As a beginner coin collector, one rule you should know backwards and forwards - don't clean your coins. Or rather, have a professional do it, or know what you are doing.
Why shouldn't you clean your own coins? Because coin dealers and people who make collecting coins their business like to see and buy coins that are in their original condition.
If your coin is tarnished, resist the impulse to use commercial cleaners or silver tarnish removers. They will remove the natural toning that happens on silver and copper coins.
Trying to remove tarnish, if not done properly, will potentially harm your coin and lower the value of it. Removing tarnish incorrectly will leave scratches and spots on your coin and can possibly lower the value as much as 80-90 percent. A coin dealer that I know told me that he will reject anywhere from 15-25% of the coins that come in to be sold because they are damaged from improper cleaning methods.
Here are a few things to remember if your coins are tarnished:
- If you really want them cleaned, take them to a professional. Your local coin dealer can direct you where to go for that. Professionals will use a method of cleaning tarnished coins called "dripping".
- Handle your coins on the edges only. Leaving fingerprints on the coin surface will build up and add to the dirt already there.
- If you cannot read the date on your coin and the details are worn down or covered with dirt, ask the advice of coin collecting dealers and and professionals on how to clean and handle the coin.
- If you are selling coins that you know have been cleaned previously, then you must tell the buyer.
Basically, there's no real reason for you, as a beginner coin collector, to clean your own coins. Let someone else do it. Sometimes, most often than not, you won't need to have them cleaned. Tarnished coins have a value that goes beyond money. It's part of the natural history of the coin.
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