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So I made a mistake last night.
I have a young son who on holidays in france has purchased several souvenir coins from various cities and places we have visited. You know the sort of thing - you could buy them at the Notre Dame and similar venues. They are made from metal and are shiny gold colour.
I put some old pennies in a glass of cola last night to make them and shiny and my son then put all his special coins in as well . I didn't look to see what coins he was putting in and sadly the metal has reacted with the cola and they have lost their shine / lustre and also some brownish / blackish marks have appeared on them as well. I'm guessing the acid in the cola has eaten through whatever made them shiny .
Most of the brown / black marks I have managed to rub off with a soft cloth and water - 1 hour its taken me so far - But there are a few marks left and the main problem is the coins are not shiny anymore. Is there anything I can do to make them shiny again (other than a very long summer around france ) ?
Please does anybody have any suggestions ?
I only ask on here as my young son is in tears and I'm hoping a clever person on here knows what to do, as I need to make good ?
Thank you.
.
I have a young son who on holidays in france has purchased several souvenir coins from various cities and places we have visited. You know the sort of thing - you could buy them at the Notre Dame and similar venues. They are made from metal and are shiny gold colour.
I put some old pennies in a glass of cola last night to make them and shiny and my son then put all his special coins in as well . I didn't look to see what coins he was putting in and sadly the metal has reacted with the cola and they have lost their shine / lustre and also some brownish / blackish marks have appeared on them as well. I'm guessing the acid in the cola has eaten through whatever made them shiny .
Most of the brown / black marks I have managed to rub off with a soft cloth and water - 1 hour its taken me so far - But there are a few marks left and the main problem is the coins are not shiny anymore. Is there anything I can do to make them shiny again (other than a very long summer around france ) ?
Please does anybody have any suggestions ?
I only ask on here as my young son is in tears and I'm hoping a clever person on here knows what to do, as I need to make good ?
Thank you.
.
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No expert here but just googled...
Suggests making a paste of baking soda and water(distilled) and applying with a brush before washing it off
No idea if it would work but doesn't sound like it could make them any worse
Good luck
Suggests making a paste of baking soda and water(distilled) and applying with a brush before washing it off
No idea if it would work but doesn't sound like it could make them any worse
Good luck
Sounds like they almost need re-enamelling. Not sure if that could be done but what about some kind of clear varnish. Presuming these are souvenirs instead of expensive coins.
maybe you could buy them on eBay or similar site ,doubt you'll get the shine back on the ones you have !
Thank you all for your suggestions so far .
Reg, I googled the same but I am concerned it will eat whatever finish is left on them. Though I could try a small area first to check.
S.kembo, that could be the answer , I'll try a little dab and see what happens. Thank you.
Freddie, your insides are doomed... lol.
Foyles, I had a brief look on the Internet to start with but some of the places are off the beaten track and just famous locally.
Please don't say that you doubt I'll get the shine back as he has kept them dafe for a couple of years as special treasure.. Oops !
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Reg, I googled the same but I am concerned it will eat whatever finish is left on them. Though I could try a small area first to check.
S.kembo, that could be the answer , I'll try a little dab and see what happens. Thank you.
Freddie, your insides are doomed... lol.
Foyles, I had a brief look on the Internet to start with but some of the places are off the beaten track and just famous locally.
Please don't say that you doubt I'll get the shine back as he has kept them dafe for a couple of years as special treasure.. Oops !
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are they genuine old coins or newly manufactured?
oneten you should be able to get em on eBay or similar ,it may take a while but the bulk of them should be available somewhere . the more obscure ones will be harder to find but should be available at some point . try typing in French souvenir coins and see what comes up on Google ,good luck.
how about a gold spray paint to give them a new finish or another option gold leaf ?
try temu site ,just looked on there and they do French souvenir coins brand new ,for under couple of quid each the commoner ones !
Rico, Thank you, they are new. They were very shiny gold, now dull with black marks.. Overnight in a glass of coke.
Foyles, Thank you, I think if I paint them it will make them look worse. They aren't looking great now but streaky brush marks will be worse. I do not know anything about gold leaf, I will need to google.
I have just started looking on google + ebay for replacement coins but no joy finding the same ones yet.
Foyles, Thank you, I think if I paint them it will make them look worse. They aren't looking great now but streaky brush marks will be worse. I do not know anything about gold leaf, I will need to google.
I have just started looking on google + ebay for replacement coins but no joy finding the same ones yet.
Foyles, thank you for looking at Temu, I am following your suggestion and looking there now, it looks promising. I cannot believe cheap Chinese site has French souvenir coins. Lol.
no probs oneten hope ya find em all ,I know what its like with the young uns mine are grown up now but when young 2 of my sons were collecting stuff as kids do and were obsessive about it .
The chinese sell everything (they are the new free market of the world, have been for some time), you can get some fantastic items,at ridiculous prices.....Aliexpress is my main retailer now...lol....Deliver China to Scotland in 7 days too.
They were very shiny gold, now dull with black marks.. Overnight in a glass of coke.
what did u hope to achieve by this?
what did u hope to achieve by this?
Fck me Rico, whats done is done...
he requires a solution.
we all fck up from time to time...
he requires a solution.
we all fck up from time to time...
solution is..dont fix what isnt broken..
Overnight in a glass of coke.
what did u hope to achieve by this?
Overnight in a glass of coke.
what did u hope to achieve by this?
As a child i would rub an old penny in a house brick { still attached to a house } and it would silver up and could be mistaken for the old halfcrown .
Have to say the most appealing option so far mentioned is the long hot summer around France 
Peops use coke to clean loads of things these days. Usually there toilet
Yes Foyles, you know all too well.
They collect and are totally obsessed with whatever they are into and then if something happens to it, their little world falls apart.
He is extremely upset and cried because they are ruined and its my fault even though he put them in the cup with cola.
Rico, thats the thing, there was anything wrong with them yesterday and they were clean and shiny. He had just bought an old farthing off the internet and he wanted to clean it and it shiny, so I told him what coke a cola would do and I explained it would make them super shiny so he must have thought it would improve his already perfect collection of special coins. You know how little kids like things really shiny and look like a mirror..
My fault, Im an idiot and didnt pay attention and said just put them in the cola as well..
They collect and are totally obsessed with whatever they are into and then if something happens to it, their little world falls apart.
He is extremely upset and cried because they are ruined and its my fault even though he put them in the cup with cola.
Rico, thats the thing, there was anything wrong with them yesterday and they were clean and shiny. He had just bought an old farthing off the internet and he wanted to clean it and it shiny, so I told him what coke a cola would do and I explained it would make them super shiny so he must have thought it would improve his already perfect collection of special coins. You know how little kids like things really shiny and look like a mirror..
My fault, Im an idiot and didnt pay attention and said just put them in the cola as well..
Electroplate the coins,somebody should be able to do the job.
Just be thankful that the novelty coins are of no particular value and learn a valuable lesson.
"NEVER ever try to clean coins by immersing them in Cola"!
Only eejits so that. Glad to help.
"NEVER ever try to clean coins by immersing them in Cola"!
Only eejits so that. Glad to help.
old silver and bronze ,don't clean it even if the silver or bronze has turned black , the patination or patina is the result of years of handling and natural grime buildup and cleaning takes off most of the value !
A friend of mine had an old King Charles 1 coin which was very valuable but was in a dirty condition having been buried for hundreds of years. "Take it to an expert and pay them to clean it", I advised him "and under no circumstances try to clean it yourself".
The eejit only went and tried to clean it himself when another eejit told him to immerse it in a glas of coca cola. It cleaned it alright, took the King`s head clean off which was pretty ironic though
Cost him thousands. He doesn`t drink cola anymore.
The eejit only went and tried to clean it himself when another eejit told him to immerse it in a glas of coca cola. It cleaned it alright, took the King`s head clean off which was pretty ironic though
Cost him thousands. He doesn`t drink cola anymore.
Coins usually cost 2 euros out of vending machine at visitor attraction.
We have loads that we have bought or family bought and they do lose shine
after handling, nowt will fix that.
We used to wrap coins in silver foil to make them shiny, rubbing the foil wrapped
coin on carpet to get good impression.
Easter was fun, wrapping coins in various foils, so maybe you can sidetracked him
onto those things whilst you find replacements on ebay!!
We have loads that we have bought or family bought and they do lose shine
after handling, nowt will fix that.
We used to wrap coins in silver foil to make them shiny, rubbing the foil wrapped
coin on carpet to get good impression.
Easter was fun, wrapping coins in various foils, so maybe you can sidetracked him
onto those things whilst you find replacements on ebay!!
If you must clean coins, first advice is always dont
Second advice is a drop of washing up liquid into a jar lid of water
and dip in a cotton bud, rub very gently, but you will still likely
devalue the coin whilst maybes making it look marginally more attractive
to yourself.
Second advice is a drop of washing up liquid into a jar lid of water
and dip in a cotton bud, rub very gently, but you will still likely
devalue the coin whilst maybes making it look marginally more attractive
to yourself.
Lesson learnt. 
Thank you to all you kind people who have come up with suggestions, all very much appreciated.
Enjoy your Sunday .
Thank you to all you kind people who have come up with suggestions, all very much appreciated. Enjoy your Sunday .
Lots of old meanies putting in their two pence worth with no valuable contribution, no need for it.
oneten - there are a lot of similar souvenir coins on ebay. Perhaps you can get some replacements?
Once cola does the damage they can never be recovered to original condition.
Once cola does the damage they can never be recovered to original condition.
find an engineering company with a vapour blaster (water at very high pressure)
that will do it..if not worth nowt throw them anmongst the next wedding hoy out ewe attend.
that will do it..if not worth nowt throw them anmongst the next wedding hoy out ewe attend.
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