Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Clean silver coins by electrochemistry

Akhil jain - 12-3-2018 at 01:41

https://youtu.be/J9Gbi1KiTCE
Plz rate comment and subscribe
I have used very easily available chemicals available at all homes to clean the tarnished silver coins plz watch

aga - 12-3-2018 at 02:01

Getting better.

Have a look at NurdRage's second video on this :-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57iwtmT4LNQ

Pay attention to the way it is put together, the camera angles, and especially how much has been cut out.

NurdRage disguises his voice, so uses subtitles.

Without wishing to be rude, i suggest you do the same.

Not only does this make the video easier to watch for non-English speakers, but it also makes it available to Deaf people.

Edit:

This would be better posted under Beginnings, Chemistry in General, even

[Edited on 12-3-2018 by aga]

Akhil jain - 12-3-2018 at 03:32

Yes I have seen nurdrage video on this and I tell you I did not pay attention that I was posting this in the same forum as of my last post . Otherwise I would have posted it in the begginings forum.

DrP - 12-3-2018 at 06:52

I can't believe he uses a wire brush on that nice silver rupee... I'll look at it later when I get more time, but why would you want to clean it? The black patina that builds up on a coin shows that it is genuine and uncleaned. The black patinas on silver coins are quite desirable to a collector. That guy ruined the coin in the vid from a collectors point of view. I skipped forward a bit and had to turn it off when he was brushing the coin - poor coin... the surface will have so many micro scratches... and I'll repeat - why take off a nice darkened silver patina anyway?

In short - you want to keep that nice black patina - you don't want a 'nice shiny coin' as he describes his end result... the coin now has scrap silver value where as it has numismatic value before he ruined it.

Akhil jain - 12-3-2018 at 08:49

Dude it was not a wire brush. It was a tooth brush
It's bristles were ade of nylon it did not scratched the surface .
And silver always looks nice when it shines that is the beauty of silver.

DrP - 13-3-2018 at 03:38

Sorry - I realise this is you now. Hi. :-)

The 'tarnish' as you describe it is the natural patina on the coin. Silver does that. That rupee looked lovely before treatment. The scrubbing of the coin with the tooth brush and abrasive salts and carbonates would have put thousands of micro scratches across the surface. I would only subscribe to this method if the coin was in a very, very poor condition to begin with.

I see where you are coming from - silver DOES look nice polished... but coins are more valuable unpolished, without the 1000s of micro scratches on them - scrap value for the silver in the coin only unless it is a very rare date. The coin at the start of the video would have fetched more money at a coin fair where collectors buy - the badly cleaned one would fetch scrap value unless rare. Don't consider silver coins the same as other silver antiques - if you polish it you ruin it (due to the 1000s of micro scratches you put on it and the loss of the desirable black patina).

You know how to grade coins yea? From Poor, Good, Very good, Fine, Very Fine, Extra Fine, Uncirculated etc..? Don't clean any of them if they are fine or better.

PS - Use a loop/mag glass to look at the surface now you have scrubbed it - you will see the damage and the scratching under the magnification.


[Edited on 13-3-2018 by DrP]

Akhil jain - 13-3-2018 at 04:13

Quote: Originally posted by DrP  
Sorry - I realise this is you now. Hi. :-)

The 'tarnish' as you describe it is the natural patina on the coin. Silver does that. That rupee looked lovely before treatment. The scrubbing of the coin with the tooth brush and abrasive salts and carbonates would have put thousands of micro scratches across the surface. I would only subscribe to this method if the coin was in a very, very poor condition to begin with.

I see where you are coming from - silver DOES look nice polished... but coins are more valuable unpolished, without the 1000s of micro scratches on them - scrap value for the silver in the coin only unless it is a very rare date. The coin at the start of the video would have fetched more money at a coin fair where collectors buy - the badly cleaned one would fetch scrap value unless rare. Don't consider silver coins the same as other silver antiques - if you polish it you ruin it (due to the 1000s of micro scratches you put on it and the loss of the desirable black patina).

You know how to grade coins yea? From Poor, Good, Very good, Fine, Very Fine, Extra Fine, Uncirculated etc..? Don't clean any of them if they are fine or better.

PS - Use a loop/mag glass to look at the surface now you have scrubbed it - you will see the damage and the scratching under the magnification.


[Edited on 13-3-2018 by DrP]


So you are interested in antique things and old coins rather than shining things. You must be having a large collection of old coins and antiques . Am I right ?

DrP - 13-3-2018 at 04:33

Quote: Originally posted by Akhil jain  

So you are interested in antique things and old coins rather than shining things. You must be having a large collection of old coins and antiques . Am I right ?



I do collect coins, yes. I do not have the funds for collecting antiques though and they don't interest me so much as coins. I collect fossils too. I do sell coins sometimes to help fund the collecting of them (I am not a rich man).

I have bought some coins from India in the past! :-) I have a few 1/8 shana (I think that's what they are called) - they are little silver coins that are smooth on one side and have divisions on the other. they are curved in shape like a small bowl.... they date 400 to 500 BC! :-) I really like them - I do have some nice Indian coins. I don't know why but the Indian coins are some of my favourites. :-)

I have some copper staters from Kashmir from Queen Dida Rani - 970 to 1003 AD. I have other ancient Indian coins too - mainly copper going back centuries from different princely states.

Those big silver rupees from a century ago are lovely! I think I have a Victorian one.

Akhil jain - 13-3-2018 at 11:10

Can you post some photos of those indian coins . I want to see them please . It's ana I think .
I am too from india.

DrP - 14-3-2018 at 01:37

Quote: Originally posted by Akhil jain  
Can you post some photos of those indian coins . I want to see them please . It's ana I think .
I am too from india.


When I get time I'll photo some... I'll even send you a couple of 1 Jital coins from 600 to 800AD if you pm me your address. :-)


The anna coins are 19th/20th century I think... The little silver half anna coins are lovely. :-)

Akhil jain - 14-3-2018 at 02:49

This is my gmail address
akhiljain2132000@gmail.com

DrP - 14-3-2018 at 04:08

sent you a mail

happyfooddance - 14-3-2018 at 08:08

Pretty sure that baking soda and aluminum foil is a better, easier, more readily accessible way of cleaning silver tarnish.

DrP - 14-3-2018 at 08:26

Quote: Originally posted by happyfooddance  
Pretty sure that baking soda and aluminum foil is a better, easier, more readily accessible way of cleaning silver tarnish.


Fine for silver - but you wouldn't want to do that to a coin, again due to micro scratches and the black toned patina is desirable to collectors anyway.