Best way to remove Green tarnish and crud from Lincolns 0

[Marquez-Collector]

Hello All, 

What would be the best way to remove crud and green or blue tarnish off of old Lincolns?

This batch will almost complete one of my albums and I can move on to the next.  

the old pre 1960's will be really difficult to get in Mint condition so I am just happy to complete in any condition that can be appreciated. If i need to invest in a sonic cleaner, By all meas I will.  

Has anyone experimented with Ketchup? I've seen some videos but I am reluctant to tray anything unless I ask people who really know. 

 

-Manuel

 

 

[Just Bob]

Ketchup? It must be the vinegar (acetic acid) in it that "cleans" the surface of the coin. How do you even think of something like that? Do you go through your kitchen cabinets or refrigerator and try every condiment on your coins to see what happens? Speaking of which: go to the pantry and grab a bottle of olive oil. Soak the coins in it for a month or two, or however long it takes to loosen the crud, then rinse with acetone. Keep an eye on them, though, and if the color starts to lighten or change, remove them from the oil. Although I have no evidence, I believe some brands are more acidic than others.

 

If that doesn't work, wrap the coin in a bay leaf. It won't remove the crud, but it makes it smell like soup.

[VKurtB]

2 hours ago, Just Bob said:

Ketchup? It must be the vinegar (acetic acid) in it that "cleans" the surface of the coin. How do you even think of something like that? Do you go through your kitchen cabinets or refrigerator and try every condiment on your coins to see what happens? Speaking of which: go to the pantry and grab a bottle of olive oil. Soak the coins in it for a month or two, or however long it takes to loosen the crud, then rinse with acetone. Keep an eye on them, though, and if the color starts to lighten or change, remove them from the oil. Although I have no evidence, I believe some brands are more acidic than others.

 

If that doesn't work, wrap the coin in a bay leaf. It won't remove the crud, but it makes it smell like soup.

"Soup cents". A new Registry, perhaps?  

[Marquez-Collector]

15 hours ago, Just Bob said:

Ketchup? It must be the vinegar (acetic acid) in it that "cleans" the surface of the coin. How do you even think of something like that? Do you go through your kitchen cabinets or refrigerator and try every condiment on your coins to see what happens? Speaking of which: go to the pantry and grab a bottle of olive oil. Soak the coins in it for a month or two, or however long it takes to loosen the crud, then rinse with acetone. Keep an eye on them, though, and if the color starts to lighten or change, remove them from the oil. Although I have no evidence, I believe some brands are more acidic than others.

 

If that doesn't work, wrap the coin in a bay leaf. It won't remove the crud, but it makes it smell like soup.

@Just Bob I have heard the olive oil thing and I was skeptical but hearing it from you it will be my go to cleaning method with the Acetone soak afterwards. 

I was also thinking it was the vinegar in the ketchup. The idea came to me from a youtube video but I was skeptical and I figured I should ask.  Thanks Bob. 

[Marquez-Collector]

13 hours ago, VKurtB said:

"Soup cents". A new Registry, perhaps?

@VKurtB It sounds very tempting but that would be way too much work. 

[Just Bob]

8 hours ago, Dukemnm said:

@Just Bob I have heard the olive oil thing and I was skeptical but hearing it from you it will be my go to cleaning method with the Acetone soak afterwards. 

I was also thinking it was the vinegar in the ketchup. The idea came to me from a youtube video but I was skeptical and I figured I should ask.  Thanks Bob. 

Just to be clear, and avoid hard feelings: When I said "you" in my above post, I meant  "a person," not specifically you, Duke.

[Thompson2]

So any acid will etch the surface of the coin.  Ketchup typically has vinegar in it, so if you're really wanting to go that route just us straight vinegar, diluted a lot.  A word of caution on the vinegar - coins treated that way look great... for a very short time.  Then they tend to corrode worse than they were before.  And you have to be very, very thorough about rinsing. 

I've has reasonable luck with a *good* ultrasonic cleaner and distilled water.  The little -tastic plastic ones won't budge the stuck on stuff.  If that doesn't do the job, add a touch of vinegar to the water and see what that will do.  

Since the coins you have aren't crazy rare and are already in pretty rough shape, I don't think you've got a lot to lose in trying.

[Marquez-Collector]

6 hours ago, Just Bob said:

Just to be clear, and avoid hard feelings: When I said "you" in my above post, I meant  "a person," not specifically you, Duke.

 I thought you meant me.  

Speaking of pantry or even refrigerator, how about some diet coke? I mean it cleans the calcium deposits on car battery pretty good.

Don't worry @Just Bob  I took no offence, it was funny  

[Marquez-Collector]

 

2 hours ago, Thompson2 said:

So any acid will etch the surface of the coin.  Ketchup typically has vinegar in it, so if you're really wanting to go that route just us straight vinegar, diluted a lot.  A word of caution on the vinegar - coins treated that way look great... for a very short time.  Then they tend to corrode worse than they were before.  And you have to be very, very thorough about rinsing. 

I've has reasonable luck with a *good* ultrasonic cleaner and distilled water.  The little -tastic plastic ones won't budge the stuck on stuff.  If that doesn't do the job, add a touch of vinegar to the water and see what that will do.  

Since the coins you have aren't crazy rare and are already in pretty rough shape, I don't think you've got a lot to lose in trying.

Thank you @Thompson2 I will not skimp on a sonic cleaner then. it seams that it might be worth spending a little more to get better results. 

[Thompson2]

3 hours ago, Thompson2 said:

So any acid will etch the surface of the coin.  Ketchup typically has vinegar in it, so if you're really wanting to go that route just us straight vinegar, diluted a lot.  A word of caution on the vinegar - coins treated that way look great... for a very short time.  Then they tend to corrode worse than they were before.  And you have to be very, very thorough about rinsing. 

I've has reasonable luck with a *good* ultrasonic cleaner and distilled water.  The little -tastic plastic ones won't budge the stuck on stuff.  If that doesn't do the job, add a touch of vinegar to the water and see what that will do.  

Since the coins you have aren't crazy rare and are already in pretty rough shape, I don't think you've got a lot to lose in trying.

Dumb question - does this place auto-redact? It looks like they took the "cr ap" out before my "-tastic"... 

[Just Bob]

1 hour ago, Thompson2 said:

Dumb question - does this place auto-redact? It looks like they took the "cr ap" out before my "-tastic"... 

The profanity filter removes all words deemed to be offensive by the moderators. Years ago, it substituted the word *spoon* for the offending word. That is why you sometimes see posters using that word, instead of something that might not pass the censors.

[VKurtB]

I hereby suggest that all soup cents in the NGC Registry be graded Mm Mm Good.

[Thompson2]

19 hours ago, Just Bob said:

The profanity filter removes all words deemed to be offensive by the moderators. Years ago, it substituted the word *spoon* for the offending word. That is why you sometimes see posters using that word, instead of something that might not pass the censors.

That's awesome!  And cleared up my *spoon* confusion...