BOILING HYDROGEN PEROXIDE?

Is boiling hydrogen peroxide any good for cleaning encrusted IH's and wheaties......is this a better alternative for olive oil?

Olive oil is so slow I'm not sure it even works, if it does, I can't tell. I have soaked large cents in olive oil, extra virgin no less, for months and see no change in the coins. Tried warm peroxide,... Ahh, wasn't impressed.

I agree with Ozzie; neither method is effective. Put common wheaties/injuns in a tumbler. Better coins go into an electrolysis bath.

bullshead Wrote:
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> Is boiling hydrogen peroxide any good for cleaning
> encrusted IH's and wheaties......is this a better
> alternative for olive oil?

It works great for me.
Key thing you need is a glass container with a concave bottom, this allows the liquid to be under the coin too.
You only need to put enough peroxide in the glass to cover the penny.
Heat in a microwave for about a minute, depending on the power output of the oven.
Put penny in solution and let boil until it quits working then remove and brush lightly with a baby tooth brush.
This works unless the penny is encrusted with what looks like very fine sand.
Encrusted takes a different methode.

Maybe you could post a before and after picture? A coin that is improved by a peroxide bath will benefit equally from a soapy dishwater soaking.

Olive oil isn't supposed to clean the coin. It just softens the verdigris coating (copperouis oxcide) on the coin making it easier to remove. The best tool is a stick of spaghetti but a tooth pick will also work. If the coin has no coating then you don't need the oil.

Hydrogen peroxide. When heated will emit toxic vapors! On the other hand if you're in an open area go for it it works on largies verry well. Here's something just as effective and was less dangerous HOT SAUCE. Works great on copper zinc and brass. Warm a little up in the nuke give it a shot. Don't use it on pewter I tried a large cloak button. It's clean but it's red. Now. HH. Jack

You might try small piece of tinfoil bend edges up put in coin or coins in the freezer drip couple drops of water on them. Then take a soft brush to them after they freeze then repeat the process? Probally not the best way but seems not to hurt the coins any?

Yes it can work.

I clean my wheaties with peroxide (similar to Markg) and it takes a lot of the corrosion off BUT it will turn them black! As usual, don't clean any coin that might be of value!

I use 3% USP Boiling Peroxide on ALL my Coppers, Bronze and Silver that I want clean (not together of course).
I heat it in the microwave and let it boil for about 10 seconds (try not to 'super-heat' it..) and drop the coin into the glass receptacle. You can immediately see the dirt and crap lift off the coin and I normally take it out once the liquid cools. I will repeat the process with the other side of the coin facing up this time and then rinse the coin in Distilled water once it has cooled again... Once rinsed, I drop it into a small glass with the bottom filled with baking soda and then cover it up completely with some additional baking soda leaving the coins completely covered. I leave it sit for about ten minutes and then gently take the coin out and use a 'Ultra soft' tooth brush or 'fiberglass brush' and remove the remaining dirt and gunk (if there is any left). I will use extra distilled water to make sure that the baking soda comes off properly and isn't rolling around on the coins surface completely dry. The nice thing about the Fibreglass brush is that it's VERY soft (softer than the softest tooth brush) and you can even sort of 'stab' at the coins edges to loosen the dirt. I try to stay away from the 'high spots' so that they don't become 'lighter' than the rest of the coin when cleaning. Finally, I rinse off with distilled water (I never use tap water, ever...) and pat down with a micro-fibre cloth. Some people even use the 'Olive Oil' trick and pat it down after, but I find that they look good just the way they are...

The results are fantastic, leaving no visible scratches with a 30x loupe and the toning and patina remains. Try it on some of your normal coins until you get the desired results and you can easily clean semi-key dates with confidence.
***Any coin of REAL value should be sent away for forensic cleaning.***

FYI, boiling Hydrogen Peroxide of the 3% variety does NOT produce the harmful or 'toxic' fumes that heavily concentrated H2o2 (15% and higher) does... 'Concentrated H202' is quite corrosive and I stay away from it. Having said that, I wouldn't be inhaling any hydrogen peroxide on purpose regardless of strength / concentration

I use 50% Hydrogen Peroxide in my job. Very nasty stuff. It catches grass on fire.