I just recently purchase some Morgans for 8.50 a piece and was wondering what the best way to clean them was? I have already used toothpaste which cleaned them up pretty nice but was wondering if silver polish would work or if it would do any harm to the coins.

Thanks

HMMM

Silver coins + silver cleaner=???

Do the math and do a search plenty of post about cleaning coins.

Coins are made of metal, only way you can damage your coins if you put them in acid or to a grinder.

Try some Tarn X...smells like crap but it works very well

Kelly

Yeah, that Tarn X does smell like 10 kinds of **** mixed together but it works wonders. I like to clean them. Let them dry and clean them again. After two straight cleanings they normally will stay that way for a while.

Vinegar and salt in a solution works wonders and keeps them clean for a long time.

You can use Mothers Mag wheel polish too. It work wonders. Or any mag wheel polish you can find (paste).

Never Dull
You can find it in Wal Mart.
Shines the @#$% out of anything metal.

The problem is if your coins are soft, and they should be if they're morgans, when you clean all the black gunk off, the detail goes away. Then it looks like your doing tricks with shiny metal discs and not coins.

I have used a product called Kaboom by the makers of Oxyclean. Its bath, shower, and tile cleaner.

Brown Sauce - Strangely if you get the stuff we have here in the UK it'll shine coins up a treat...wonder what it does to my stomach?

A number of years ago I purchased a very expensive Greek coin from an antiquities dealer. I was told the only thing I should use is a wet paste made from baking soda and water; it is the most gentle cleansing you can do.

Mothers mag wheel polish, etc will make them very shiny but these polishes are abrasive and will, over time, remove detail from the coins.

...hope this helps!

I agree with ChrisS. I use an ammonia-base cleaner that cleans off the oils, but does not damage the coin. If you have an older coin, too much Tarn-X polishing (this is polishing, not cleaning) will actually cause the coins to talk more easily. Just keep them clean and enjoy the old-world look.

Sburke

Also of note is that polished coins are not quite as "sticky" as unpolished ones.

I had some dirty silver coins. My daughter said she would clean them for me & came back 5 mins later with gleaming silver coins (just like Todd's). When I asked how she did it she said she used toothpaste & a tooth brush.
I still clean my coins that way.

I use gun cleaner, good ol' Hoppes #9. Works well for me.

Coins that are collected and coins that are used as tools are two very different things, and require different types of care.

For magic, most of us want clean and fairly shiny silver coins, but not too shiny, as that would give them an unreal atypical appearance. Copper coins should look like, well... like copper coins, not shiny, dark, with a strong contrast to the silver coins. I use soap and water, or lemon juice on all my coins. The coppers need a day or two to "deshine" a little, but either method works very well. There are also substances out there that condition copper coins to give them a darker, more aged look. Coin dealers, and on-line supply houses carry them.

Coins that are collected are very different. If you even mention the words "clean" and "coins" in the same sentence, any serious collector will punch you right in the mouth. It's the coin collector's equivalent to blasphemy. To clean a coin is to ruin or severely lower its Numismatic value.

My local coin dealer groans in agony every time I walk in his shop... I'm a great customer, but he knows what I'm going to do with whatever coins I buy, and as a serious collector, it goes against his grain to sell them to me. He has no problem telling me how much he dislikes me some days either...

Best,

Mike

Morgan coins will naturally shine up and look good from just using them. A couple of hours in your hands and they look almost as good as new.

I haven't "cleaned" my Morgans in over two years and they look GREAT! Just constant handling of them is all that is needed in my opinion.

If for some reason you want your copper coins...ie...english pennies to be shined up...try ketchup. It works like a charm.

What are folks doing with their coins that gets them so dirty they need cleaning?

Perhaps a trick where a marked coin is found inside an egg or omelet has gotten popular?

The silver coins I bought over twenty years ago are just fine, and have not been touched by polish or chemicals in twenty years. The few I carry around regularly have been put in the wash, in my jeans a few time. The rest... NOTHING. The coins purchased recently have been washed in my hands, using soap and water, then put into the wash.

TOTALY AGREE Jonathan.....I think just regular use keeps them looking as good as new!

Good old Heinz Ketchup or any brand works very nicely to clean coins. Just make sure you wash up for obvious reasons. Just put a little on the coins, work it in and rinse.

As if you haven't already gotten enough feedback on this. A coin dealer told me to use vinegar and baking soda. I've used it and it keeps the coins looking great. It cleans most of the dirt and tarnish, but allows them to remain "old" looking.

Eric Grossman