Warning: That $60 cleaning kit I bought off eBay wrecked 3 of my finds

I got this set that came with some weird gel and a soft brush, thought it'd save me effort on dirty pennies and old tokens. Spent 60 bucks on it after seeing a guy on YouTube use it, figured why not. First coin I tried was a 1910 wheat cent, the gel left a cloudy film I can't get off now. Tried it on a buffalo nickel and it scratched the surface worse than before. Turns out the gel had some acid in it that eats at the metal over time. My buddy at the flea market told me to stick with distilled water and a soft toothbrush for cleaning. Anyone else get burned by those fancy coin cleaning sets?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sean3d ago

Buddy of mine ruined a 1909 VDB the same way.

uma3063d ago

Did he at least wait until after he took a photo for the insurance claim? Because that's the only acceptable time to "clean" a coin like that. I swear some people see a little dirt and reach for the Brillo pad like it's a dirty frying pan. A 1909 VDB is not a Lincoln Memorial penny you found in a parking lot, come on now. That's the kind of mistake that haunts you at 3 AM when you can't sleep.