Wiping circulated coins

Okay I'm sure this has been discussed over and over, but I could'nt find anything specific. I have about 700 circulated Wheat Cents that I am currently putting into 1 1/2x1 1/2's to fill a binder. Now these are not amazing coins as my mom collected them when she was a teenager. They are all very circulated. My question is I have been wiping them with a very fine microfiber cloth before putting them into the cardboard to get any fingerprints, oils, etc. off of them so it doesn't get encased with the coin. Is this wrong? So far I have wiped every coin I have put into a 2x2, all types I have, not just the cents. All of my coins are from circulation, so I don't really have anything special. Alot of these coins had a light haze on them that came off when I wiped them. Now I do not scrub the coins by any means, I wipe them with the very fine cloth. I am just wondering if I am okay doing this for the most part.

 

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Yes.

No.

 

I'm sorry Hobo, but your categorically intrinsic belief that touching any coin is bad is simply wrong. The exceptions to your rule(where it's simply not going to matter) are probably a trillion to one.

If you were wiping down an 09-VDB in MS condition it would be ill-advised. No it is not wrong what you are doing. The vast majority of wheats are worth little more than copper value in circulated condition, so the wipe by a micro-fiber cloth is not going to hurt them.

 

I agree that the damage caused by wiping common, circulated Wheat Cents may not diminish their value by much but the fact remains that mechanical cleaning (one form of which is wiping) causes hairlines.

 

i do the same unless they were top notch coins. Some even look better after I've done it in my album. what damage can it cause in value. None

i even wiped a Lincoln cent before sending it to NGC because i didnt like the way it looked and i made it look better. So it came back MS66 RD because of the few hits it had. I was kinda nervous about it but pleased in the end. i wouldnt recomend this but it was gamble i took. Plus i wasn't going to sell it anyways - it was for my personal collection. So go figure Snowman

 

I figured I was fine. My most expensive coin so far is only worth about $8 Redbook value and it is already in F condition so any wiping with a fine cloth I figured wouldn't hurt it anymore than what it's already been through. Most of my wheats are very ciculated, not necessarily in detail, but they've been around so long that many have a waxy feel to them so I don't even think I'm wiping bare metal to be honest. I do understand not to wipe an expensive or exceptionally good condition coin. I'm pretty confident that I know when and when not to chance wiping a coin, and so far I have not hit a questionable coin yet. I only do this so that any oil, gunk, etc., does not get trapped in the 2x2 with the coin and possibly damage it over time.

If I ever get a more valuable coin I will opt for the acetone approach before I put it in storage. As it sits now though I wipe instead because I have way too many common circulated coins for my personal collection that are simply just not worth my time dipping them all.

 

In general I would advise against cleaning coin this way. It will leave traces on every piece. But you seem to be well aware of the difference, when it comes to cleaning, between a low value coin and a better one. In a couple of years you can still replace those badly preserved ones with better examples if you want to. Been there, done that myself.

Christian

 

If it makes you feel better about the coins, by all means wipe 'em down. It causes hairlines but what the hey? Probably already got all manner of marks, dings, and hits on the coins anyway. What's a few more fuzzies.......

 

Why are you wiping them? I'm with the DON'T DO THAT crowd. If you must do something before putting them in a 2x2, just rinse both sides with acetone.

 

I'm also with the "don't wipe the coins" group.

 

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Best wheat VF? I think you are ok.
I've used surgical sponges on my circulated coins until they are black and green then throw them away.

 

You can't see hairlines on a circulated coin. If by some chance you do then just wipe them until they disappear. Rather than wipe I'd suggest thumbing for circulated coppers that have developed a haze. Rub your thumb by your nose, forehead, or wherever you have a little oil and try to work it into the coin. This will remove not only the haze but any old dirt and accumulations. If it won't all come off soak in in olive oil for a while. Olive oil should be removed with detergent and then the coin wiped with a soft cloth.

Never never use mechanical cleaning for coins with pristine surfaces like true unc and proofs. On very rare occasion something might be lifted off with a tooth pick or black locust thorn but these coins are almost never improved by mechanical processes and are usually damaged.

 

Are you serious?

Someone should notify ANACS and Heritage. Here is a link to an auction for an 1800 Silver Dollar ANACS graded F-12 and described as having hairlines.

1800 $1--Cleaned--ANACS. Fine 12 Details.</I>

Keep wiping until the hairlines disappear???? I don't know how to respond to that.

 

You really shouldn't wipe with something that can scratch like paper towles or rough fabric. Anything that you can wipe glasses with should be OK for circulated coins. But this applies primarily to copper and specifically to copper that isn't polished bright by circulation or some other process. Don't get me wrong you should be able to wipe silver as well but it's a little moe likely to show and it's less likely to help.

The point of cleaning is to make a coin look more natural; like it just came out of circulation. If it looks cleaned or a magnifying glass reveals hairlines then you've damaged the coin rather than helped it.

As I said if you clean them then thumbing with or without oil is often the best bet but it does require some experience. Don't leave behind cleaned, hairlined, or otherwise damaged coins. But what collector wants coins that don't look their best. Sure you can vow to never clean coins but then you'll miss lots of bargains because they need cleaning or someone already messed them up by bad cleaning. No matter how careful you are with storage you're quite likely to eventually damage coins yourself or allow improper holders or mint packaging to damage them. Ideally you wouldn't do this but in the real world it doesn't pay to just give them away once it's happened.

Many things that go wrong can be reversed. Just be sure you're not making them worse.

 

Ok, call me an idiot, but I often wipe a circulated coin with a tissue. I do it because they are right beside my work station. If it is ok for my delicate nose, it must be ok for a circulating coin.

 

Just don't transfer the nose hairs to the coin Phil. You may create hairlines......

 

Okay so I guess the best way to say it is: all of my wheats were given to me by my mom that she collected when she was my age so none of them will ever leave this family. that is why I am wiping them, because I don't want any oilss, and what not to damage them anymore then whats already been done. I do not own any proofs, that I know of atleast, so I am not worried about wiping a proof because I wouldn't do it. I just want to preserve these coins a little better, but there are just too many to dip in acetone. These wheats are all going into a binder and all are common unless I find an error here or there. Many of them as I said have a waxy feel to them and me wiping them shines them up a bit. These are more of a sentimental/historical collection than something that needs to be perfect.

A side note: I am not just grabbing any random paper towel or cloth laying around. I have very fine microfiber cloths that I use. Even finer feeling then most lens cloths I have used. I know they can still cause hairlines, but on my coins I think anyone would be extremely hardpressed to tell the difference in how the coin was and what I did.

 

Generally , if you don't know what to do with coins, dont...............................but,

Since you know the origin and the destination of the coins, do what you want ( except melt them as that is against US law). If detergent doesn't get all of the grime off, use a bristle artist paint brush, as it will be more effective. rinse well and dry for a long period before putting into holders. If later looking through them you find a scarce one, put it into the coin pocket of a pair of jeans for a while. Enjoy the personal history. They are coins ,family true, but not religious icons. IMO.

Jim

 

Hobo-

I agree that certain cleaning methods can cause hairlines, but the OP was talking about a microfiber cloth and circulated Lincolns. No harm there. I'll be willing to make a wager with you. I will use a microfiber cloth to wipe(not just lightly brush, but wipe as I would think the average person would do) a random few out of 10 red GEM Lincoln Memorials and send them to you with a SASE envelope for the return journey and see if you can tell me which ones were wiped. I'll disclose before hand to a third party which ones were wiped. If I can get another party near where I live to witness the cleaning I'll even do that. Lincolncent you up for this experiment since you don't live too far away? I'll make this same offer to Doug since I think he's stated the same about hairlines. You guys examine the coins as a TPG would, which we've already established would be with the naked eye or at best a 5x loupe. I'll just trust you guys that you aren't using an electron microscope! If you guess them, then I will forever eat my words. Beyond that we can wager or not wager something else.

Jody