How to clean an old coin
When learning to clean old coins, you should experiment with different techniques to find the one that works best. As you clean ancient coins, experiment to find methods that work best for you. It will probably take a while to get the process right. Start by cleaning coins you wouldn't mind damaging as practice. This is an essential step in the learning journey. When cleaning an ancient coin, patience is the key. Work as gently as you can. Your goal is to remove dirt and encrustation without damaging the surface of the coin, or the coin's patina (a thin, greenish film of corrosion that can build up on oxidized areas of a coin). There are a variety of tools that you can use to clean a coin. They range from liquid soaks to tools that you can make at home, to manufacturers' brushes of various sizes, to brass tools. When it comes to protecting your coin during cleaning, plastic and wooden tools are best. When a metal tool must be used, use brass, because it is a ...