If you’ve watched even just a few metal detecting YouTube videos I can about bet you’ve seen someone find a silver coin that’s dirty and immediately wipe their fingers across it. I couldn’t begin to remember the amount of times I’ve personally seen it, even in person while metal detecting with other detectorists. It makes me cringe every time!!
I’ve heard so many excuses for it before. The most popular ones being “it’s a dug coin, it will never be worth much” or “it’s been in the ground, it already has scratches” and my favorite “it’s not a valuable coin.” That one is my favorite because they didn’t know it wasn’t valuable until they wiped their fingers across it!
All three responses are not necessarily true at all. I have dug many silver coins that were in soft dirt that was virtually free of rocks. Matter of fact I know of a person who properly retrieved a capped bust dime from the dirt, sent it off to a reputable coin grading company and it came back normal without “environmental damage” which means it had no micro scratching on the surface from being in the ground.
How I keep from damaging or causing any more damage to a silver coin than it already has, starts with how I retrieve it from the dirt. First, I always make sure to open the hole much larger than where the target is located in the ground. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve seen great coins and relics nicked by a shovel or hand digger. I will admit, I’ve even done it, unfortunately it happens but you want to try your best to retrieve it without any further damage.
Once I remove the coin, I put it in a small container with cotton. It doesn’t matter if it’s still encapsulated with mud or dirt, I do not try to remove any of it in the field. I’ve seen some people keep bottles of water but I have yet to see a video where the water removes it all and every time, they can’t resist wiping the rest of the mud off.
When I arrive home, I will take my silver coin (or coins) and I will get a small plastic container filled with hot water and just a drop of dish soap and soak them individually. Let them sit, patience here is important. I have on occasion gently picked at really stubborn dirt but you want to be cautious, always try to lift it straight up and not slide across the face of the coin.
Once the big dirt is removed you will often find dirt and discoloration in the crevices. I will tell you something that many people don’t understand but I think is very important. A coin being dirty does not hurt the value, a coin with scratches caused by removing dirt will hurt the value! This is very important information to know because at the point the major dirt is removed, I would advise to stop there.
Of course, most don’t stop there and sometimes including myself, I just have to get it cleaner! I would however advise if it is a valuable coin, I would send it off to be professionally cleaned and graded by one of the major grading companies. If it doesn’t have any major value and you just want it cleaner for display, again, you must use caution.
To clean out the small crevices in the coin I will wet a cotton swab and simply dab the coin. Please take note that I said DAB and not wipe. Again, wiping can cause scratches and hurt the coin. Once I am done cleaning the coin whether I stop after removing the large dirt or I work on it further I always gently rinse with clean water and sit on a paper towel and gently pat dry.
Over the years I have tried a few different cleaners designed specifically for cleaning silver coins with mixed results. Again, I would recommend if you have a coin with value leave it up to the experts. If you want to try your hand at cleaning silver coins further than I’ve recommended I would start with a product called EZEST.
I know this sounds like a lot of work, especially for a coin that currently has no more value than it’s silver content but if you plan on keeping your silver coins and collecting them, especially if you’re going to pass them on to another generation I assure you it’s worth it and someday those coins that currently are only worth their silver content could possibly be worth much more!
Hi I read your blog with interest. What about using a ultrasonic cleaner?
Ultra High vibration will be able to remove the dirt?
They use it on Jewellery
what’s your thoughts on that?
Although there is a little debate over ultrasonic cleaners in the coin community, most would agree that you shouldn’t use one. It is said that using an ultrasonic cleaner can slightly alter the surface of the coin. People who say they use an ultrasonic cleaner believe it doesn’t change the surface enough to effect the value.
Hi Mike: (disclaimer, I do not disagree with what you said). Not wanting to get into a huge discussion on this within the community but this whole topic of cleaning not cleaning has ALWAYS confused me. I strongly feel it is a corner that the coin collecting community has self imposed or rather backed into over the years and it is perpetuated by the grading companies..do I advocate cleaning your coins or disagree with any thing you have said, no. But if you really think about it the concept is a bit weird. Unless you are talking about uncirculated or proof coins…ALL coins have been circulated and had damage occur to them regardless of being dug or not. The entire reason that an 1875 seated liberty dime can be an VG or a Fine or any of the grades other than uncirclulated is because damage occurs: scratches, dropping, rubbing between things and (against other coins) or fired out of a cannon. All this wears down the detail over time and causes them to be LESS than uncirculated….so what gives? The grading companies will grade that 1875 if it has been “worn down” over time as a fine, or a very good, or a VG but the minute it is dug out of the ground or someone cleans it at all it is blackballed being labeled as “Cleaned” or “environmental damage”. I guess what I am saying is anything less than pristine causes the cleaned or dug comments to be irrelavent in a way. I mean if I dug a silver coin that was scratched but then put it in my pocket of change walked around with it until those scratches were gone but it was worn down to just a VG or maybe luckily a fine would the grading companies then know or label the coins as dug or cleaned if it sat around for another 40 years before grading? Another thing to consider is why the collecting community puts all their eggs in the basket of the two companies? PCGS has been around since 1985, NGC has been around since 1987…so both companies are only 35 years old or less…but grading and thus putting together the construct for grading of nearly 300 years of US coin history is just accepted? Didn’t mean to make this a rant…but really want your thoughts on this. I have collected indian artifacts for years and don’t even want to get into what a failed state “certificate of authenticity” trade has become :(.
I think that at some point when the demand soars because the majority of old collectible coins are in the hands of fewer and fewer people this whole “cleaned” or “dug” coin thing may just fall to the wayside and rarity will become more important. Thoughts sir 🙂
Hello Brian,
Excellent comment writing which I couldn’t agree more with you on the subject. I myself have often wondered about this cleaning aspect and how the coin community has treated it. Personally I don’t clean my coins, although I do have some I would like to see cleaned, but I also use common sense. I highly disagree with the terminology of flagging a coin as cleaned when sent in to a professional grading coming. Anyone can grade coins with practice and using the available criteria on the net, as everyone knows or should know, grading is very subjective…..I could care less if the coin has been cleaned (properly of course) and to me it makes no difference on the value. Over the years I have seen on video the grader at a well known grading company actually handling a coin with bare fingers, but heaven forbid if one of us were to do that and not use gloves to keep the body oils off the edge of the coin……..Anyway, my thoughts are pretty much in line with yours…..
Hello Coin Collecting community. I just inherited a stockpile of old coins from a family member. They are bagged and not in holders or anything…I’m torn about what to do with all of them. I finally got through the silver dimes and came across an 1856 sitting Liberty…now for the pennies…
I have a number of Morgan silver dollars that have a right wing where the feathers don’t join, as if a die malfunction occurred. I was wondering where I could send a picture of one of these dollars to see if anyone would know the classification of the defect. I have digital microscopes so the detail can be easily seen. Thx, Ken