Lol. I definitely did wash it with hand soap and water but NO polish or whatever. I washed it so i could see the writing to try and figure out what it was. I did however use a very soft toothbrush! The pics might seem a little strange cause i was messing on the settings on my camera trying to take a clear pic. I don't believe it has any kind of brassy look to it. It is definitely silver looking. It actually seems to be in pretty good condition if i didn't ruin it with the soap and toothbrush!!