Conserving Copper Cents

[Weidel Legacy Collection]

I just purchased a nice collection of red cents from the 30's, 40's, and early 50's. All are in cardboard 2x2's with staples. What I would like to do is move them to either an album or some other form of holder sans staples. My question is this: how should I process/passivate the cents after they've been liberated from the holders and before they've been strored? What methods/materials are the safest and least intrusive for doing this type of stuff? Thanks! Before you say it, yes...I know...beware of the staples and the scratches they could inflict if not handled carefully!

[James_OldeTowne]

If they have been there awhile and have not changed, I would do absolutely nothing to them. At worst a very quick dip in acetone, but there is probably no reason to do that.

 

However, definitely use canned air to blow dust particles out of the album slots prior to inserting the coins.