True definition of cleaned?

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by John baker, Aug 23, 2019.

  1. John baker

    John baker Member

    in your opinion what dose the term cleaned mean to you when it comes to coins?
     
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  3. frankjg

    frankjg Well-Known Member

    There are thousands of threads about this topic on CoinTalk. My opinion would be to do a search first.
     
  4. ldhair

    ldhair Clean Supporter

    To me it means the coin has been messed with, worked on.
     
  5. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    To me, the term "cleaned" means that you can't sell a coin for what it could have been worth, you can't get a "straight grade" for it from a TPGS and you'll have to lie in order to dump it on someone else.

    Chris
     
  6. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    Calm down there, Chris. :rolleyes:

    To me, the term wear means that you can't sell a coin for what it could have been worth -- in other words, worn coins trade at a discount to MS coins. Doe that mean "you'll have to lie in order to dump it on someone else"?

    To me, the term "cleaned" sometimes means that I can get a coin that's still reasonably appealing, and that I wouldn't otherwise be able to afford. Improper cleaning causes damage, but "damaged" does not mean "destroyed".

    I know this is an unpopular opinion, or at least that most people would be embarrassed to state it. But I also know that I'm not the only one who holds it, because even coins that are damaged still sell regularly -- just at a discount.

    I say this as someone who's sold damaged coins, always with a clear description of the damage and photos that exaggerate the damage. They still sell.

    Some might claim that I'm "taking advantage" of people who don't realize that cleaned coins can't be sold. First of all, "cleaned coins only sell to people who don't realize that cleaned coins don't sell" is clearly a silly argument. Second, when someone tells me that (for example) "I'm finishing a set of holed proof Trade dollars", I'm inclined to assume that they do know what they're doing.
     
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  7. Dave Waterstraat

    Dave Waterstraat Well-Known Member

    Cleaned can be anything from a soak in distilled water to a scrubbing with a brillo pad. Some methods result in market acceptable coins others not so much.
     
  8. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    :woot:;):):woot:;):):woot:;):)
     
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  9. CoinCorgi

    CoinCorgi Tell your dog I said hi!

    Properly or improperly cleaned?
     
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  10. Maxfli

    Maxfli Well-Known Member

    [Insert Can of Worms image here]
     
  11. littlehugger

    littlehugger Active Member

    I was reading an article on grading bills. It went through various items, and near the end, it mentioned you could put a bill, or bills, in a book, give it some time, and it would restore it.
    Then went on a rant about this being something only a dishonest person would do.
    If you cannot tell the difference, how is it bad?
    Same with coins. TPG's are doing conservation now. Fancy word for cleaning.
    If its not harsh, unnatural or obvious, whats wrong with that?
     
  12. Maxfli

    Maxfli Well-Known Member

    If it's not harsh, unnatural or obvious, then it should probably be filed under the heading of "conservation." And there's nothing wrong with that.
     
  13. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    It's very simple. To me it means that something was removed from the coin without doing any harm whatsoever to the coin.

    But if you had asked a different question, such as - what does the term harshly cleaned mean to you when it comes to coins ? - I'd have a very different answer. Then, my answer would be that something was removed from the coin but did do harm to the coin.

    There is however a problem that arises with this seemingly basic question. And that is that far, far, too many people think the terms cleaned and harshly cleaned mean the exact same thing. And what's even worse is that they use the two very different terms in that way.
     
    Last edited: Aug 26, 2019
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  14. KSorbo

    KSorbo Well-Known Member

    To me the word “cleaned” is a synonym for “improperly cleaned”, meaning that the coin has been cleaned in a manner resulting in surfaces that are not market acceptable. Since the line between “properly” and “improperly” cleaned is a grey area, I prefer to let the TPG’s make that determination.
     
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  15. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    To each his own, but there aint nuttin grey about it. They're as different as black and white - and just as obvious !
     
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