And if you dunk 'em in mop & gloo the creation will take on that "splashes of spring luster" look. Ummm ummm. Reich's fat mistress never looked so good.
There is nothing wrong with liking cleaned coins, as long as you have no intention of having them slabbed, or getting decent value in selling them. I do not advocate the cleaning of coins, obviously, as it is damaging to the coin, but if one wants to have a few for personal collection, and is not worried about value? why not?
Why not just clean it properly though and not ruin value or perhaps in a few cases actually raise it a tiny bit?
Funny you mention that. A while back, I visited a traveling Titanic exhibit (actually, it showed up at my local mall and I had time to kill). Some of the artifacts included a few coins that had been recovered from the wreck including a Barber Half. I remember the first thing I thought when I saw these few coins was that they had been so harshly cleaned. I guess once you are a coin collector, you notice those things.
Could someone please provide me with a definitive explanation of the difference between "properly" and "improperly" cleaned? The distinction between the two is used to assert opinions on these forums all the time, but an explanation of the difference is never provided. I'm assuming that the definition will involve references to surface alteration. However, any cleaning process will alter the surface. Most cleaning processes are geared towards manipulating tarnish in some way, which constitutes the current surface of the coin. Not to mention that tarnish itself represents an alteration of the original coin surface. Does "properly" mean a cleaning process that can't be detected? A cleaning that was paid for? Or just a line that some coin collectors find acceptable for some reason?
The reason that museums clean and polish their coins is because they want their displays to be visually appealing to visitors. Most people that visit a museum will have little appreciation for a dingy-looking tarnished turd as opposed to a nice shiny coin. Of course, the high-brow numismatist will prefer the turd, because they've been conditioned to do so. On more than a few occasions, I have asked other collectors to provide an explanation as to how they know that a particular coin has been cleaned. Often times their explanation is simply, "It looks too nice". I don't know about all of you, but I suffer from the natural human condition of preferring things that look nice. I don't like rust on my car, I don't like stains on my carpet, and I don't like tarnish on my coins. It's not only a personal preference, as the purpose of my collection is to create displays within my home for others to appreciate. In general, these visitors will be more interested in looking at aesthetically pleasing examples, therefore cleaned coins are preferred. I'm not trying to advocate coin cleaning, I actually discourage people from doing it. I completely respect and understand a person that has a greater appreciation for originality as opposed to aesthetic beauty. I'm just saying cleaned coins have their place, they have value, and people that seek them out shouldn't be looked upon as idiots for doing so.
The real reason is because they don't have a knowledgeable curator. You won't see the Smithsonian or the ANA polishing their coins. Just because they are ignorant doesn't mean a collector has to. Guy
I'd love to know if people are able to crack out conserved coins and get them slabbed in regular holders.
If I send in a coin to NCS, it doesn't come back with a "conserved" designation, it just comes back in a normal NGC slab.
Museums are not the only ones. The coin restoration departments of places like PCGS use silver cleaner (slightly different but close) for coin restoration.
difference between tarnish and dirt. I am wondering about the term "clean". When I hunt through rolls some coins are obviously gritty and dirty especially hand-rolled coins someone brought in that contain all kinds of crap including pieces of used tissues and hair. Naturally I want to do something about this but don't want to alter the coin. If it is black, I keep it black. If there is something not natural on the coin but something left on it by someone, I want to remove it. I have heard acetone gets grit and gook off a coin but I just use alcohol. Common copper pennies I just throw in the sink with shampoo and can then wipe the gook right off.
I really do not find this coin that attractive. I would call it tarnished instead of toned. Let me re-ask the knowledgeable people out there if this coin were sent in to be "conserved" would it look more attractive than it does now? What kind of cleaning would they do to "conserve" it? Water? Acetone? A little dippety-dip? Inquiring minds want to know.