Silver acquires black scale in the form of tarnish very easily and if you are interested in keeping your silver coins looking bright and new as the day that they were minted, there are a number of things to keep in mind.

There are many people who do not know that you can easily clean silver coins without resorting to chemicals, and that many of the ways to clean your coins are going to be available in your own home.

One of the first things that you should try when you are looking at cleaning silver coins is going to be distilled water.

Distilled water has no minerals in it, and you will find that many coins will have mineral deposits on them that need to be dissolved.

Leave your tarnished coins in distilled water for at least twenty-four hours and then scrub it with a toothbrush.

Be gentle and if necessary repeat this process over the course of a week.

You might also try this with distilled water that has been warmed and adding a few drops of a mild dish washing detergent.

You can then leave the coins under the water for a few hours, rubbing them gently with your fingertips.

Another good trick to clean silver coins that you might be interested in is olive oil.

Olive oil can be poured into a dry container and then your coins can be soaked in it for upwards of four months.

Most experts will recommend that you check it at least once a month and change out the oil if it is becoming discolored.

This can easily clean your coins and while it will take you a while, the results can be impressive.

After the coin is clean, rinse the coin in warm and soapy water before patting it dry.

A slightly harsher cleaning solution involves using white vinegar.

Make sure that the silver coins in question are soaked in the vinegar for half an hour to an hour and then lightly scrub them with a toothbrush.

This is an acidic solution, so do not leave it on too long.

For very stubborn stains, mix up a tablespoon of baking soda and three to five drops of vinegar.

You can then use this paste as a scrub for your coin or you can even leave it overnight.

Rinsing with distilled water can help, as can using a toothpick to get the cleaning solution into the coin’s crevices.

Take a moment and learn more about how to clean silver coins; it is far easier than you might think.

Reducing the risk of wear or avoiding other contaminates that could damage your coins, is important to maintain their value.

Even breathing on the coins can cause color changes and even some spotting.

You should always keep your valuable coins inside packages which are designed to protect your coins from contamination and wear.

If you ever have to take a coin out of the protective covering; there are certain ways it should be handled.

Never pick up a coin from your collection from anywhere except by its sides.

Finger prints are just as much as a contaminate as the air or breathing on the coin; as moisture comes from your mouth.

If you do so you should only wipe the coin gently with a velvet cloth, then place it on clean soft cloth to insure that it does not get damaged.

Many people do not realize that just cleaning a coin can reduce its value by as much as half the market value.

A great way to display your coins it to use a glass case covered with velvet on the inside.

Another good idea is to have two coins of the same denomination and turn one on the face side and one on its reverse side; this way no one would ever have to have a reason to take the coins out of its case.

Never use abrasive cleaners on your coins.

There are professional cleaners that will not harm your coins; and never rub your coin dry; instead just dab it and air dry it. In many cases some collectors use olive oil to remove finger prints or other foreign objects from their coins.

The coin is then either air dried or by using forced air.

If you do use forced air from an air tank be sure to hold the air nozzle approximately 12 inches away from the coin, as forced air has moisture in it and it may cause some damage to the coin itself.

If you have gold coins that need cleaning the best thing to do is to rinse them in very hot soapy water.

For bronze coins you should soak the coins in olive oil.

Sometimes if the coins are very damaged you may have to let them soak for a few weeks at a time.

For cleaning silver, copper or nickel coins a collector may want to soak them in white vinegar for approximately 5 minutes and then another 5 minutes in lemon juice.

After the coins have soaked; rinse them again under very warm running water.

These solutions will give the coin a bright finish after they are cleaned.

Another important thing to remember is never mix different types of coins together.

For instance, copper may cause other coins to have some discoloring on them and that will reduce the coins value even more, if not cause permanent damage.

There are many coin collectors which state that it is not a good idea to clean your coins at all, unless your coins are only worth the amount of the face value as well as the book value.

They state that any amount of cleaning will damage your coins up to 90% of the value of the coin itself.

They also state that if you purchased a rare coin that is already in a coin holder, and take it out of the holder to clean it, just the contact with the air alone could cause the coin to corrode and reduce it’s value significantly.

The tip is to always take great care handling your coins and if possible you should never touch them directly.