More precisely, this note should be called: “Oh, why clean them at all?” I’m not interested in collecting coins; I don’t sell one coin at a time on Meshka or Avito, but they normally go wholesale on Review. The main thing is to take a normal photo, and then the craftsmen and resellers will see the product in person.
However!!!
As many years of experience and sales practice at online auctions have shown, properly cleaned coins can arouse higher interest among buyers and, accordingly, you can get a couple of thousand more from a wholesale lot than for a pile of copper poop. Although, they also sell well.
In general, is it clear?
So, this note would not exist today if I, on the veranda, had not decided to disassemble the shelf on which I usually have things from the cops. Reels, a pinpointer, a bag, several jars with lead seals. And, while sorting out this shelf, I saw an ice cream box filled with liquid soap. And then it dawned on me that these were coins that I had put in soap for cleaning back in December last year. I folded it and forgot about it.
What can I say? It happens)
It had to be cleaned. That's what I took on.
In general, of all the methods of cleaning coins I have tried, I found soap solution to be the best and most effective way. And, don’t write to me about some miraculous solutions or substances. Honestly, I tried a lot of things, including hydrolysis and even frying coins in hot olive oil.
Anyway. Copper coins, after lying for a couple of months in a thick solution of laundry soap, with proper cleaning with a soft brush, begin to look decent, acquiring a very good presentation. I don’t know why this is so, but with soap, most coins remain intact. When cleaning with all sorts of chemicals, even a healthy coin begins to become covered with shells all over the field. Or, these same chemicals contain a polishing mixture that rubs down these same sinks. And, this type immediately reduces the cost for wholesale buyers. They can see from the photo that the coin could have been damaged.
So, I came to the conclusion that it is best to clean coins with a soap solution. Yes, it takes a long time and is not as effective as chemical means. However, it is reliable. And haste is only needed when catching fleas.
What is the result? You can see it in the photo. By the way, here is the first discovery, I found two coins with a minted defect. They are not worth money individually, but as a fun fact they are worthy of attention.
Naturally, I foresee questions from experienced lovers of instrumental search. Why are you showing us the end result? Maybe the coins were originally well preserved and there was no need to clean them in soap, so I wiped them with a cloth and put them on the display case.
I will answer. For a couple of years now, I haven’t looked at coins in catalogs after digging, but put the entire result in one box and at the end of the season, usually in December, I do the sorting and analysis. Crosses are separate, buttons are separate, good quality coins are separate, poops go in their own bucket. Oh, here are the coins that don’t look like poop, but the field is not legible, these go into an ice cream jar to be treated with soap.
Well, this year I forgot about this jar. Everything is OK. A jar was found and the coins were cleaned.
And also, I want to show you, this is the result for this season. The same box will be filled until the first snow.