The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

So I picked up a 40mm Bofors brass shell over the weekend and it is dirty and has some minor corrosion. I was wondering if there would be any harm done to its value if I cleaned it up? All thoughts and opinions welcome!

A matter of personal taste, some people like a patina on the brass, others like it to shine. However if it has a shine put on it then the shine must be maintained......endlessly as brass tarnishes quickly.

Junk Yard Dog wrote:A matter of personal taste, some people like a patina on the brass, others like it to shine. However if it has a shine put on it then the shine must be maintained......endlessly as brass tarnishes quickly.

No real damage to collectors value if I clean it? Just keep cleaning it?

I've got 2 115mm brass shells, once you clean them, just keep them clean. Fingerprints will tarnish if left long, and if it happens to go green like the base of one of mine did, it could cause pitting.

54r man wrote:

Junk Yard Dog wrote:A matter of personal taste, some people like a patina on the brass, others like it to shine. However if it has a shine put on it then the shine must be maintained......endlessly as brass tarnishes quickly.

No real damage to collectors value if I clean it? Just keep cleaning it?

Spent shells are more of a curiosity than a collectable piece, like spent 7.62x54r cases at the range, people collect them up for reloading or scrap, but otherwise they have no real use once shot. Now if that was an original dummy round then I would say keep it however you found it . I have a small dummy round that was dug up at the site of a WW1 training camp near here. It was polished up and I now have it sitting out in a car regaining it's patina naturally by exposure to heat, humidity, and mice.

Thankyou,