Advice for cleaning junk silver.

You will be removing silver oxides and sulfides which protect the alloy underneath.. Collectors (numismaniacs) will want to strangle you, and silver bugs will mourn the silver that you'll flush down the sink.

Sic Semper Tyrannis!
Professor Bernardo de la Paz

If the old coins are dirty, don't buy them. Look them over first. Old 'junk' coins are supposed to be a bit tarnished and worn. Old coins that have been around the block and then turn up shiny are suspicious - I do not recommend cleaning them.

I had received 3 crusty looking peace dollars and put i them in a lemon acid bath.
1:1, water: lemon juice and leave overnight.
worked a treat.
Found the info online.
If you put an iron nail in the bath also, it will speed up the process (apparently).

Coming from a jeweler here, warm up some windex in a paper cup using a microwave, or in a pot on the stove. Soak the coins for no more than 5 - 10 minutes, rinse. Any longer than that and you'll tarnish the silver. You can also get some anti tarnish polish at any jewelry store that's not a chain.

DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't touch them!!! You are wasting your time and may lose money.

Do you want to sell them???

I AM BUYING!!!!!!!!!!

Lisa, you have THOUSANDS of silver coins? I only have 1228 "junk" silver coins, and I thought I was doing pretty good!

Is your marriage still going OK? Any prospects of a breakup anytime soon, possibly a move to Alaska in the works as well?

http://www.amazon.com/s/?...

Very similar to Pdubya's recipe, but even easier, and with materials you probably already have. IMPORTANT NOTE: You won't want to do this in a stainless steel sink. Use a porcelain sink or a plastic washtub or something else, okay?

Line the kitchen sink with aluminum foil, shiny side up. No need to keep any handy for later, but feel free to do so, if you want.

Fill only to cover the items you wish to de-tarnish with warm to hot water and then dump in about a cup of plain ol' baking soda. Stir to dissolve. Put your silver in. It doesn't need to be in there long, as you will see. You might want to stir your items around gently in the solution.

Ta Da! Now, if you want, take the aluminum (NOT tin) foil you set aside and dip it into the water and rub the coins, especially the tough stains. Although my personal experience has been that lemon juice or ketchup serves that purpose quite well. Now dry your coins off with a clean, dry rag.

Shiny shiny.

And by the way, I'd let my kid suck on silver coins (not that I do!) way before I'd let them stick paper money in their mouths. Do you know all the deadly chemicals in our fiat dollars? Yeeecccchhh!! Talk about pretty nasty to handle!

works fine if you don't have silver polish around.

Lisa, I highly recommend the Tarnex method --- I used it myself on several hundred silver coins. Just be sure to rinse them WELL after using it,; even soaking them for a while in clean water afterward, or residual Tarnex on the coins will cause them to corrode over time.

and I will issue you paper receipts for all of the silver you send to me. You can then spend these freely in your local economy ;-)

but yeah, Tarnex, a glass container you will never use again, an old toothbrush and a pair of rubber gloves are your best bet.

line the kitchen sink with aluminum foil, shiny side up. keep some handy for later.

fill it with hot water and then add equal parts salt and water softener (about a cup each). put your silver in.

tada! take the tin foil you set aside and dip it into the water and rub the coins, especially the tough stains.

shiny shiny.

But don't touch 'em if they are rare. Anal coin collecters like them "au natural".