After washing some old Silver coins (British Hong Kong) with vinegar and salt, some malachite appeared beacause of late rinsing. I want to know how to remove the malachite from Silver coins. Any suggestions will help and thanks.
Frankly you probably pretty much already destroyed most of the numismatic value of the coins with the vinegar and salt so if you really want to get rid of it, wire brush works just fine.
Washing and cleaning coins with Vinegar, and Salt is a good way to ruin your coins. I am sure they are worth much less than they were before you started.
There is a proper way to restore a coin and many wrong ways. What you have done is acid etch your coins, this is the wrong way. It not only did half the job but ruined the surfaces. Most of us collect for the numismatic value, I don't mean to be harsh, just to the point. Cleaning, polishing, well anything that alters the surfaces of the coin is not a good practice.
Wash the coin with more vinegar and salt and this time, make sure to thoroughly rinse it. Could even rinse it in some sodium bicarbonate solution,,,but remember the final step is rinse, rinse, rinse.
Neither coin is silver. Both are made of a copper-nickel composition. Also both coins could be found cheap in a dealers junk bin. So consider this a lesson and don't do it any more!
