Polishing Silver Bullion and Silver Coins.

Silver=Ag

I have some Ag bullion and some Ag coins.
The coins are composed of some collectable coins like the Morgan
(1921) and the Peace (1923) Silver Dollar and several other
"non-collectable" coins like one with a picture of Poisiden (I think)
on the front and the words LAW OF THE SEA a united nations symbol on
the back (I think) with the words UNITED NATIONS in several different
languages.
As an aside what do you call non-collectable silver coins? Or are
they all collectable but some are just valued because of the Ag
content?
Also, I'm sure the Peace and Morgan Dollar are worth less then I paid
for them and I know their value depends on their condition, but what
would be the going price for each coin?

My question is how to polish the Ag bars and Non Collectable Ag coins
I have. I would like to do so in a way they would preserve as much of
their value as possible and look good. I am familar with polishing
iron and steel using sand papers and buffers with varying abrasive
compounds, but never on items of value.

I have some jewerly polish for silver but don't know if this is good
to use or not. I've seen some chemical process for removing tarnish
that uses I believe Salt, Vinagar and tin foil but don't know if these
are good ideas or not.

Any suggestions on how to polish the items I have would be
appreciated. I believe that it is not a good idea to polish or
otherwise mess with the collectable coins that I have....is this
right?

And how can I store the silver to prevent tarnishing? The Collectable
coins are stored in little plastic covers that snap together and cover
the coin. The "non collectable" coins are covered with a square of
paper with a transparent piece of very thin plastic so you can view
the sides of the coin and stapled together.
A few of the larger Ag bars I have are covered in a flexable plastic,
but over the years the plastic has developed holes and has separated
at the seams in places allowing the metal to tarnish.
Currently I have all the items stored in an air tight container with
some desiccant and activated charcoal. Don't know if it helps but I
don't see that it could hurt things.
Is there something else I can put in there to help protect the
coins/bars?

There is a product made by bullfrog that I enclose with my guns and it
release a chemical that forms a barrier around the metals and protects
them from rusting.....it seems to work pretty well but it is a little
hard to judge since the firearms are very well maintained. But a
little extra protection can't hurt.

So, I realize that I am very new a collecting coins and careing for
them. If someone would be nice enough to help me by giving me some
suggestions, pointers or even web sites where I can look I'd much
appreciate it.
I have looked a many web sites already and done a good bit of research
but I prefer the personal interaction that usenet affords me and that
some web sites lack.

So if you are willing to be helpful and have advice to offer, please
respond.

Irving
Drinkwine

Irv, you're entire post basically boils down to this one sentence:

I would like to do so in a way they would preserve as much of
their value as possible and look good.

If you want to preserve the value of your coins, leave them alone.
Polishing or shining them to make them look nice only lowers their
value.

Some of us have tried different methods to "clean" coins but the
attempt is to remove dirt, gunk, grease and other crud. Personally,
I've used vinegar on nickels (overnight soak and distilled water
rinse) to clean off dirt and mud, but leave the toning. For me, it
worked. I wouldn't recommend it for silver as it would have a
tendency to turn the coins black. Best to leave them as they are.

Jerry

Don't even think of cleaning your coins,
unless your want to destroy the value for yourself and
future collectors of them.
Most of us prefer 'tarnished' looking coins.

Irving Drinkwine wrote:
Silver=Ag

I have some Ag bullion and some Ag coins.
The coins are composed of some collectable coins like the Morgan
(1921) and the Peace (1923) Silver Dollar and several other
"non-collectable" coins like one with a picture of Poisiden (I think)
on the front and the words LAW OF THE SEA a united nations symbol on
the back (I think) with the words UNITED NATIONS in several different
languages.
As an aside what do you call non-collectable silver coins? Or are
they all collectable but some are just valued because of the Ag
content?
Also, I'm sure the Peace and Morgan Dollar are worth less then I paid
for them and I know their value depends on their condition, but what
would be the going price for each coin?

My question is how to polish the Ag bars and Non Collectable Ag coins
I have. I would like to do so in a way they would preserve as much of
their value as possible and look good. I am familar with polishing
iron and steel using sand papers and buffers with varying abrasive
compounds, but never on items of value.

I have some jewerly polish for silver but don't know if this is good
to use or not. I've seen some chemical process for removing tarnish
that uses I believe Salt, Vinagar and tin foil but don't know if these
are good ideas or not.

Any suggestions on how to polish the items I have would be
appreciated. I believe that it is not a good idea to polish or
otherwise mess with the collectable coins that I have....is this
right?

And how can I store the silver to prevent tarnishing? The Collectable
coins are stored in little plastic covers that snap together and cover
the coin. The "non collectable" coins are covered with a square of
paper with a transparent piece of very thin plastic so you can view
the sides of the coin and stapled together.
A few of the larger Ag bars I have are covered in a flexable plastic,
but over the years the plastic has developed holes and has separated
at the seams in places allowing the metal to tarnish.
Currently I have all the items stored in an air tight container with
some desiccant and activated charcoal. Don't know if it helps but I
don't see that it could hurt things.
Is there something else I can put in there to help protect the
coins/bars?

There is a product made by bullfrog that I enclose with my guns and it
release a chemical that forms a barrier around the metals and protects
them from rusting.....it seems to work pretty well but it is a little
hard to judge since the firearms are very well maintained. But a
little extra protection can't hurt.

So, I realize that I am very new a collecting coins and careing for
them. If someone would be nice enough to help me by giving me some
suggestions, pointers or even web sites where I can look I'd much
appreciate it.
I have looked a many web sites already and done a good bit of research
but I prefer the personal interaction that usenet affords me and that
some web sites lack.

So if you are willing to be helpful and have advice to offer, please
respond.

Irving
Drinkwine

Irving - these coins and medals/medallions/rounds are yours so you are free
to do as you wish with them. That being said, I would echo the sentiments
of a previous poster concerning the coins, namely, cleaning will reduce much
of the value as a coin. But if you have no intention of ever selling them,
do what you want.

John

--
"The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are
evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." Albert
Einstein
"Irving Drinkwine" wrote in message
news
Silver=Ag

I have some Ag bullion and some Ag coins.
The coins are composed of some collectable coins like the Morgan
(1921) and the Peace (1923) Silver Dollar and several other
"non-collectable" coins like one with a picture of Poisiden (I think)
on the front and the words LAW OF THE SEA a united nations symbol on
the back (I think) with the words UNITED NATIONS in several different
languages.
As an aside what do you call non-collectable silver coins? Or are
they all collectable but some are just valued because of the Ag
content?
Also, I'm sure the Peace and Morgan Dollar are worth less then I paid
for them and I know their value depends on their condition, but what
would be the going price for each coin?

My question is how to polish the Ag bars and Non Collectable Ag coins
I have. I would like to do so in a way they would preserve as much of
their value as possible and look good. I am familar with polishing
iron and steel using sand papers and buffers with varying abrasive
compounds, but never on items of value.

I have some jewerly polish for silver but don't know if this is good
to use or not. I've seen some chemical process for removing tarnish
that uses I believe Salt, Vinagar and tin foil but don't know if these
are good ideas or not.

Any suggestions on how to polish the items I have would be
appreciated. I believe that it is not a good idea to polish or
otherwise mess with the collectable coins that I have....is this
right?

And how can I store the silver to prevent tarnishing? The Collectable
coins are stored in little plastic covers that snap together and cover
the coin. The "non collectable" coins are covered with a square of
paper with a transparent piece of very thin plastic so you can view
the sides of the coin and stapled together.
A few of the larger Ag bars I have are covered in a flexable plastic,
but over the years the plastic has developed holes and has separated
at the seams in places allowing the metal to tarnish.
Currently I have all the items stored in an air tight container with
some desiccant and activated charcoal. Don't know if it helps but I
don't see that it could hurt things.
Is there something else I can put in there to help protect the
coins/bars?

There is a product made by bullfrog that I enclose with my guns and it
release a chemical that forms a barrier around the metals and protects
them from rusting.....it seems to work pretty well but it is a little
hard to judge since the firearms are very well maintained. But a
little extra protection can't hurt.

So, I realize that I am very new a collecting coins and careing for
them. If someone would be nice enough to help me by giving me some
suggestions, pointers or even web sites where I can look I'd much
appreciate it.
I have looked a many web sites already and done a good bit of research
but I prefer the personal interaction that usenet affords me and that
some web sites lack.

So if you are willing to be helpful and have advice to offer, please
respond.

Irving
Drinkwine

On Apr 13, 6:04*am, Irving Drinkwine wrote:
...
The coins are composed of some collectable coins like the Morgan
(1921) and the Peace (1923) Silver Dollar and several other
"non-collectable" coins like one with a picture of Poisiden (I think)
on the front and the words LAW OF THE SEA a united nations symbol on
the back (I think) with the words UNITED NATIONS in several different
languages.
As an aside what do you call non-collectable silver coins? *Or are
they all collectable but some are just valued because of the Ag
content?

Sometimes they are called bullion coins; sometimes by whatever name
they have.

Also, I'm sure the Peace and Morgan Dollar are worth less then I paid
for them and I know their value depends on their condition, but what
would be the going price for each coin?

A pretty good estimate can be made by consulting recent copy of
Yeomans and taking into account any recent change in the price of
silver. You need to be able to estimate the grade of the coins to do
this.

My question is how to polish the Ag bars and Non Collectable Ag coins
I have. *...

Polishing tends to damage the surface and remove metal. With a noble
metal it really doesn't serve an important purpose. If you only want
the bulliion value, you can heat them and it will remove the tarnish
(you may have to heat them to their melting point to accomplish this).

I have some jewerly polish for silver but don't know if this is good
to use or not. ...

Any collectible coins have a value to collectors that is related to
the amount and clarity of the detail remaining on the coin. Removing
the detail (a metal polish does this) is the antithesis of what you
want to do.

Any suggestions on how to polish the items *... would be
appreciated. *I believe that it is not a good idea to polish or
otherwise mess with the collectable coins that I have....is this
right?

Don't polish.

And how can I store the silver to prevent tarnishing? *The Collectable
coins are stored in little plastic covers that snap together and cover
the coin. *The "non collectable" coins are covered with a square of
paper with a transparent piece of very thin plastic so you can view
the sides of the coin and stapled together.
A few of the *larger Ag bars ...
Is there something else I can put in there to help protect the
coins/bars?

The most troublesome cause of tarnish is sulphides. Keeping them away
from the coins is the best. The various products you are using may be
of some help. There are covers that are air tight and do not
themselves shed corrosive chemicals. Choosing one of those might
help. The next stage might be sealing them in dry Nitrogen. A
further step might be including a bit of metallic sodium as a getter.
Even so, these are steps that are quite extravagant for a 1921 Morgan.

There is a product made by bullfrog that I enclose with my guns ...

Don't know the product; the precautions necessary to protect a fairly
reactive base metal are quite different. I suspect it would not help
much with coins.

So, I realize that I am very new a collecting coins and careing for
them...

Few of us are older than many of the coins in my collection.

On Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:21:03 -0400, "John Ahnen"
wrote:

Irving - these coins and medals/medallions/rounds are yours so you are free
to do as you wish with them. That being said, I would echo the sentiments
of a previous poster concerning the coins, namely, cleaning will reduce much
of the value as a coin. But if you have no intention of ever selling them,
do what you want.

Other than experimentation I've only cleaned some non-coin items or
coins that had already been modified in some way such as gold-plating
or elongated cents. I just wanted them to look nicer and they had
little value as it was, such as the $1.04 I paid for a gold-plated Ike
Dollar. I don't plan to sell the items, but I did make a note in my
index just in case I do.

BTW, I just use a mild liquid soap and water, rubbing the coin or
whatever gently with my thumb. Then I rinse them off while holding
them by the edge, hopefully getting off all the soap, etc. in the
process. And I dry by blotting them with a paper towel. The method
does not get off deep dirt or gunk, but it can really shine up many
items.

On Apr 13, 7:38*pm, Jon Purkey wrote:
On Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:21:03 -0400, "John Ahnen"

wrote:
Irving - these coins and medals/medallions/rounds are yours so you are free
to do as you wish with them. *That being said, I would echo the sentiments
of a previous poster concerning the coins, namely, cleaning will reduce much
of the value as a coin. *But if you have no intention of ever selling them,
do what you want.

Other than experimentation I've only cleaned some non-coin items or
coins that had already been modified in some way such as gold-plating
or elongated cents. I just wanted them to look nicer and they had
little value as it was, such as the $1.04 I paid for a gold-plated Ike
Dollar. I don't plan to sell the items, but I did make a note in my
index just in case I do.

BTW, I just use a mild liquid soap and water, rubbing the coin or
whatever gently with my thumb. Then I rinse them off while holding
them by the edge, hopefully getting off all the soap, etc. in the
process. And I dry by blotting them with a paper towel. The method
does not get off deep dirt or gunk, but it can really shine up many
items.

When the coins already show wear and are dirty, very hot water and
liquid detergent or soap gets them quite clean. If you dry them as
you describe it should not harm them. Rubbing causes wear. If the
coin is already worn and the dirt or grease is and issue then its a
reasonable approach. If you have a MS category coin and need to clean
it for some reason (e.g., it fell in a bucket of hot tar) you need
specialist help.

Jerry,

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my message.

You are correct, I do want to preserve their value....I've watched
enough Antiques Road Show to know that it is best to leave them alone.


But, I guess I was vague on this, I have some coins that are of value
only because they are silver, not for any other reason. I wanted to
carry around one or two of these as a Good Luck Token, something to
keep my hands occupied when bored, or as a coin to use in magic
tricks. These I wanted to polish but to do so in a way that would
preserve their value by removing as little silver as possible. I
could use a brillo pad or sand paper on it, but that would be too
harsh, so thus my question.\

I'll give the vinagar a try. I tried just buffing the coin with a
soft cloth and while it did remove some tarnish, it didn't remove
much.

I thank you for answering my message.
I seldom get responses when I've posted elsewhere and most of those
have been flames or other unkind responses.
This must be a pretty good User Group.

ID

On Sat, 12 Apr 2008 22:47:41 -0700 (PDT), Jerry Dennis
wrote:

Irv, you're entire post basically boils down to this one sentence:

I would like to do so in a way they would preserve as much of
their value as possible and look go

If you want to preserve the value of your coins, leave them alone.
Polishing or shining them to make them look nice only lowers their
value.

Some of us have tried different methods to "clean" coins but the
attempt is to remove dirt, gunk, grease and other crud. Personally,
I've used vinegar on nickels (overnight soak and distilled water
rinse) to clean off dirt and mud, but leave the toning. For me, it
worked. I wouldn't recommend it for silver as it would have a
tendency to turn the coins black. Best to leave them as they are.

Jerry

On Mon, 14 Apr 2008 04:32:11 -0400, Irving Drinkwine wrote:


But, I guess I was vague on this, I have some coins that are of value
only because they are silver, not for any other reason. I wanted to
carry around one or two of these as a Good Luck Token, something to
keep my hands occupied when bored, or as a coin to use in magic
tricks. These I wanted to polish but to do so in a way that would
preserve their value by removing as little silver as possible. I
could use a brillo pad or sand paper on it, but that would be too
harsh, so thus my question.\

Just handling them will keep them white.

On Apr 14, 4:32�am, Irving Drinkwine wrote:
Jerry,

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my message.

You are correct, I do want to preserve their value....I've watched
enough Antiques Road Show to know that it is best to leave them alone.

But, I guess I was vague on this, I have some coins that are of value
only because they are silver, not for any other reason. �I wanted to
carry around one or two of these as a Good Luck Token, something to
keep my hands occupied when bored, or as a coin to use in magic
tricks. �These I wanted to polish but to do so in a way that would
preserve their value by removing as little silver as possible. �I
could use a brillo pad or sand paper on it, but that would be too
harsh, so thus my question.\

I'll give the vinagar a try. �I tried just buffing the coin with a
soft cloth and while it did remove some tarnish, it didn't remove
much.

I thank you for answering my message.
I seldom get responses when I've posted elsewhere and most of those
have been flames or other unkind responses.
This must be a pretty good User Group.

ID

On Sat, 12 Apr 2008 22:47:41 -0700 (PDT), Jerry Dennis



wrote:
Irv, you're entire post basically boils down to this one sentence:

I would like to do so in a way they would preserve as much of
their value as possible and look go

If you want to preserve the value of your coins, leave them alone.
Polishing or shining them to make them look nice only lowers their
value.

Some of us have tried different methods to "clean" coins but the
attempt is to remove dirt, gunk, grease and other crud. �Personally,
I've used vinegar on nickels (overnight soak and distilled water
rinse) to clean off dirt and mud, but leave the toning. �For me, it
worked. �I wouldn't recommend it for silver as it would have a
tendency to turn the coins black. �Best to leave them as they are..

Jerry- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Like I said, vinegar is a possibility but watch for it turning your
silver black. One collector many years back on another group claimed
to have put some of his coins in the silverware basket of his
dishwasher and ran it. Apparently the coins came out nice. He never
mentioned what damaged had occurred, so I can't vouch for its
effectiveness.

There's another possible option; ultrasonic cleaning, such as the kind
used by jewelers to clean jewelry. Again, it's only an option I'd
heard from a few years ago. Supposedly since there is no contact
between the coin and and cleaning compounds and materials, damage
should be minimal. The only drawback is you'll have a worn coin
that's nice and shiny.

But I will also agree with John that, if you have no intentions of
ever selling it, do as you wish. I would only say to use caution with
your coin of choice. If you scrub a $200 Morgan silver dollar, you
now have a shiny slug worth about $13 melt. Use a 1921 for your
experiment, not an 1885-CC.

One more thing. A friend recently found his grandfather's collection
and asked me to look at it to see of there was anything of value. A
lot of nice stuff, some oddball, but one thing I saw made me cringe.
Someone had rubbed his 1909 Lincoln cent with mercury. Services are
scheduled for Thursday, donations are requested in lieu of flowers.

Jerry