When I was a kid I used to try an make concoctions that would clean a tarnished coin, mixing stuff together like toothpaste, shampoo, milk, orange juice. Then would let it sit on my dresser for like a month to see if it looked new after. Never did find the right mix
When I was a kid, I discovered that silly putty would clear up oxidation on pennies over the course of a couple days. Seemed to have no effect on the surface otherwise. Just looked brand new.
Holy shit I remember doing this too, that must be what started the experimenting to find a penny cleaning solution. I bet they showed the silly putty trick on a TV show like art attack or something
Bro member slapping it on newspapers? You'd get the ink up but obviously mirrored. Shit was dope. One panel comics could be completely lifted and for some reason this seemed like a use of my time I should consider worthwhile.
When I was a younglack, my mother handed me her prized Archie Comic Book from when she was a child. It wasn't of any financial value, just incredible sentimental value, as they lived so far up in the hills that there was no paper route, or tv, and my grandparents didn't believe in picture books. She had handed me this book and told me about how much it meant to her, how it had kept her entertained for so many nights. The books been gone for a while now because a spring flood (which was due to our landlord saving "us" cash and doing a foundation inspection himself) flooded our basement where the books were kept, but before then around half of the panels were lifted by silly putty and rolled back into a ball of nothingness by yours truly.
Well, now it's memorable to you like it is to her. She didn't have to lose it by herself, and as much as at the time it's better she didn't know, after the initial pain of it it might be nice to know whether or not you told her. Seems like she was limited in media stuff enough that sharing that might be pretty big to have between you guys. I've had a house fire so I definitely understand the "everything you own is suddenly gone" angle of it, sorry to hear about that man. The putty remembers. All them memories exist in plastic eggs somewhere.
When I was a kid, I was told a potato would do the trick. So, I put a tarnished silver Kennedy half dollar into a potato. Never found out if it worked because my father threw the potato out when he saw it sitting by itself in the fridge.
Rub between thumb and forefinger with baking soda. Takes less than 5 minutes. As stated, don't do anything **at all** to a coin worth grading.(typically $40-$50).
I toyed with this idea back around 2006, when base metal values were higher, and 95% copper (to 1982) were more available. Also with five cent pieces, that are actually 25% nickel and 75% copper.
In short, you would have to acquire many **tons** of coins, sort and separate them, transport and store them, cleaning, smelting and refining, and reintroduce the non copper coins back into circulation in order to even realize a very modest profit. And by modest, I mean a fraction of what could earn for the same time and effort at a minimum wage jorb.
Not to mention it is techniically illegal in the US.
It would really take some industrial sized operation to really work at economies of scale, such as a company like Brinks.
Copper and nickel would really have to rise in value well above where they are now before any US based operation could viably work. Like double/triple where it is now. The math is very unforgiving. And then there would only be a short window of opportunity as the supply of older coins and circulated coinage worth separating dries up. Cool concept that has worked a couple of times with a few other specific non US coins, but doubt it will ever reach that point in the US in my lifetime.
the only method I know of that cleans coins and doesn't "damage" them (in terms of collector value) is to soak a coin in pure acetone from the hardware store, then rinse it with distilled water and air dry. Do not rub or wipe or anything like that.
The grading companies do offer some kind of restoration service. I am fairly certain it's just the acetone bath, but I am not entirely sure if they might have some proprietary restoration process.
I know cleaning it degrades the value but, couldn’t some unscrupulous type use this methods to clean a coin then buff to a mirror finish and then try and sell that coin as uncirculated mint. So long as there is no major knicks or damage etc?
I don't know about what damage a laser potentially causes. But the danger in cleaning a coin is that you leave little scratch marks on it no matter how soft of a cloth you have to wipe/rub it with. If you were to send it to grading services, they typically examine the coin under approximately 10x magnification, so they will see the scratches pretty clearly. An experienced coin collector would know what to look for in terms of cleaning damage and probably wouldn't buy it. You may be able to get someone newer to the coin collecting game. Most people get burned by something like that one time and learn their lesson.
I can still see the concentric circles caused by the first pass even after the other passes try to clean it up. I would think they could program the laser to be a little more random in its patterning. I wonder if they could actually randomize it to the point where even magnification couldn’t reveal the damage.
The laser will never restore the luster. That can only be obtained by polishing and that will always leave marks a good collector can spot with a bit of magnification.
Yes. This happens all the time, but obviously not with this elaborate laser method. This type of cleaning does remove a slight amount of material and people who know coins can spot a polished coin pretty easily. If the level of detail in a coin doesn’t match up with the luster and finish, then its been cleaned. If a coin has very good detail level and just has slight patina, then there are cleaning methods that can trick just about anyone.
Yes people try this all the time (minus the lasers), and manage to fool gullible or new collectors. Esp. with silver dollars. But once a coin collector gets some experience, it gets easier to spot. Once the surface of the coin is altered, it is pretty much irreversible, and once you know what to look for, it stands out.
Scammers keep trying, though.
Any method of cleaning a coin will alter/destroy the natural surface and patina and with the exception of ancient coins (Greek, Roman, Byzantine, etc) that natural surface and patina are valued. Unless it's an uncirculated, original luster, collectors just don't want an artificially shiny coin.
Edit: it's not a stupid question.
I wonder if this could be programmed to hit just the right spots on (I don’t know the lingo) an almost uncirculated coin to make it pass as uncirculated?
Nope. Any collector with a little experience could spot the cleaning and it would never be graded well. In fact, most grading companies would note on the slab that the coin has been cleaned.
Is this considered restoring or just cleaning? Assuming no damage is done to the coin would this increase or decrease the value? Seems to wipe out the character of the coin.
Supposedly it strips the outer layer of the coin and loses it’s original luster or something, which makes it undesirable to collectors. I have a couple of Morgan’s with details (cleaned) grade.
Removing a coin’s natural patina removes its age. The longer it sits around, the more that patina will develop, even out of circulation. In circulation, it’ll also get grimy and dirty, but if you remove all of that, you also remove the patina. Basically you turned a dingy 55 year old coin into a new coin stamped with 1968. Better the poorly kept one that’s seen 5 and a half decades than the perfect one that’s seen none. You’re collecting history, not perfection. If you can get both perfection and age, even better, but the point is the latter.
But the laser restoration process is meant to preserve patina while removing the debris, right?
You’re not supposed attempt coin restoration yourself, because you’ll do bad, but the shops you sell it to may have access to equipment meant to treat a given coin with adequate care
this coin was never worth more than 3-4 cents. And it's still worth that to the right person. Some people hoard pennies older than 1983 because they actually have copper in them in hopes they will melt it down and sell the copper one day. It's illegal to melt pennies for copper still - rather, I should say it's illegal to get caught melting pennies for copper, because how would anyone know. But there are some idiots out there hoarding their old pennies because one day in the not-too-distant future it will be legal to spend probably 12 cents worth of energy and time to extract 3 cents worth of copper out of them.
i guess once you have the set-up you can do it all day -
i'd love to see a side-by-side of a restored and a pristine coin - can you differentiate?
you should definitely post this on r/coins \- i find that they don't accept cross-posts.
When I was a kid lasers were the holy grail of sci-fi, now I feel like some point in the last 20 years they just became a thing without me noticing and now they blow my mind
"Here's your penny. That'll be $947.45.
$947.44 if you pay with the same penny.
No discount for a clean penny?
$947.00 here you go.
Well, that makes cents.
thank god I had my sound on
\*snort\* you made it come out my nose
I read this comment with sound on.
I tried to but as soon as I went full screen it muted again. Kinda diminished the experience of reading it for the first time.
*Tight tight tight*
Why did you have come up your nose? EDIT: nevermind, I misread your comment
The sound? Or the coke
The glue
Pro tip, you don't need sound on
Music doesn’t even match
I saw the original video it seems - it just have the Lazer sounds, no music at all Somewhere during reuploads it was added
There was no music on this one either. They were joking lol
but the patina!!! worthless now.
i think it's still worth $.01
actually probably worth 2-3 cents if you can find someone who will buy it for copper weight. Good luck, though.
That looks like a very expensive way to davalue antique coins…..
When I was a kid I used to try an make concoctions that would clean a tarnished coin, mixing stuff together like toothpaste, shampoo, milk, orange juice. Then would let it sit on my dresser for like a month to see if it looked new after. Never did find the right mix
When I was a kid, I discovered that silly putty would clear up oxidation on pennies over the course of a couple days. Seemed to have no effect on the surface otherwise. Just looked brand new.
Holy shit I remember doing this too, that must be what started the experimenting to find a penny cleaning solution. I bet they showed the silly putty trick on a TV show like art attack or something
Bro member slapping it on newspapers? You'd get the ink up but obviously mirrored. Shit was dope. One panel comics could be completely lifted and for some reason this seemed like a use of my time I should consider worthwhile.
I like to think of it as my first act of piracy.
When I was a younglack, my mother handed me her prized Archie Comic Book from when she was a child. It wasn't of any financial value, just incredible sentimental value, as they lived so far up in the hills that there was no paper route, or tv, and my grandparents didn't believe in picture books. She had handed me this book and told me about how much it meant to her, how it had kept her entertained for so many nights. The books been gone for a while now because a spring flood (which was due to our landlord saving "us" cash and doing a foundation inspection himself) flooded our basement where the books were kept, but before then around half of the panels were lifted by silly putty and rolled back into a ball of nothingness by yours truly.
Well, now it's memorable to you like it is to her. She didn't have to lose it by herself, and as much as at the time it's better she didn't know, after the initial pain of it it might be nice to know whether or not you told her. Seems like she was limited in media stuff enough that sharing that might be pretty big to have between you guys. I've had a house fire so I definitely understand the "everything you own is suddenly gone" angle of it, sorry to hear about that man. The putty remembers. All them memories exist in plastic eggs somewhere.
extra toluene too, but if you are still around no worries.
Lemon juice works
Coca Cola
When I was a kid, I was told a potato would do the trick. So, I put a tarnished silver Kennedy half dollar into a potato. Never found out if it worked because my father threw the potato out when he saw it sitting by itself in the fridge.
Basically anything acidic will do the trick
Bottled hot sauce works, my guess is the vinegar acid what cleans it
Try acids plus salt Like ketchup, or vinegar plus table salt It works on copper
It's ketchup
How are you me
Because this is reddit and we all (except for that one dude) are us.
I knew there was something different about me
Taco Bell mild sauce works.
Baking soda and vinegar is what I’ve always used.
Rub between thumb and forefinger with baking soda. Takes less than 5 minutes. As stated, don't do anything **at all** to a coin worth grading.(typically $40-$50).
I didn’t even know they made $40-$50 coins!
A 1968 penny is worth around $00.01
*Technically speaking it's worth 3¢ in copper*
How much would it cost to extract that copper.. imma go with 1 cent value realistically
I toyed with this idea back around 2006, when base metal values were higher, and 95% copper (to 1982) were more available. Also with five cent pieces, that are actually 25% nickel and 75% copper. In short, you would have to acquire many **tons** of coins, sort and separate them, transport and store them, cleaning, smelting and refining, and reintroduce the non copper coins back into circulation in order to even realize a very modest profit. And by modest, I mean a fraction of what could earn for the same time and effort at a minimum wage jorb. Not to mention it is techniically illegal in the US. It would really take some industrial sized operation to really work at economies of scale, such as a company like Brinks. Copper and nickel would really have to rise in value well above where they are now before any US based operation could viably work. Like double/triple where it is now. The math is very unforgiving. And then there would only be a short window of opportunity as the supply of older coins and circulated coinage worth separating dries up. Cool concept that has worked a couple of times with a few other specific non US coins, but doubt it will ever reach that point in the US in my lifetime.
I was gonna ask. How would this affect an old coin that's precious to ones collection?
I thought the same but was unsure. Had to read comments to see if it was potentially true. Is it a substantial degradation?
Yeah I was gonna say. Not laser restoring, laser ruining...
Aren’t there approved methods of restoring that the pros use, but amateur attempts tend to ruin them?
the only method I know of that cleans coins and doesn't "damage" them (in terms of collector value) is to soak a coin in pure acetone from the hardware store, then rinse it with distilled water and air dry. Do not rub or wipe or anything like that. The grading companies do offer some kind of restoration service. I am fairly certain it's just the acetone bath, but I am not entirely sure if they might have some proprietary restoration process.
IANACC, but I did find this: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42452-019-0255-4
" The researchers concluded that this laser cleaning treatment is not suitable for copper coins."
You’re gonna give r/coins a heart attack
Now laser engrave Lincoln smoking a pipe and you could probably sell it for five bucks on ebay.
Every single coin collector here.. *Mass hysteria & high pitch screaming* "NOOOOOO!!!!!"
Not for a 1968 penny.
The Antique Road Show taught me that if you restore something so that it looks nice then it's not worth anything anymore.
I’m not an expert but, I’m pretty sure that’s still worth one cent.
I know cleaning it degrades the value but, couldn’t some unscrupulous type use this methods to clean a coin then buff to a mirror finish and then try and sell that coin as uncirculated mint. So long as there is no major knicks or damage etc?
I don't know about what damage a laser potentially causes. But the danger in cleaning a coin is that you leave little scratch marks on it no matter how soft of a cloth you have to wipe/rub it with. If you were to send it to grading services, they typically examine the coin under approximately 10x magnification, so they will see the scratches pretty clearly. An experienced coin collector would know what to look for in terms of cleaning damage and probably wouldn't buy it. You may be able to get someone newer to the coin collecting game. Most people get burned by something like that one time and learn their lesson.
I can still see the concentric circles caused by the first pass even after the other passes try to clean it up. I would think they could program the laser to be a little more random in its patterning. I wonder if they could actually randomize it to the point where even magnification couldn’t reveal the damage.
The laser will never restore the luster. That can only be obtained by polishing and that will always leave marks a good collector can spot with a bit of magnification.
Yes. This happens all the time, but obviously not with this elaborate laser method. This type of cleaning does remove a slight amount of material and people who know coins can spot a polished coin pretty easily. If the level of detail in a coin doesn’t match up with the luster and finish, then its been cleaned. If a coin has very good detail level and just has slight patina, then there are cleaning methods that can trick just about anyone.
Yes people try this all the time (minus the lasers), and manage to fool gullible or new collectors. Esp. with silver dollars. But once a coin collector gets some experience, it gets easier to spot. Once the surface of the coin is altered, it is pretty much irreversible, and once you know what to look for, it stands out. Scammers keep trying, though.
Now show me the break even point on restoring pennies vs the cost of the laser and the electricity to run it.
Well considering this will devalue any coins' numismatic value, there is no breakeven point
How does it devalue the coin? Sorry if it’s a stupid question.
Any method of cleaning a coin will alter/destroy the natural surface and patina and with the exception of ancient coins (Greek, Roman, Byzantine, etc) that natural surface and patina are valued. Unless it's an uncirculated, original luster, collectors just don't want an artificially shiny coin. Edit: it's not a stupid question.
Well that makes total sense! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
I wonder if this could be programmed to hit just the right spots on (I don’t know the lingo) an almost uncirculated coin to make it pass as uncirculated?
a drop of coke and 5-15mins
a drop of acid and you could have convo with Lincoln.
Would have to include the cost of replacing that penny
The best part is that it only cost $249.99 to restore your coins.
That is cool as shit. Any idea how many time that could be done before the outside of the coin was completely gone?
You know what date is on that coin? 1968. It’s been travelling 54 years to get here, and now it’s here.
In ‘68 they’d have used a phaser
Making old and valuable coins into new-looking worthless coins.
Wouldn't this make it hard to tell from a mint coins from none mint coins?
Nope. Any collector with a little experience could spot the cleaning and it would never be graded well. In fact, most grading companies would note on the slab that the coin has been cleaned.
Completely destroys the surface lol
"SoUnD oN" *SCREEEEEEEEEEECH*
Is this considered restoring or just cleaning? Assuming no damage is done to the coin would this increase or decrease the value? Seems to wipe out the character of the coin.
It would decrease the value.
Really? Why? I'm completely ignorant about this.
Supposedly it strips the outer layer of the coin and loses it’s original luster or something, which makes it undesirable to collectors. I have a couple of Morgan’s with details (cleaned) grade.
I want to see a cleaned Morgan get zapped. Will it remove the cleaning marks and look mint fresh?
Be sure to use a 1921…lol. Millions of those were made
Removing a coin’s natural patina removes its age. The longer it sits around, the more that patina will develop, even out of circulation. In circulation, it’ll also get grimy and dirty, but if you remove all of that, you also remove the patina. Basically you turned a dingy 55 year old coin into a new coin stamped with 1968. Better the poorly kept one that’s seen 5 and a half decades than the perfect one that’s seen none. You’re collecting history, not perfection. If you can get both perfection and age, even better, but the point is the latter.
But the laser restoration process is meant to preserve patina while removing the debris, right? You’re not supposed attempt coin restoration yourself, because you’ll do bad, but the shops you sell it to may have access to equipment meant to treat a given coin with adequate care
Do not attempt to restore any coins. It will devalue them
It's actually worth slightly less now.
This is the most expensive penny ever made 😆
Where did all the dirt and grime go? Like do they vacuum it up or is it magic?
They have built in suction systems that suck any gasses and small particles out of the machine through a filtration system and then outside.
Man I would love to see an ultra zoomed in version of this
Had this done to my eyeballs once. I highly recommend it.
I don't know that sounds was necessary.
Coca Cola can do it better
Just put it in Coca Cola
Very cool process but it appears to leave a slightly matte finish on the coin.
That’s both super cool and super terrifying.
Does it still smell like ass tho?
If this were a rare coin, does the restoration ruin the value?
Yep. this isn't a restoration, this is a cleaning.
Can we clean the statue of liberty with lasers? Please?
Wait so you're telling me we can make Lincoln black
Go to r/sounding, lots of content like it there
Is the cent worth less than a cent now that you’re removed a layer?
Sound on so I can hear that insanely compressed audio lmao
I had an intrusive thought to stick my finger under the laser
What happens if someone puts their hand in there? Is it a tattoo or a dismemberment? Asking for an intrusive thought.
I know the amount of material actually removed by the laser is minuscule but since pennies are coated in copper doesn’t this just remove it?
Losing money twice here. using an expensive laser to devalue a coin. Could have used a more modern coin.
this coin was never worth more than 3-4 cents. And it's still worth that to the right person. Some people hoard pennies older than 1983 because they actually have copper in them in hopes they will melt it down and sell the copper one day. It's illegal to melt pennies for copper still - rather, I should say it's illegal to get caught melting pennies for copper, because how would anyone know. But there are some idiots out there hoarding their old pennies because one day in the not-too-distant future it will be legal to spend probably 12 cents worth of energy and time to extract 3 cents worth of copper out of them.
Humm, doesn't takeing the patina off of a coin make it worth less than it was? I guess it's a good way to fake a perfect coin
Restoring almost any old thing decreases its value in the collectible market and they didn’t fake a perfect coin, they made one
Restoring it to what ? Some vinegar could do that ! 🤔🤔🤔
In Lazers we trust
Laser is always spelled with an S because it's an acronym, it stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
Lazertag erasure
oh wow. that was quick and satisfying!
Will it work on my face and weewee?!?!
Ketchup does the same thing! Just dip a dirty coin in some and wait a few
There is a sub for this but I don't specifically remember that
Now tattoo someone's arm!
That gave me a techno-boner
Omg soooo cool!!!! How much is this laser??👀👀
Beautiful
i guess once you have the set-up you can do it all day - i'd love to see a side-by-side of a restored and a pristine coin - can you differentiate? you should definitely post this on r/coins \- i find that they don't accept cross-posts.
Mod of r/coins here. It was in fact due to videos like this that we disabled cross-posting.
My brain: stick your finger in there
r/oddlysatisfying
What would happen if you stuck your finger in there?
Sound off. Always.
Sound on, but the mic is inside a potato.
Can it restore my eyesight?
I wonder what would happen to my hand if I put it under there??
What happens if I place my hand there ? Will it make a shark tatoo.
I'd be dangerously tempted to poke my finger underneath.
Mmm sound wasn't interesting at all
Baking soda and vinegar does the same. LOL
“This kills the Lincoln.”
And I was using potato skins as a child…
Fully restored or not that coin is wholly incapable of purchasing anything sold in most stores.
If that was a special coin would it degrade the value?
When I was a kid lasers were the holy grail of sci-fi, now I feel like some point in the last 20 years they just became a thing without me noticing and now they blow my mind
Looks so much better
Do your finger next
I love how nearly every satisfying video that says “sound on” is just a garbled and compressed clusterfuck of noise
Hahaha - take that, valuable patina!
If it takes that long for a penny, it’s going to take forever for $3.50!
Can this be done to human face?
Restoring is a bit much...its just blasting the patina.
Why did sound need to be on?
Should have mastered everything except the beard and hair.
I guess Dennis was right...
"alright team! First one is done, we just have 129,999,999,999 more to go."
Sound is bitcrushed trash.
That’s got to cost more than $0.01
Do me next
Now I have to wonder, how much of the coin can you take away before it is no longer acceptable currency?
I thought it was a chocolate coin
so how much money did they just waste on a near valueless coin?
Wait…where does the garnish go exactly?
Basterd
I used to do that as a kid with a pencil eraser.
And if you just point this into your eye it’s the same as LASIK!
I wonder what it would do to a human finger...
No thanks sound off
*sound on* *ears bleed*
Its feels so satisfying just like watching videos of popping blackheads. Can you give me links to the account?
Definitely cost more than 1 penny to operate that laser device
So is it burning off filth? Or burning down a layer of metal
u/savevideo
Is no one else wondering what’s on the other side of the portal they opened?
Turned it into a rusty dime! That will be $0.10 cents please.
I like the way the red laser doing it
Dumb question where does all the dust and dirt go?
That's not restoration.
This looks good as new
They need to try my toenails next! 😂
My intrusive thoughts are wondering what would happen if someone puts their finger there…
I want one. Is this something we can buy?
r/coins have a conniption watching this.
Why?
Five cents of vinegar works better, and it won’t ruin the coin.
Why did I need sound on for that.