Coin collecting problem

Don't do anything to the coin. No cleaning and leave the solder on the coin. As soon as you clean it or try to take solder off the coin loses its value. Leave it natural. Blessings, Veronica

Hi,

  I'd have to agree with sweetmercyday; I've collected coins over 40 years and while I'm not a certified appraiser, I'm pretty good at giving close estimates if I can see the coin. I do know that if its not a valuable coin, or one that's going to go into a collection that will be mainly for children, or yourself and you're not planning on ever selling it, you can clean the coin with dish detergent and water, but its only going to remove minor grime and maybe some light surface spots; but, if you rub it hard enough to leave any trace of swirl marks, the coin is going to loose value, especially if it were a valuable coin ( which is why I'd not clean it or mess with it unless someone can tell you if its worth anything ). I've given my "opinion" to many coins for friends over the years and most of those I've given estimates for were not worth submitting to PCGS or NGC for professional grading as the cost of the grading was more than the value of the coin. There are many things that factor into a coins worth, such as quantity of coins minted, where it was minted, the condition of the coin, supply and demand, etc. As a general rule though, you should not clean a coin; I've only done it for coins of little value ( not much over face value ) like those I put in books to give children who just want a coin to fill the hole. Professional collectors can spot a cleaned coin fairly easily by just the naked eye, but under magnification, its usually more obvious as it shows a lot of extremely fine scratches from rubbing the coin--especially if its something abrasive; that's why I've only used something mild like dish detergent and then, as said before, only for coins you're planning on keeping for yourself with no real collectible value. Not familiar with Mexican or foreign coins as I've never messed with them ( although I've kept some I found ) so it might be helpful to get a book on foreign coins at the library and see what the coin is listed it. I can tell you that the solder on it will greatly diminish the coins value as a general rule. Take care and good luck, Mark Savage, Lumberton, NC  Markcs1956@aol.com

Both lead and silver solder have a relatively low melting point, (as compared with the metal of a coin). I'd just use a propane torch to heat the coin and either blow the solder off with a compressor/air gun, or you can wipe it off with a piece of XXXX steel wool. Careful because the coin will be hot,hot,hot, and the steel wool is highly ignitable around a flame. Carefully hold the coin (lightly) at the edge with a small pair of needle nose pliers, or a pr. of long forcipes. After removing the solder and letting the coin cool down use a metal polish like Maas or Flitz to get the coin back to it's original color since the heat from the torch will discolor it. Good Luck!