Hi, These were all coins that I had returned to me detail-graded and all marked as Improperly Cleaned. Each coin in my submission back in 2008, these and others, were all marked Improperly Cleaned. I got a little disillusioned and kind of let collecting to the side for a bit. At any rate, after receiving these, I read a lot about improper cleaning and considering that even finger rubbing can be included, I honestly still don't understand how any circulated coin could ever NOT be 'improperly cleaned'. One thing I could never really fine were good descriptions of what really indicates cleaning (not including obvious actions like polishing, over-dipping, whizzing, scrubbing), so, if you don't mind taking a minute, help me to understand with these specific example what makes them improperly cleaned. It would help me a lot. Thanks. (These are scans, sorry) Tell me if I'm close on what could have happened to these 1814 50c O-105 F-details: Was this half simply rubbed too much? Dipped? 1853 G$1: Maybe polished a little with a cloth? 1897-O 10c: Dipped a long time ago?
Based on pictures it's hard to say, but based on those my guess would be that the dime and the half were both over-dipped, the half some time ago. As for the gold dollar, can't even guess. But with gold the most common form of cleaning is rubbing with a jeweler's cloth or light abrasive. And there are many who can't recognize it, even in hand. But with experience you come to recognize what they look like. Here's an example for you. Most folks, even those who know French gold, would not guess this coin had been harshly cleaned - based on these pictures. And it looks very similar in many ways to your coin.
Yeah, I can see the roughness of the surface in the second set. How can you tell something that may have been over-dipped a long time ago versus regular circulation wear? Especially in an F grade?
Well if they are body bagging that half, then good luck finding many they will slab. While I agree it was dipped, so were the vast majority of these coins. That one was surprising to me, since I see these same coins in slabs every show I go to.
On your particular coin I would say the clues are easiest to see on the reverse. See the whitish spots on the coin ? Well at one time those spots were dark and the only way they turn white like that is when the coin was over-dipped in an effort to get them off. Also, if the coin only had normal circulation wear then the reverse would not be so uniform in color, excepting the spots of course.
Ok, yeah, I see that. The white spots and uniformity make sense. The washed-out appearance of the dime is a similar indicator of long-ago dipping? But regarding uniformity, I've seen lots of old copper coins that are uniform in color and they are considered problem-free, what is a distiguishing feature to look for?
Well what that particular color is is also a clue. On older copper the color will usually be a uniform brown that can vary from light colored milk chocolate to dark chocolate in shade. Even that bust half, if it were a uniform dark or semi-dark gun metal grey instead of that whitish, light colored grey - it would be an entirely different story. You have to know your coins. You have to know what a certain coin in a certain condition is going to look like when it is problem free. And if it looks like something else, then you have to start trying figure out why it looks that way. This is where knowledge and experience comes in. And you can only get it by having looked at thousands and thousands and thousands of coins. So there is no single distinguishing feature or trait that I can tell you to look for. There are a thousand different distinguishing features and traits, depending on the particular coin in question. With every date, every mint, every grade, with every denomination, and all of those various combinations, it will be something different.
