How to Clean Coins with Baking Soda

There are numerous people around the globe who are interested in coin collecting. Some people avoid cleaning the stained coins, fearing that their value would be reduced. But many people are interested in having clean and lustrous coins. There might be coins which are too dirty and may need cleaning.

Sometimes cleaning can even reduce the gloss and originality of the coins. Hence, while cleaning, you should be very particular about the cleanser to be used.

There are many cleaning agents that can be used for cleaning coins, and baking soda is one of them. You can clean coins with baking soda. It is a non-abrasive cleaning technique. This method cleans coins without taking away their polish.

This interesting video shows how to clean coins with baking soda.

Points to remember

Before you start cleaning coins using baking soda, you should know that many coin collectors feel valuable or collectible coins should never be cleaned. They warn that making an old coin look like a new one could actually reduce its value instead of increasing it. However, many others feel that making use of baking soda to clean coins, particularly the silver ones, can be very effective.

"Many coin collectors feel that valuable or collectible coins should never be cleaned."

Does baking soda make coins glossy? Not exactly, but it can improve their appearance. Below, you could find a safer guide to clean your coins.

You will need the following list of items to clean coins using baking soda.

Baking soda
Dish
Aluminum foil
Water
Dull, corroded or stained coins

TECHNIQUE 1: LET YOUR FINGERS DO THE SCRUBBING

Cleaning coins using baking soda is surprisingly simple. While you may not want to attempt this method on very valuable coins or very old coins, you can just dip your fingers in a little baking soda and use it to scrub the coin. You would see that using baking soda to clean coins is both harmless and effective.

TECHNIQUE 2: JUST ADD WATER

If using pure baking soda does not produce good results, you can try by mixing a little water. Clean the coins and repeat the procedure until all the stain is gone. Note that baking soda will serve as a perfect cleanser for cleaning silver coins than for copper coins. If normal rinsing doesn’t help, you can try dipping the coin in baking soda solution for a few minutes and leave it for some time. Then take one coin at a time and brush the surface gently with a soft toothbrush.

TECHNIQUE 3: FOIL

Usually, to clean silver pieces, you can use aluminium foil and very hot water mixed with baking soda. Water should be very hot as this is vital for this process. Using warm water will not serve the purpose. Water should be heated to higher temperatures until boiling point of water is reached or any point close to it. Mix baking soda with hot water and take a sheet of aluminum. Make sure that the size of the container you use is is adequate to immerse the coins. The coins should touch the base of the sheet.

TECHNIQUE 4: NEEDS SALT

You can remove silver tarnish with this easy process. For this, all you need is baking soda, aluminium foil, and salt. There is no need for a polishing cloth or silver polish. This will clean the tarnish right off.

TECHNIQUE 5: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Do you want to try more techniques? Take a black-toned coin. Get a dish and cover its bottom with aluminium foil. Pour baking soda on the foil and place the coin inside it. Now add boiling water and wait. In a few minutes, the black layer over the coin will be removed and the coin would look as if it’s almost new. The effect of baking soda removes away the black layer on the coin.

Note: Silver coins must be in physical contact with the aluminium foil.

Do not ignore cleaning high grade coins. Be aware of all the cleaning techniques that are available to you. If you use other chemicals to clean the coins, they may get damaged. Also, costlier coins should be least cleaned to avoid losing their character. If this happens, coin collectors may refuse to buy them. It is always better and safer to use baking soda as a cleanser.