Olive oil or shortening to clean things??

[elkameno59]

:thinkingabout: I went into my local coin shop to sell him a few of my finds from years ago, and he told me not to bring him anymore dirty coins... So I asked - what should I do to the copper coins I dig up? He tells me to buy some cheap salad dressing oil and soak the coins in there for a few weeks next time or just stick the coins into a jar of Crisco ?? I'm sure he's going nuts but - I ask all of you ... really?

[del]

you should of asked him if thats whats he uses to zip his coins clean lol lol personally i don't use the olive oil or crisco , these are a very slow method and usually don't get very good results . most will use the hot peroxide method or just warm soapy water and a soft toothbrush. clad coins can just be put in a tumbler with some sand or gravel and dish soap .

[Tony Two-Cent]

I have tried using olive oil to clean my copper coins. I personally haven't found that it helps much in the cleaning process, no matter how long you let the coins soak in the oil. Mostly it just adds a protective coating to coins that are already clean.