How to clean coins safely

To clean coins is not recommended, but if you really feel you must be cleaning your coins, follow the steps described below to minimize the risk of damaging them. Never use metal polish to clean your coins!

About the only time I can think of when you would normally want to clean coins would be if you wanted to help a youngster begin a coin collection from circulating coins. Circulating coins can be filthy and carry germs, and this is the only instance in which an amateur should clean coins.

Never clean old coins you have found or inherited!

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: About 10 - 15 minutes to clean a batch of 30 coins

Here's How:

1. Wash your hands with soap.
   Washing up will remove the oils and tiny grit from your fingers.

2. Lay down a soft towel.
   Place a soft cloth or towel, folded over a couple of times, on your working surface to catch coins you might drop, and to provide a space for them to dry.

3. Set up your soapy bath.
   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.
   
   

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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! :)

Tips:

1. Never try to remove the natural oxidation from coins, such as the tarnish on silver. This is called "toning" and the coin is worth more with it intact. Removing it will damage the coin's surface and greatly reduce its value. In other words, no dipping, polishing, or chemical solutions should ever be used on coins.

What You Need:

• Two small plastic containers
• Mild dish detergent
• A soft towel
• Access to running tap water
• Distilled water

Top 7 ways to ruins your coins

The seven best ways to ruin your coins are things that many beginning collectors do without even thinking about them. I've even seen expert coin dealers spitting on their coins! If you care about protecting the investment you're making in your coin collection, take the time to learn how to properly handle, clean, store, and protect your rare coins.

1. Touch Your Coins

Just touching your coins with your bare fingers is enough to cause damage to them, especially if you collect higher grade coins. And you will definitely damage them if your fingers come in contact with mint-state and proof coins. Your fingers contain oils and miniscule pieces of grit that will adhere to the coins and cause them to discolor or suffer microscopic scratching. When you handle your coins, wear cotton or latex gloves, and handle only the edges.

2. Clean Your Coins

With the exception of freshly dug-up detector finds, cleaning or polishing your coins will do more harm than good. Once metal has been exposed to the air, it is natural for it to oxidize, or tone. If you strip the coin of this toning, not only will you lose any remaining mint luster, the coin will appear harsh and unappealing, and suffer microscopic abrasions that lower its grade. Plus, toned coins are worth more than stripped coins. If you really must clean them, clean coins safely.

3. Spit on Your Coins

Talking about your coins can do just as much damage as touching them or cleaning them, if you do so with the coins exposed while you chatter away. Little bits of saliva escape from your mouth when you talk, and these can cause spotting and discolorations that are difficult to remove. Many uncirculated and mint-state coins have been ruined this way. Say whatever you want about your coin collection, just make sure your coins are safe when you say it!

4. Break Their Holders

You are certain to greatly decrease the value of your mint set and proof set coins by removing them from the mint-issued holders they come in. The holders, along with the box and literature (if any) are part of the "set" and should be kept intact and pristine. Similarly, coins that have been slabbed are worth a premium in their protective cases. Never remove coins from these types of permanent holders.

5. Expose Them to Acid

Storing your coins in envelopes, wrapped in paper, with your notations beside the coins, or in cardboard boxes is a good way to damage them unless you are careful to use acid-free paper materials. Over time, the paper material breaks down, releasing acidic chemicals around your coins. This causes spotting, discoloration, and can promote oxidation (toning) of your bright, mint surfaces. Be sure to buy only acid-free paper and cardboard supplies for your coin collection.

6. Coat Your Coins in Green Slime

Another good way to cause spotting and degraded surfaces is to store your coins in PVC-based plastic flips, holders, and boxes. Similar to the way the acid in paper can harm your coins, the chemical by-product of certain plastics can damage your coins over time. If you store coins in those handy food-grade plastic containers, or in soft, pliable coin flips, your coins will eventually develop a slimy green coating on their surfaces which will damage them permanently.

7. Expose Them to the Elements

If you store your coins in the attic or basement, you are probably exposing them to extremes of temperature and humidity that will promote their oxidation. In addition, these conditions will more quickly break down the storage materials (such as flips, paper and cardboard, plastic containers, etc.) your coins are organized in. To protect your collection the best, store it in a dark, dry, temperature-controlled environment (such as a safe deposit box or specialized coin cabinet.)

Coin Grading Standards

Coin grading is very important to mark a specific coin as authentic and it's value. An authentic coin without being graded by an official coin grading authority has a lower value as a coin that is graded by them.

Coin grading is done by giving a certain code to the coin. Once graded by an official coin grading company the coin will be placed in a sealed plastic box with the grade of the coin inside the box on it.

But what do these codes mean...here is a complete coin grading code list,

State of the Coin	Grading Code	Grading Explanation
Fleur du Coin	FDC	This only applies to proof coins and these coins are absolutely perfect, without any marks, wear or blemishes.
Mint State	Unc	The UNC graded coins are uncirculated and have totally no trace of wear.
Almost Uncirculated	AU	AU graded coins have a small trace of wear visible on the highest points.
Extremely Fine	XF or EF	XF grade coins (or EF) have a very light wear on only the highest points.
Very Fine	VF	VF grade coins have a light to medium wear. All major features are sharp.
Fine	F	F grade coins have moderate to heavy even wear. The coin design is clear and bold.
Very Good	VG	VG grade coins are well worn. The design is clear, but flat and with lacking details.
Good	G	G grade coins are heavily worn. The design and legend are visible but faint in spots.
About Good	AG	AG grade coins have a outlined design and parts of date and legend worn smooth.
Fair	Fair	With a coin that has been graded as fair you can identify the coin as to it's type.
Basal State	Basal	With a basal graded coin you can identify the lump of metal as being a coin.

Most coin collectors are collecting coins who are graded VG or better since the design should be recognizable. The higher the coin grade of authentication, the higher the value of the coin will be when sold.

Coin Info : Coin Anatomy

First of all, marilah kita sama2 belajar bahasa jawi. Post ini bertujuan utk kita berkenalan ngan encik COIN ataupon dalam bahasa latinnya dipanggil SYILING. Contoh di bawah kita gunakan encik American Silver Eagle utk memberi keterangan lanjut mengenai beliau & anggota tubuh badan beliau.

Disebabkan Encik American Silver Eagle ni berbangsa Amerika maka secara automatiknya beliau akan berbahasa Inggeris utk menerangkan tentang diri beliau. Jingkalau ada antara adik2 sekalian yang tidak berapa nk pandai memahami apa yang beliau terangkan..adik2 bolehlah merujuk kepada kamus dwi bahasa keluaran Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka ataupon Perpustakaan Awam Kuala Terengganu. Namun jika adik2 kemaluan utk merujuk encik2 yg disebutkan di atas, bolehlah bertanyakan kepada ibu atau bapa adik2 sekalian.

There are relatively few terms to learn. And using the two most often used words to describe a coin — obverse and reverse — is a good place to start, and also examples of the sometime subtle language numismatists (those who collect and study coins) will use.

Obverse is the "heads" side of a coin while the reverse is the "tails" side.

Obverse: The top of heads side of a coin. Usually the side with the coin's date and portrait design.

Reverse: The back or tails side of a coins.

Rim: The raised edge on both sides that runs completely around a coin. The design helps protect a coin's design from wear, and makes coins easier to stack.

Edge: Often called the "third side" of a coin, the edge is the very outer border of a coin. Edges can be lettered, like the new U.S. Presidential $1 coins, plain, reeded, or decorated.

Legend: The main letters, often referred to the coin's inscription.

Motto: Coin lettering or inscriptions like "In God We Trust," "E Pluribus Unum," and "Liberty."

Mint Mark: The always small letter or symbol on a coin that indicates where a coin was minted. In the U.S., common mint marks include Philadelphia "P", Denver "D", San Francisco "S", and West Point "W."

Portrait: Generally, the main part of a coin's design. Common portraits include presidents, kings, queens, and Liberty.

Field: The flat area of a coin's surface that is not raised and doesn't have any design or inscription.

Relief: The part of a coin's design that is raised above the surface.

Date: Indicates the year a coin was minted or first issued.

Designers Initials: The initials of the person who designed the coin.

My Silver Collections

Terdetik di hati utk mengumpulkan koleksi silver yg x seberapa lg ni ke dalam satu blog yg baru. Bahan2nya masih dlm proses pengumpulan, info & foto koleksi silver yg aku miliki. Niat sbnrnya nk kongsi bersama kawan2 yg lain...tp sekali fikir nk wat tatapan sdiri doh la.

Aku start kumpul silver ni rasanya bermula dr awal tahun 2010 ni. Tak pasti silver pertama aku tu 2009 Canada Silver Maple Olympic 2010 - Thunderbird ataupon 2 keping 1 Dirham Wakala Induk Nusantara. Bahan2 masih dlm proses. Kumpulkan semua info dulu berkaitan dengan koleksi silver yg aku miliki.

One thing yg aku masih ingat, silver pertama yg aku nk ialah Silver Maple, & aku pon search la kat dlm ebay. Aku jumpa silver maple di tajuknya. Maka aku order la 1. Rupa2nya silver maple tersebut adalah silver maple olympic. Yang aku nk sbnrnya silver maple biasa. Namun sehingga skrg aku masih belom memiliki silver maple walaupon beberapa kali aku cuba mendapatkannya. Mula2 book ngan brader kat ganu tp bila dh jumpa, stok xdok. Aku amik benda lain. Pastu baru2 ni niat nk amik pulok maple ngan dia, tp tgk tiger & koala, x jd pulok amik maple. Xpo benda mudah dpt ni so xyoh gaduh sgt la amik hok lain hok best2 dulu..

That's all for the time being. Will be updated once i got enough info on my collections.