I just recieved some Walking Liberty coins both gaffed and non gaffed...What is the best way to clean them and bring back the luster? Is there one cleaning solution that is better than others?

I'm no expert, but I took my Walking Liberty coins to a jeweler friend of mine. He put them in a polisher. As I understand this is a cylinder filled with some sort of cleaning material that doesn't hurt or wear off what ever is being polished. The end results were beautiful!

I use MAAS Metal Polishing Creme. Works great! Silver, brass, copper... Sold at Walgreens.

I use Brasso or a silver cleaner you can get at a jewlery or coin shop...

Both are said to be a little harsh on coins, but if you don't clean your
coins to often it should be fine...

They both work great I have found no cleaner that works much better then another...

If you pick up the silver cleaner at the coin shop though.. Don't tell them that
you are planing to clean your coins with the product... They will lecture you for
an hour as to why you should not... I guess what is good for a magician is not good for a coin collector... To each his own I guess..

Good luck.

Shawn.

That's a tough one as such coins are not expected to have luster after being in circulation for a few years.

Think long and hard about what you are doing to old silver coins. If you do make them shiny they will no longer be so much "money" as "Jewelry".

If you do have high grade or polished coins, just a little soap and water can often clean them up nicely. Once clean, a little alcohol can get the oil and dirt off which can dull the surface.

Pencil eraser..Howard

Tarnex is the most popular I have heard of.Plus the "queen of clean" (linda cobb)shows you how to make silver cleaner from everyday household chemicals,she`s smart & attractive to!!!Chuck

I've always used my wife's ultra-sound jewelry cleaner. When all else has failed I sparingly use Simi-chrome polish.

FWIW

Cheers!

I can't believe the pencil eraser actually worked! I thought maybe it was a joke. It allows for some degree of control over how much (dis)color you take off. I want my coins to have a bit of relief appearance to them so they need to stay darker in the lowered areas. A bit tricky to find coins that match each other well enough for an invisible switch up close. Had to buy 11 Barbers off eBay in order to get 5 that look more or less similar.

The best, cheapest and safest method for polishing silver coins is using a paste of baking soda and water. You already have it and if you scrub the coin with it using a paper towel, rinse it off and repeat and dry, you will get sparkling coins.

This is what I use, as well. Works on practically anything. Removes tarnish and polishes AND it applies a protective coating. I find that with using MAAS, my brass tricks and my coins last a lot longer before starting to get "icky" than when I use other cleaners and polishers.

Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Target and other places carry MAAS.
Highly recommended.

Yesterday I used toothpaste to clean my coins

It turned out to be great.....


Cheers
Andre

Great! Another weird and wonderful technique which works just a little bit so that the silver coins can retain some dark background color.

.
That cloth that cleans silver that you can buy in Wal-mart for $4.00 in the jewerly department is THE BEST!!

Do NOT let this slip you by... It works PERFECTLY.

Just rub fairly hard and the tarnish comes right off!!!!
.

I'm with Salby. I like the cloth as you can do a partial cleaning. I like the older coins to be a bit dirty, I think it brings out the design.

You are much better ;etting silver coins age. The natural patina is what they should have. The only exception would be 64 kennedys and 21 morgans. Do not take a nice 1900 coin and polish it to look new

Very true! But they need to match each other more or less if you are to use them for say... a shuttle pass. If one is black and the other shiny it will be a color change transposition instead.

Agree with the matching; unless the patina is consistant across the coins you use, discrepancies are noticeable. I find this more true with copper coins than silver. So often I am forced to "even the field" and clean a set. Since my gaff collection is predominantly 1921 Morgans and 1964 Kennedys, it isn't a big deal. The Walkers I do have are premioum XF-AU quality.

Now, I don't want the coins to be looking as if it just left the mint, so that is why I use toothpaste (I had read about it in the past on an old thread here in the Magic Café and it leaves the coins looking nice without getting too shiny and new; not sure why my earlier comment about using paste on this thread was removed...it wasn't to be funny)

I use 'Silvo'. Made by the same folks who make 'Brasso'. I've used it for years. You get a really nice shine!

I bet they're in mint condition now!

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