Polish/seal for silver coins?

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Richard Darling

Richard Darling

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Feb 24, 2006
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Bozeman, Montana
I have a customer who wants a Morgan silver dollar mounted in a shadowbox with some of her daughter's things. It's badly tarnished. She wants it polished (I know, don't start on me about how it ruins the coin's collectable value) and wants to know if there's a way to keep it from tarnishing again.

Is the shadowbox environment sealed enough to keep the silver looking good? Is there something I could put in the shadowbox that would help it stay shiny? Anybody know a source for fake Morgan dollars?
 
here's how I see it------there is a textile know a 'silver cloth' ... comes in 1-2 colors(mainly blue) this is used to line silverware boxes and as bags to store large pieces----dont think anything will not STOP tarnish but this really slows it down....get some on the net or source thru a 'real' jeweler and figure out some way to use it in your design as underlay for coin(or use it to line the box if you can go the color)...use mylar 'keepers' where the back side is open
 
Here's an old modelers trick for a brilliant protective clear coat:
Using a dime as a test piece, polish with regular silver polish and 4-O steel wool (or automotive aluminum polish).
Rinse with isopropyl and dry.
Using Johnsons Future floor polish (It's a water-clear acrylic) in a small cup, dip the whole coin in straight Future. Use tweezers to hold. Wick off the excess on a paper towel. Stand on edge or a prop of some sort for 24 hours.
The Future should prevent oxidation.
Since customer wants the coin polished anyway, you're not hurting it's value and the Future can be easily stripped with Windex or isopropyl.
 
Dees Dad said:
Since customer wants the coin polished anyway, you're not hurting it's value and the Future can be easily stripped with Windex or isopropyl.
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As a museum worker with some conservation training, I would strongly recommend against attempting to perform cleaing on any objects that don't belong to you unless you have formal training. Recommend they take the piece to a conservator or coin collector who is familiar with both the value and care of these pieces. If they are scared the price might be too high, then the only other suggestion I would make it is that they do it themselves. And I would not recommend a specific method.
When I did treatment on silver in school, we had to do tests to determine which cleaners worked best, not just for the object but for us. You can leave some really noticeable scratches if you just grab, say, a can of brasso and start cleaning.
And finally, I think it is a little presumptious to say beyond a doubt whether you are or are not hurting the value of an object by how you treat it since true value is based on whether or not you think it is worth keeping.
 
Dees Dad said:
Using a dime as a test piece, polish with regular silver polish and 4-O steel wool (or automotive aluminum polish).
Click to expand...

All other considerations aside, a dime is not a very good test piece, unless you've got one of the pre-1967 silver dimes. Most "silver" coins in circulation today are nickel-clad copper, whereas the Morgan silver dollar is an alloy of 90% silver and 10% copper. The two will take scrubbing very differently...
 
Richard Darling said:
She wants it polished (I know, don't start on me about how it ruins the coin's collectable value) and wants to know if there's a way to keep it from tarnishing again.
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That's the only reason I suggested this method. I agree about the dimes so maybe an old piece of tarnished flatware?? Remember, you're testing just like the schools teach.

And don't 'scrub' with 4-O, let silver polish remove the stain.

Also not asking that you presume whether or not you're hurting the value. The customer knows polishing will, so just put language on the invoice that you have apprised the customer and it is their preference to do so. Everything I suggested, done with care, is reversible.
 
Spray it with laquer to keep it from tarnishing. Get cleaning advice from your local coin shop.
 
Silver cloth comes in many colors now - I think the place where I bought some celadon colored silver cloth was called Nancy's Silver - Google around for it - the website had a lot of info on the care and feeding of sterling as I recall...
 
Any polish and most cleaners remove tarnish by removing the silver and can cause scratching. If you're comfortable with it, you can use the home method which works really, really well and is not intrusive. Salt, baking soda, water, aluminum foil, no rubbing, silver stays intact.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/ar...emove_tarnish_from_silver_pg2_pg2.html?cat=69

Tarnish is sulfur that comes from the air. With this method, you coax the sulfur to bond with aluminum. The salt and baking soda are non reactive with silver. It will take out all tarnish from the etched details too, so that may be a drawback. Once it's looking newly minted, you would have to seal it to keep the silver from touching air, but that's the riskiest part. You can also get these strips http://www.silverguard.com/c-9-3m-anti-tarnish-strips.aspx but they have a shelf life.

On a side note, if you ever need to tarnish an item to match other tarnished items, throw it in a plastic bag with a hard boiled egg overnight.
 
I used to visit a friend who had very proper parents who served even breakfast at the dining room table and with the best china and real silverware.

I still remember the hideous taste of eggs eaten with a silver fork - ack!
 
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