Wiping circulated coins

I would like to see someone take you up on this. lol. However, if I was the one being challenged in this way I might just be tempted to look the coins over and tell you they have ALL been wiped and let you prove me wrong.

 

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It should only be cleaned lightly, if covered in dust or things like that, and in XF or lower condition.

 

That's why I'm working on getting an outside source to independently verify the coins that were "cleaned." I could even devise a way to get really scientific and go "double blind" if need be.

Besides, I hope all see this as a friendly wager. I think I'm right, but I certainly admit that I could be proven wrong.

 

Lemme think about that one.

 

I hope you know that this is a friendly experiment. I've wiped them with microfibers before and can't tell a difference under 30x mag. I could possibly be blind to the effects though. I don't deny that.

Jody

 

My point is (and I didn't make it clear) that you might not have wiped the coin but a previous owner could have. Really no way to prove they didn't or you didn't at some point in the past.

I agree with you. I don't think it would be possible to tell for sure.

 

The coins I would send would have come from original uncirculated rolls.

 

I see. My mistake. It would be a fun experiment for sure. Hope Hobo takes you up on the offer.

Why on earth did you have to bring up a "double blind" experiment? Reminded me of my research class in college. Hated it. Now ill have nightmares tonight. lol.

 

LOL...I'm a science geek.

 

Gonna be fun to hear the opinions........:eating:

 

LMBO

I'll do it. I don't have an opinion on the subject so I'm the ultimate perfect 3rd party haha (not that it matters of course).

And y'all can wager to see who writes my next English paper

 

My opinion is to "wipe away". Just be sure that your microfiber cloth doesn't pick up some grit or you will scratch your coins.

As for the "never wipe" crowd, thats fine with me as there is also a "never dip" crowd and truth be told, its an experience thing. Somethings should never be wiped (i.e. silver proofs, copper proofs) while others are ok (cn clad proofs) provided the wiping cloth is soft and free of contaminents. I have scratched my glasses in the past using a handkerchief or some other soft cloth (cotton tee shirt) to clean them which had unseen grit in it (them).

Dipping falls into the same category. Some coins should never be dipped (i.e. circulated silver and all copper) while other coins really need it (i.e. badly toned uncirculated coins).

Both really fall into the experience of the collector who should be willing to understand that such activities could go terribly wrong.

Now while I say its ok to wipe or dip, I would never even consider such things for a coin I was heavily invested in but would not have a second thought about an inexpensive coin I'd received for free provided it really needed it.

Receiving your mother's collection from many years ago would probably fall into that category provided she hadn't inadvertantly collected some extremely valuable die variety.

IMO, there are only hard, fast rules for beginners. Folks that have experience in handling and dealing with coins know that the exercising of these rules is subject to the experience of the collector.

 

Exactly! Especially the last paragraph.

As a rule it's best to never need to clean a coin but with experience you know not only what the exceptions are but how to do it. Some collectors might never need to know how to clean a coin and no one should ever gain their experience by ruining valuable coins.

I've lost some coins that just break my heart. Just this year a Polish 1949 aluminum mint set was lost due to poor storage media. It was my fault ultimately as I'm not nearly careful enough with very inexpensive coins. This set was a stunning PL unc and listed for only a couple dollars. Unfortunately it sat on foam rubber and this destroys aluminum. I discovered the damage just a few weeks before Krause bumped the value to about $100 for a typical unc. Now they're gem on one side only. They're trash but after destroying them I can't even bring myself to pitch them in the trash.

But a lot of coins can be saved if the mint packaging goes bad. They can be improved if they are dirty or hazy. If they were improperly cleaned by someone else they can sometimes be brought back to look natural. Just soaking copper in acetone and then exposing to heat and fumes (like the top of a furnace) can restore improperly cleaned coins to beautiful in as little as days.

If you collect only very expensive coins there's no real need to learn how to clean and restore but a collector who has been around a little and has cheap coins might be well advised to at least dabble a little in cleaning. If you're in doubt don't clean. And don't forget that a proper cleaning just shows what the coin looks like under the mess. Sometimes the coin under the mess looks way worse than the mess. You have to learn to see what's under the goop as part of learning how to clean.

Learn on cheap or spendable coins.

 

Alright! Doug's in, so looks like we've got ourselves a scientific experiment. I'll work on getting the coins together and work with Tyler who has agreed to meet up with me to witness wiping the coins down with a microfiber cloth. Anyone have any suggestions of how they think this would ideally work?

Thanks to Doug for taking the challenge.

 

Doug,

If you prefer that method, that's fine with me. My thought though was to pull ten coins from two different die pairs which would be 5 coins from each die pair. I figured this would show that the coins came from mint rolls/bags and thought it might help you as well in determining if marks were from the dies or from the rubbing or something else. I would put them in flips and number each flip.

Jody

 

Jody, don't make it easy on the old boy......

 

Maybe we should revive that one thread; Doug's so old that with his eyesight he can't tell the difference between a die break and a contact mark anyway. Now I'm in trouble.

 

Not now you're not.

Tomorrow morning?

Dougs a good sport.....