How to Keep Your US Navy Challenge Coins in Pristine Condition
Should you clean Navy challenge coins?
Serious collectors avoid cleaning challenge coins because it can impact their value. But veterans should clean their coins without giving it a second thought.
Challenge coins are an excellent way to commemorate your service and heroic efforts. But you have to be careful. You can ruin your coins if you don’t know the right way to clean them. If you’re wondering how to keep your challenge coins clean, even as the years go by, then this article is for you.
What’s the secret to keeping your challenge coins looking great? Read on to find out.
Materials for Navy Challenge Coins
For starters, what is a challenge coin exactly? It’s a special gift that commemorates someone’s hard work, or in this case, military service.
Typically Navy challenge coins are made using zinc, brass, iron, pewter, or alloy. You might even have a gold coin. The type of metal used will determine the cleaning process you need to follow.
Brass Cleaning Tips
Do you have a brass challenge coin? Ketchup is a great tool when cleaning brass. The acid in the tomatoes helps remove any tarnish that might have accumulated throughout the years.
Simply apply a layer of ketchup to your brass coin and leave it on for about an hour. Wash the coin off with warm water and liquid dish soap. Let it dry completely, and you’ll be good to go.
Gold Cleaning Tips
If you’re lucky enough to have a gold challenge coin, then you’ll want to take extra special care of it. Fill up a bowl with warm water and add a few drops of liquid dish soap.
Let the brass coins soak for about 20 minutes. Using a soft-bristled toothbrush, gently scrub the coin clean. Rinse it with lukewarm water and dry it off.
Iron Cleaning Tips
Since iron is prone to rusting, you’ll need to remove any rust before you can clean the coin. To remove the rust, immerse your challenge coin in petroleum oil for 2-3 hours.
Rub the coins off with the cloth, and you’ll notice that they’re rust-free. You’ll want to clean your iron challenge coins in a well-ventilated area since petroleum oil has an unpleasant odor.
Do You Need Distilled Water?
When cleaning your military coins, is it okay to use tap water? Or should you be sticking to distilled water? The answer is going to depend on how careful you want to be.
If you want to avoid any type of discoloration on your coins, then distilled water is the safest choice. Distilled water will get a lot of the gunk off of the coins without affecting their color.
Fill a bucket up with distilled water, and place several coins in it. Be sure to have the coins separate from each other. If the coins are touching, they could wind up damaging each other.
Let the coins sit in the distilled water for 24 hours. After 24 hours, gently brush the coins with a soft bristle toothbrush. If there’s still a lot of build-up on the coins, let them sit in the bucket for another 24 hours.
If the coins don’t have a lot of build-ups, and you’re simply maintaining them, distilled water should be more all you need. However, if there’s a lot of accumulated dirt, you might need to try the olive oil method.
Using Olive Oil on a Navy Challenge Coin Design
Similar to distilled water, olive oil is very gentle. You’ll be able to clean your challenge coins with olive oil, no matter what type of material they are made out of.
Get ready to wait, though. The olive oil method is a long-term cleaning solution. You won’t be getting any fast results here.
Sometimes coins can require months of sitting in oil to be properly cleaned. No worries though. Unless your challenge coin is decades old and hidden under thick layers of dirt, you won’t need to wait months.
How long will it take to clean your coins? You’ll probably only have to wait a few days or maybe at the most a week.
Your patience will definitely pay off. Olive oil does a great job of saturating the coin to remove even the most challenging dirt spots.
Oil Change
If you notice that the oil is becoming discolored, you’ll need to change it. The discoloration is a sign that the oil is fully saturated with dirt. You shouldn’t have to change the oil frequently.
One change per cleaning should be enough. However, if your coins are filthy, prepare to change the oil several times.
Isopropyl Alcohol vs. Acetone Bath
Some coin collectors swear by isopropyl alcohol and water for cleaning coins. While others stand by acetone as the best solution around. You’ll have to decide for yourself what cleaning agent you prefer.
Acetone has a high vapor pressure. It’ll evaporate off of your coins more quickly. It’ll do a great job at removing grease and grime.
You’ll be able to get all of the fingerprints and dirt entirely off with the help of acetone. You’ll even be able to get off any residue soap scum from the liquid dish soap. Another one of acetone’s unique properties is the light fruity scent it leaves behind.
Isopropyl alcohol also removes dirt, thanks to its mild acidity and abrasiveness. Isopropyl alcohol is a little bit softer than acetone. However, it’s just as effective at removing layers of dirt.
Super Fast Cleaning Method
So far, all of the cleaning methods in this article require a few hours of commitment. But what if you’re just looking to get a little bit of dust off of your Navy challenge coin?
Do you have to go out and get isopropyl alcohol or soak the coins in oil for days? Not necessarily.
When you’re simply looking to maintain your coins, a quick rinse under cold water can do the trick rather than a deep clean. Don’t run the water at full speed to avoid damaging the coins.
Instead, hold the coins under a gentle stream of cold running water for about 30 seconds. Be sure to flip the coins over to thoroughly clean both sides. Using a microfiber cloth, dab the coins clean and be sure to remove any water droplets.
Cherish Your Coins Year After Year
Understanding how to clean your Navy challenge coins means being able to enjoy them year after year. Double-check what material your challenge coins are made out of.
Decide what cleaning method from this article would be your best approach. Spend a little time today cleaning your coins; you’ll be so glad you did.
What other ways can you make your life better? We’d love to share more helpful tips with you. Take a moment to read another one of our blog posts.
