angellionel
Elite Member
A tip for cleaning wartime silver alloy nickels - soak them in ammonia. I've used this method on all 26 silver alloy nickels I have found without damaging them. Of course, if the coin is already pitted, it will show. There's no getting around that.
Here's what I do:
I soak the nickel(s) in ammonia for no more than 10 minutes. The ammonia will start to turn blue, due to the reaction of the copper in the nickel, but no harm is done. At this point I will remove the nickel from the ammonia and will wash it with water and mild soap, using a very soft toothbrush to remove any remaining stains. Rubbing the coin with the fingers could result in hairline scratches, since there may be some grit remaining on the coin, so I avoid doing it.
After removing all remaining stains and making sure there's no residual ammonia left, I use a cotton towel to pat dry the coin. Again, no rubbing!
I did this with the nickel I found this past Saturday, and here's the result:
Before cleaning:
After cleaning
Here are other nickels I've cleaned using this method:
Angel
Here's what I do:
I soak the nickel(s) in ammonia for no more than 10 minutes. The ammonia will start to turn blue, due to the reaction of the copper in the nickel, but no harm is done. At this point I will remove the nickel from the ammonia and will wash it with water and mild soap, using a very soft toothbrush to remove any remaining stains. Rubbing the coin with the fingers could result in hairline scratches, since there may be some grit remaining on the coin, so I avoid doing it.
After removing all remaining stains and making sure there's no residual ammonia left, I use a cotton towel to pat dry the coin. Again, no rubbing!
I did this with the nickel I found this past Saturday, and here's the result:
Before cleaning:
After cleaning
Here are other nickels I've cleaned using this method:
Angel