My father has showed me a cleaning trick with a pencil eraser is this ok or will it efect the coin It works great
It's a wonderful way to eliminate luster, and put hairlines and rub marks on the previously pristine surfaces of proofs and uncircs.
I would say no - it is a good habit to get into thinking that cleaning coins is bad. Think of the worst thing you can think of - now think of cleaning coins. Do it a couple of times, and you'll wanna chuck the next time an eraser comes near a coin!
Is it bad??? No. It's terrible!!! Just say no! Don't do it. National Dealer. When placing a coin in an album, there is a certain amount of pressure that must be applied, a certain amount of "rubbing" must occur in order to fit a coin in an album. Is this harmful to a coin as well? Even while wearing cotton gloves?
Absolutely. Everytime you touch a coin you will leave a mark. Cotton gloves eliminates the fingerprints and oils that your hands have, but will leave marks if you move during the process. When an ablum is offered to us for sale, 5% is discounted because of the potential damage. As you are probably aware, these holes are very tight fitting. This will also leave marks on the coin edge and rim. I would suggest that you buy albums that hold holders. This is the best way to go for uncs and especially proof coinage.
Never clean and here is why... In my humble opinion, a coin is tangible sliver of history that we can hold in our possession but never truly own. We are stewards, enjoying the coins while they are with us and ensuring that they will be available for future generations of collectors to enjoy. Cleaning a coin may bring you joy, but it also permanently effects the surface on the coin in a negative way. Therefore, cleaning is not good stewardship. "Cleaning" should only be performed by professional conservationists when it is required to halt the deterioration of the coin - and in this case the actions performed are correctly called conservation. So, again, never clean.
Man... I doubt very many people (average collectors) know this, National Dealer. I will keep that in mind going forward.
Quite the contrary - most collectors do know it. It's just that they don't care. They want their coins in albums - and they're gonna put them in albums.
You mean, most collectors who fit their coins in albums know they are damaging their coins when they place them in albums? Given the harm caused from cleaning coins compared to the damage done to them while placing them in albums, which is worse? And why would it be such a bad thing to mildly clean a circulated coin going into an album since it is going to be damaged anyway? No matter what, I promise I will never, EVER, clean my coins or anyone else's coins. Now that I just learned that I have been damaging them when I place them into albums, I'll probably harm them even more removing them. I tried it once and I ruined a coin album that way. Seriously though, I know since the circulated coins I store in albums are not rare, are not expensive, and are not investment quality coins, it is ok to store them in that manner because they are easy to access when wanting to look at them for whatever reason.
Of course it is OK. It's OK for you to store your coins in any manner you choose. I should have explained a bit more. First of all - the vast majority of collectors get their coins from circulation. And placing an average circulated coin into an album is not going to harm it. But there are circulated coins - even heavily circulated coins - that I would not suggest you place in an album. Say you have a Fine '16-D Mercury dime - that coin is worth serious bucks. Placing a coin like that into an album could very well create a new mark or scratch that would lessen the value. The same is true for many coins that have substantial value even in low grades. What I would never suggest a collector do though is to place UNC or Proof coins into an album. By doing so the coin will be marked and its value lessened. This is all but inevitable. There is another danger with placing coins into albums. Most albums have plastic slides to cover and protect the coins. But these slides often end up doing more damage than good. For if the coin is not positioned exactly so - every time the slide is moved back and forth - it can and will scratch the coins under it. This only cause even further damage and lessens the value even more. Even so - many collectors don't care if the coin receives a few more hairlines or that the luster is broken by placing it into an album. Albums are what they like - and their coins go into them. Period. This is their privilege for the coins belong to them and nobody has the right to tell anybody else how to collect or store their coins. My suggestion is this - if a coin has a value that is meaningful to you - don't put it in an album. Buy yourself some coin holders, handle the coin with care and in the years to come you will be glad you did.
I don't want to give the impression that albums are bad. GDJMSP is quite correct in his previous post. If you want to show off a nice looking album, that is certainly okay. There are several styles of albums today. I personally like the ones that hold the slabs. You can place your coin in a nice holder such as an airtite, and they fit nicely in these types of albums. They really don't cost that much more, and you offer twice the protection, while still having the coins accessible.
Well, again, I appreciate this information, guys. I will not invest in the gray US mint albums and will not buy koinsolve. Those were items on my list of things to buy, previously, but not now. I have probably saved in the neighborhood of a hundred dollars or so because of the advice I have received from you. Thanks for answering these questions. I hope you do not grow tired of answering questions of this nature anytime soon.
