one from 1956 and i found it in the mud at school and im 7 by myself it is 2 shillings

Wd40 with a dremmel buff wheel works good also.

You do realize that a 1944 copper penny is very rare right?

Dude that one penny has to be rare! That's a nice find :-o

You can also use hydrogen peroxide and comet to clean it the same way

I heard vinegar works good too

Just subscribed, awesome information thank you for sharing!

We found a 1946 Penny that's in pretty rough shape and would like to get it in the condition that you got your "44" penny!

The community could try some BKF (Bar Keeper's Friend) abluent cleanser, baking soda, Brillo pads, and some elbow grease. This will probably speed up the time of restoration.

How fo I clean a really darken Alaska quarter without damaging it as I know its worth more than face value. I cant see the date at all ...its soooo dark.