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How to clean old Austria-Hungary coins?

I have a lil collection of old coins. Mainly from Austria-Hungary era. Some of them are more than 200 years old. Any tips how to clean them?

You should not clean your coins. Most coin collectors see cleaning a coin as the equivalent of stripping down antique furniture and refinishing it.

When cleaning, the surface metal of the coin is often stripped. Anything used to scrub the coin will leave scratches (even 100% pure silk will leave hairline scratches). Most cleaning products will have some type of reaction with the coin's metal and the surface metal can also be removed in this manner.

Your best bet is to leave the coins alone. Cleaning the coin will leave traces - which can be found by the knowledgeable collector - who in turn will not buy the cleaned coin. Also if you ever wanted to send your coin into a grading company, they can recognize signs of cleaning and will send your coin back in a "cleaned" slab (also called a "body bag" in the coin world) - which is usually a greatly decreased value.

If you absolutely must must must clean your coins do not use the method described above as it will react with the metal in your coin. Use 100% acetone (do not use fingernail polish remover!). It must be 100% pure because other additives will react with the coin metal. Place your coin(s) in the solution for several minutes (do not leave in for long periods of time). Rinse your coin(s) in distilled water. Next remove your coins and either pat dry with a soft cloth or allow the coin to air dry (air drying is better as you don't risk scratching the coin with the cloth). NEVER scrub your coins!

I would still advise you to leave your coins as they are. They may not be bright and shiny but that is what most collectors prefer.

2007-11-05 06:39:35 by Noor | Posted in Hobbies & Crafts

I have a 1896 Austria 2 heller GOLD coin?

Anyone know of any gold 2 heller's coins produced?

No I don't, but I bet it's valuable. You should take it somewhere to be appraised.

2006-11-05 13:26:26 by Seakayaker | Posted in Homework Help

If (when) the UK adopts the euro, what symbols should be used on the coins?

Assuming that the queen's head would not be used (at least not on all coins), what should be pressed into the national side of the UK-issued euro coins? Famous landmarks? Famous people?

Austria, for example, uses the Secession building in Vienna on its 50 cent coin and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's portrait on its €1 coin. Germany uses the Brandenburg Gate on its 10, 20 and 50 cent coins and Italy uses the drawing by Leonardo da Vinci illustrating the ideal proportions of the human body on its €1 coin.

its a horrible thought just having the euro. i'd rather not think about what image would be pressed upon it.

2007-04-23 16:01:55 by Victor Meldrew | Posted in Other - Business & Finance

How much are these coins worth?

I have 3 "1915 Austrian 20 Corona Gold Coins"

Each coin has .196 ounce of fine gold which is .196 x $840 = $164.64

So all three rogther cost $493.92 in fine gold

But how mach can I actually get for them? They're in decent shape...

Same as this ebay ad: http://cgi.ebay.com/1915-AUSTRIA-HUNGARY-GOLD-COIN-20-KORONA-CORONA-KM-486_W0QQitemZ120253575780QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

2008-10-05 14:51:06 by Jimmy J | Posted in Hobbies & Crafts

I have a 1875 coin of 4 ducates with FRANG.IOS.I.D.G.AUSTRIA IMPERATOR and HUNGAR.Any price estimate?

It has an eagle with two heads on the other side and it's gold.

Wirhout seeing images of this coin I would be no help, perhaps searching public auction sites such as eBay?

2008-10-07 23:44:38 by Stavros K300 | Posted in Hobbies & Crafts

How much would this coin be worth?

http://www.austriancoins.com/images/1800-1847/One1800.jpg
That's the coin I have, except it has 1/2 on it.

It's the 1/2 Kreuzer coin from Austria, with a date of 1800 on it. No site I can find has a value for it, just for the 1 Kreuzer coin
5 euros is a bit more than $6, so it's not worth as much as I thought it would be

This site has two of the 1800 1/2 Kreuzer coins which look similar to yours!

http://74.125.45.132/search?q=cache:LRizmlfMb6MJ:coins.delcampe.com/page/list/language,E,searchString,kreuzer,searchMode,all,searchTldCountry,net,cat,1084,searchInDescription,N.html+1/2+Kreuzer&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=22&gl=us&client=safari


Maybe its not worth a fortune, but isn't it cool to be able to hold something over 200 years old in your hand and think about who may have had it before you?

I think it is an interesting coin.





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2008-11-21 16:40:44 by Oragami Sauce | Posted in Investing

Canadian Spy Coins, who is responsible?

Be creative, simply saying the "Evil Empire Of the North" or "Damn Le Quebecois!" is too easy. This technology was developed years ago for casino chips in the USA but adopted in European casinos and were made for them in Austria.
Yes this is a serious question (But "Dr. Evil" was a good reply, however, I don't know if they got the spy coins at a Starbucks, I think in Canada it's Tim Horton's? eh?).

The French DGSE is known to use a disproportionate number of agents in industrial spying. France also has a habit of spying in her allies.

I vote France.

ADDED: China and Russia have also been known to use intelligence assets for industrial espionage... but only the French have institutionalized the practice.

2007-01-11 11:43:24 by catawhumpus | Posted in Politics