How to Clean Gold Coins

The rule of thumb – avoid cleaning gold coins wherever you can. The same applies to all coins, whether they made of precious metals or not and whether they're ancient, old, or new coins.

There're two main reasons for this: First, you can damage the coin while cleaning it if you're doing it too vigorously or using inappropriate (abrasive) cleaning materials. Second, all coins develop a fine film on their surface over the years, which is called "patina" and valued by most collectors, so by cleaning your gold coins you're literally just rubbing off dollars from the value of your coin.

Nevertheless, if you still want to clean your gold coin if it's too dirty or grubby, you can wash it in warm water with soap. If the dirt doesn't come off, you can try boiling your coins in soapy water, but don’t steam off all water, or you will ruin it.

If you need to remove stains, you can use solvents, such as acetone or nail varnish remover. It depends on the stains of course, but most organic stains can be cleaned – you may want to wash your coin after using solvent, as it may get sticky.

And the last piece of advice, if you came over a soiled gold coin and you're not sure about its value, please see you local coins dealer first. You don't have sell it to him right away before you check its value in some other sources, but he or she will definitely advice you whether it's worth cleaning it or not.

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