Hi alli found these coins i used to collect few many years ago and i found that the oldest cent i have is from 1916
i want to polish the cents so what i need to make them shiny? what are they made of? brass?
Some excellent advice here: Clean Coins - How to Clean Your Collectible and U.S. Coins - Cleaning Advice
I'm no expert and this is no advertisement but
I was told that you could use Coca Cola!
Guess it ain't just for the drinkin".
Anyone else heard that?
Coca Cola will ruin their value- acid in the Coke.
The really old ones it is best to leave them "as is" to retain their value.
Yep - you gotta rinse the coins in fresh H2O afterwards and
remember not to drink the leftover Coke cause you
could get copper poisoning or something - umm- maybe
Seriously though, as Hopalong said I would leave them untouched
as they may be more valuable as is. If you do want to clean them up I
would contact a coin dealer first of all and ask what is the best way to do so.
I would leave them as is. If they have any collectible value you could ruin that.
You don't want to say later "This penny was worth $50 until I cleaned it".
Boogieboy ,Have a look at this link for the British coins you have UK Decimal Coin Values - 1 & 2 Pounds It will tell you how many were made (minted ) and possible value :)
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it will make them sticky!