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How to Clean Nickles

While cleaning nickles in a valuable collection is strongly discouraged by experienced coin experts, you can clean non-valuable nickels or collectible nickels when you absolutely must. If the nickels have been dug up from the dirt or have been accidentally dropped into something, cleaning may be a last resort for restoring your coins. If you do decide that you need to clean your nickels, learn the proper way to do so without damaging the coins.

Things You'll Need

Mild dish soap
Distilled water
Soft-bristled toothbrush
Dry towel
Household ammonia
Measuring cup

Instructions

- 1
  Add two drops of mild dish soap to a cup of warm distilled water and mix it with a soft-bristled toothbrush.
- 2
  Brush the soapy water over the nickels with the toothbrush. Work the brush gently in circles to dislodge dirt between raised images, letters and numbers.
- 3
  Rinse the nickel with distilled water and place it onto a clean, dry towel to dry.
- 4
  Inspect your nickel once it has dried. If it is still dirty enough to need cleaning, mix one-third cup of household ammonia with 1 cup of distilled water.
- 5
  Brush the ammonia mixture over the nickel with the toothbrush and lay it to dry on the towel.

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