How to tell if an old coin has been cleaned?

Let's look at a couple more. What do you folks think of these ? And make sure you right click on the images and select Open In New Tab, that will allow you to see nice big pictures. And if you use Chrome, you can click on that pic in the new tab and even see bigger ones.

 

I believe both coins have been harshly cleaned. The first - if you look closely you can see fine lines that cross the body and skirt, more are visible in the fields. The second coin also has those fine lines visible in the fields.

Fine, hairline scratches like these when found in patches or over the entire coin are a typical sign that a coin has been harshly cleaned. The hairline scratches can be caused by a cloth, a brush, a sponge, almost anything being used to wipe or rub across the coin in an effort to remove dirt & grime, fingerprints, toning, and anything else that may have gotten on the coin.

Now a lot of people think that the metal in coins is hard and so something soft could not damage it, could not leave behind fine scratches and marks on the coin if used to try and clean the coin. But they are wrong in this thinking. It doesn't matter what it is, there is nothing that can be rubbed across the surface of a coin that will not leave behind traces of that having been done - nothing !

Some people will claim that this cannot be true because they have done it and they can't see any fine lines or scratches on the coin. But the people saying that are the ones that are wrong because quite simply, they don't know what they are seeing when they see it.

Yes coin metals are hard. But they are not so hard that they cannot be scratched. There is no cloth or material of any kind that is soft enough - none - to not scratch coins. And this effect can even be made worse by any particles of dust that may be on the cloth, or by dirt, grime, or any material on the coin itself. These fine particles will act as grit that will scratch the metal. But even if the coin and the cloth were absolutely clean, it would still scratch the metal.

This sounds counterintuitive, it doesn't seem to be logical so it could not possibly be true. Nonetheless it is true. And to prove it to yourself all you have to do is take the softest clean cloth you can get your hands on, a clean coin, and then rub that coin repeatedly with the cloth. The coin will look different when you are done for you will have polished it. And that's what polishing is, replacing the original surface with a series of fine scratches that are finer than the original surface was, thus making the original surface look more uniform than it was before. Polishing is nothing more than a higher degree of rubbing and creating fine scratches. Rub something a little and the scratches are easily seen. Rub it a whole lot, and they are harder to see because they cover the surface in a more uniform manner.

This issue of dark areas and light areas is a different effect and one that can be harder to judge. This is because two very different things can have the same result. 1 - circulated coins, in the course of normal circulation acquire dirt, grime, and finger oils which only serve to attract more dirt and cause it to stick to the coin in protected areas. But because the coin is in circulation that dirt etc is rubbed off the high points of the coin, and usually the fields of the coin as well, and left behind only in the protected areas, the fine recesses around the legends, dates, and crevices of the devices. And so a normal circulated coin, that has not been harshly cleaned, when viewed, has this effect of dark areas and light areas. 2 - a coin that is harshly cleaned, typically with a brush or a cloth, creates exactly the same effect of dark protected areas and light exposed areas. The only difference between the two will usually be the traces of fine lines, the hairline scratches, left behind by the harsh cleaning. And you will often have to look closely to see them.

One more thing on this, it is not unusual for a coin in circulation to acquire some fine scratches and hairlines in the course of circulation. But, those hairlines will be very different in that they will be scattered about here and there and in just about any direction. Sometimes you will find them in small patches of 3 to 5 or you may find them singly scattered about. But a coin that has been harshly cleaned will typically have large patches, maybe 20, 30 or more, of these fine hairlines, and they will often all be running in the same direction. And sometimes they will even cover the entire coin.

And it is important to note that a coin does not need to be completely covered with fine hairlines for that coin to be considered to have been harshly cleaned. It can be one small area in the fields or on the devices where somebody tried to remove a spot maybe, or a patch of dirt, or a patch of toning, anything. This area may be no bigger than your little fingernail. But this is still enough to cause the coin to be designated as having been harshly cleaned. But they use a different word, a different term to describe this. Such a coin will be described as having been wiped. But the net result is the same, the coin will be designated harshly cleaned.

One last thing for you to know, there is difference between the two terms - cleaned, and harshly cleaned.

A coin that has been cleaned is perfectly acceptable.

A coin that has been harshly cleaned is not acceptable at all.

But it is commonplace in the course or normal conversation and/or writing for a coin that has been harshly cleaned to be described simply as having been cleaned. This is a contraction of sorts, similar to saying hasn't as opposed to saying has not. Unfortunately the use of this particular contraction can be and is confusing to many, resulting in them thinking that the two terms (cleaned/harshly cleaned) are interchangeable, meaning the same thing. But this is not true, they are not interchangeable at all, even though they are used as such. And used as such by many.

There are literally millions of coins that have been "cleaned" that are in regular, graded, TPG slabs. A coin that has been rinsed/washed in distilled water is a coin that has been cleaned. A coin that has been rinsed in acetone is a coin that has been cleaned. A coin that has been properly dipped is a coin that has been cleaned. And all of these things are perfectly acceptable and none of them will harm the coin. And the TPGs will accept them and grade them just as they will any other coin.

Coins that have been harshly cleaned however are coins that have been damaged by the harsh cleaning. And those coins will not be accepted and graded by the TPGs.

If it is easier to remember then use the terms "properly cleaned" and improperly cleaned". Properly cleaned is good, improperly cleaned is bad. It's just that simple.

 

The explanation by NGC for what happened to those two coins was that they had been wiped.

 

Please be so kind to point out what is not true. When you have the time that is.

edited version - what you "think" is not true