Older coins. Discoloured/ corrosion. How to fix??

Question

I have older coins from like the 1800's (they were put out by shell) They are of the countries 15 Prime Ministers. They have become corroded and discoloured. How do I clean?/ Repair?

Answer 1

Willy,

If the coins are worth anything cleaning them will make them lose all of their value.

If they aren't worth anything and you just want them clean, go at it easy.  Start with baking soda and vinegar, let them sit for awhile, then rinse.  Do not use anything that is abrasive.

Answer 2

Cleaning coins is fairly risky. Botched cleaning jobs can make a very valuable coin almost worthless on the market, and actually do more harm than good to a coin. Deciding whether or not to clean isn't easy. Cleaning goes in and out of fashion like any other trend; some years, cleaned coins are popular and other years, they're not. Overall, serious collectors prefer "natural" coins. More info and tips here:

http://coin-newbies.com/FAQ/faqclean.htm...

Best of luck!