1953 D/D RPM-001?

[nulte]

Nice 1953D RPM, found today,a little dirty, but I want to say it is an RPM-001 on V V. It appears to me to be at least. I found another one today also, but did not see it on V V, but still need to look over at copper coins, and LCR and Mr Wexlers pages, for it, it is a 1935S. My coins are out of an old keg, are there any tips you can give on cleaning or washing these old copper cents? I know at least since I was a kid, I was "told" that you dont want to "clean" your coins, but then I read people dip them in acetone? I thought acetone left a residue on the surface? When I polished fiber optic cables, we used 91% isoprophyl alcohol on our connectors, it didnt leave any residue to clean off when it evaporated. But maybe alcohol reacts with copper a little differently than glass I would assume, so do you know if there is a "proper" way to clean, or wash them off? Photos would be better and my hands wouldnt get so dirty, haha! Thank you ALL for the continued education and helpful feedback that helps keep me, and others piqued in the hobby. Scott

[MintErrors]

My recent path through life allows me to play with BU copper Lincolns. If I had a coin that i wanted to remove residue and the condition wasn't very good, I might take a small glass container, line the bottom with some tin foil. I then would place the coin in it. I'd heat up some water to a boil. Then I would cover the coin pretty high. Depending on the size of the container, I might add a table spoon or more of baking soda to help dissolve some of the crud. The trick is to have the coin stand on its side to ensure both sides get clean.

It's not always a perfect scenario. If it's not going to get sent in for grading and is not a high grade coin that may never leave your possession, you probably can do what ever you want with it, with reason.

People use olive oil within a cup and place that in a sonic cleaner that has a decent amount of water. I have tried a lot of items to clean coins but I have never sold one of them. I'd rather toss them. I have an article on my website on using a type of denture cleaner on a few miserable coins, and the 1956 D RPM was near hopeless. It came out pretty well and I use that coin photos to explain to people what an RPM is. You can clearly see it with the naked eye... sure you can use eye glasses if needed.

Purist say don't clean coins, expect the value to drop 50% or more.

Lots of debates on what is best.. Acetone is a go to, but I THINK I read some where that xyllol ? (spelling) may be a better idea.

I don't clean coins that have a chance at some value. Worse case, soak it in hot water for a few times, pat dry it, don't rub.

https://minterrors.org/index.php/cle...d-you-do-this/

[nulte]

Thank you Gary. I hadnt thought of HOT water,and/or standing on the sides for even soaking times,.and pat dry so scratches don t happen, or less chance to rub off the patina when you pat dry? Im not a dealer, ihavent sold any coins in a LONG time, but a cancer diagnosis, and the az sun and im figuring out, I got A LOT of stuff, like i said im into a keg(s) that havent even been looked at for anything but key dates, IF THAT. some of the wheat backs are au/bu so im hoping I may find a decent coin or two yet, I do have a VERY nice one with a very nice skull crack, and a rim crack on the reverse side that I havent been able to find yet,but honestly havent looked too hard yet. 'i am still thinning down and getting ready for my family to be able to understand what they have, JUST IN CASE, they didnt actually dig it all out, and i croak tomorrow, my family has NO CLUE about any of them but the graded ones, i collected a lot of it before they were born, my youngest just turned 15, and I started in 79-80, and with saving pocket change doing work on the road, ,I had so much im still splitting out the coppers from the zincolns, but im down to the last couple thousand or so. Hopefully i can then pick which direction to go, id and sell now or just id for eventual future sales, maybe ill list, and if they dont sell, ill at least have them id'd for my family with contemporary , pricing, at least a ballpark est value, if any. My car is still needing to be re assembled after the paint is done, and that is A LOT of parts to keep track of, in and of itself, most have to go on in a certain order, ask me how i know,lol

[MintErrors]

nulte you might want to take a look at USA coin book and see if the audience is good for potential selling on there. They have a low selling fee, like 2 percent. I want to liquidate a lot of MS copper, and that may be the better place to do so. Doing so would free up about two decent sized safes and allow me to focus on other denominations. I personally have a lot of work to do to get there but I am retiring at the end of the year, and it will keep me quite busy.