Circulated Lincoln Cent Restoration: I Tested 5 Methods Side-by-Side (2024 Results)

I Tested 5 Lincoln Penny Cleaning Methods – The Surprising Winner

Opening my grandfather’s old coin albums felt like time travel – dozens of Lincoln cents spanning 1909 wheat pennies to modern memorials, each whispering stories. But many were hiding under grime and corrosion. As someone who’d ruined a Buffalo nickel with vinegar as a kid (RIP, 1936), I approached this three-month cleaning experiment with white gloves and sweaty palms. What actually works on century-old copper? Let’s compare the results coin by coin.

The Contenders: Your Cleaning Options Face-Off

After polling collectors and digging through old Numismatic News archives, I put these five approaches head-to-head:

Method 1: Distilled Water Spa Treatment (The Gentle Giant)

My Process: Dunked a crusty 1944 Steel Cent for three days, swishing gently like fine wine
Reality Check: Loosened surface gunk but couldn’t touch hardened crud
Lightbulb Moment: Safe enough for my 1909-S VDB – if I’d dared!
Surprise Win: Revealed hidden mint marks on a 1950-D
Who Should Try: Nervous newbies with common-date pennies

Method 2: Acetone Dive (The PVC Assassin)

My White-Knuckle Moment: Submerging a precious 1955 DDO with toxic green gunk
Heart-Stopping Result: Killed the PVC bloom but left a ghostly haze
Pro Tip: Use cotton swabs, not brushes – learned that the hard way
Best For: Spot-cleaning organic gunk without full immersion

Method 3: MS-70 Chemical Bath (The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing)

The Seduction: My 1960 Small Date went from muddy brown to blazing red in 30 seconds
The Betrayal: Under magnification, surfaces looked like a chemical burn victim
Cold Hard Truth: Dealers spotted the “dipped” look from three tables away at my last coin show
Only Use If: You enjoy turning collectibles into shiny paperweights

Method 4: Electrolysis (Mad Scientist Edition)

My Frankenstein Setup: Car battery charger + baking soda + sacrificial 1922 No D penny
Shocking Outcome: Corrosion vanished… along with all surface detail
Gut Punch: Revealed irreversible pitting invisible under grime
Harsh Truth: Better for salvaging copper scrap than collectibles

Method 5: Do Nothing (The Purist’s Paradox)

My Discipline Test: Storing my 1909 VDB in archival plastic while screaming internally
Years-Later Reward: It graded straight G-4 – no “cleaned” penalty
Psychological Hack: Display coins reverse-side up to admire mint marks, not flaws
Eureka Moment: Sometimes conservation means resisting the urge to “fix” history

Crunching the Nasty Numbers

After logging 78 hours under my microscope, the data told a brutal truth:

Surface Damage Report Card

• Untreated: A+ (Time capsule condition)
• Water: A- (Nearly invisible changes)
• Acetone: C+ (Good intentions, visible scars)
• Electrolysis: F (Surface apocalypse)
• MS-70: F- (Chemical warfare)

Your Wallet’s Verdict

• Water-cleaned: Lost $0.25 value on a $5 penny
• Acetone-treated: Turned a $200 coin into $150
• Professional conservation: Added $300 value to my 1914-D (after $75 service fee)

When “Helpful” Becomes Harmful

Here’s the wake-up call from my PCGS grader friend:

“That shiny penny you’re proud of? We call that ‘details cleaned’ – collector code for ‘worth 50% less.'”

My microscope revealed why:

• Chemical dips strip micron-thin metal layers (goodbye, original luster)
• Brushes leave microscopic scratches that glow under show lights
• Artificial surfaces tone in weird splotches over time

The Professional Lifeline

For my potentially valuable coins ($500+), here’s what worked:

NGC/PCGS Restoration Magic

Their secret sauce:

• Banished PVC gunk from my 1922 Peace Dollar without abrasives
• Stopped bronze disease on a 1909-S (no, I didn’t clean it!)
• Kept coins grading-worthy – no dreaded “cleaned” label

Reality Check: Costs more than common coins are worth

NCS Intervention Success Story

My 1914-D cent looked terminal until:

• They halted active corrosion chemically (no scrubbing)
• Preserved the original wheat stalk details
• Came back encapsulated with “conserved” not “cleaned” status

Pro Tip: Only use on coins where potential value gain justifies the fee

Your Emergency Decision Tree

When panic strikes (“My penny’s turning green!”), remember:

PVC Nightmare Scenario

• First Aid: Acetone Q-tip dab – resist full immersion!
• Coin ER: Send to NCS if it’s a key date
• My Horror Story: Watched PVC eat through a 1958-D’s surface in 3 months

Mysterious Gunk Invasion

• Safe Move: Distilled water soak (max 72 hours)
• Nuclear Option: Professional help for pre-1960 coins
• Never: Toothpicks, toothpaste, or wishful thinking

My Workbench Warriors

After frying coins with household products, these earned permanent spots:

• Magnifier: Carson MicroBrite – spots hidden mint marks like a hawk
• Lighting: Neewer LED panels – reveals cleaning damage dealers notice
• Handling: Cotton gloves – because fingerprints etch copper over decades
• Storage: Saflips holders – the coin equivalent of oxygen-free storage

The Naked Coin Truth

After burning through $87 in ruined test coins, my cardinal rule crystallized: When in doubt, don’t clean it out. Unless you’re facing active corrosion (the fuzzy green kind), most Lincoln cents actually gain character from their journey through pockets and piggy banks.

Remember – every penny that survived the Great Depression, World Wars, and disco era earned its scars. Our job isn’t to erase history, but to preserve it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go apologize to my 1943 bronze cent for even thinking about acetone…

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