Now the coins are ready for the final steps of cleaning. The first thing that needs to be done is remove as much moisture from the coin as possible. This prevents, among other things, bronze disease. You can read more about bronze disease here,bad stuff!! To remove the moisture I place the coins in a toaster oven I have purchased for this single purpose, (my wife didn't like me using hers!). I set the oven at 200° F, and bake the coins for about a half hour. That may be longer than necessary, but it works for me. One thing I did learn is that any more than 200°F can make some coins turn a funny color, I haven't had any problems at 200°F or lower.

When the coins are done, I take them out and let them cool a bit. I then rub them down with a coat of Renaissance wax. The wax seals and protects the coin, and can be buffed to a shine that can make the coin more appealing. Some coins emerge from the oven looking kind of dull, its amazing how a bit of wax can bring them to life! Just rub a little wax on the coin and buff it to the desired sheen. I sometimes use my Dremel tool with the soft felt drum to buff the coins, saves wear and tear on my fingers. If you get a coin a little too shiny, just gob on more wax and buff the coin less.

The last step is to put it into a SAFLIP coin flip. There are several places to purchase SAFLIPs, several of the vcoins stores have them as well as my friends at commonbronze.com You may chose a different method of storage, but I prefer the clear 2x2 flips. Do not buy any flip that has PVC. In the long term the PVC can damage a coin. If a flip feels soft and rubbery it is probably PVC and should only be used for short term storage, if at all. I like the SAFLIP because they have no PVC and aren't as brittle as some of the cheaper non-PVC flips. I put the coin in one pocket of the flip, and a piece of paper with attribution info in the other pocket. Then the flip goes into a coin pocket page that hold twenty flips. I put the pocket with the attribution info into the coin page pocket, leaving the pocket with the coin in it out like a flap, so that both sides can be seen. The pages are also non-PVC and are kept in a binder that zips up, so that any coins that might come loose will stay in the binder. I put a divider page in between each page of coins to act as a cushion, so the coins don't clang together. The divider pages can have info about your coins on them, or any other info you find interesting. Below is an example of a page on coins from my collection.

Well, I hope you found this cleaning info helpful. I will add more info as I learn, If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me!!I'm no expert, but I will gladly share what little knowledge I have gained through my trial and error! Most of all, enjoy this hobby!!!

Thanks for looking!!!

Kevin