I am having a hard time with the identification of cleaned coins. Specifically at this time Large Cents. I also have other coins, 2 cent, 3 cent, etc. Is there a book out there that shows pictures of cleaned coins vs non-cleaned and explains what to look for? Thanks in advance!
Hopefully others can help you with a book. I will just say you are picking one of the trickier areas, since they have been around and "messed with" for so long by collectors. They can be much trickier than more modern issues to spot cleaning, since most have had time to retone over the cleaning.
Thanks for your response Medoraman. I got the old coins a while back before I even knew about cleaning. I just wanted some coins from the 1800s. Now that I am really getting into coins and collecting I have The Cherrypicker's Guide to Rare Die Varieties, Strike It Rich With Pocket Change and A Guide Book of Silver Morgan Dollars. I posted pictures of my Large Cents and Tom B knew immediately that they were cleaned. I am amazed and want to learn how to do that.
There have been some good threads here about cleaned copper. I would suggest you search for them. Basic thing I can say is always pay attention under a loupe where the devices rise from the fields, and learn what the correct colors are for large cents. I am betting Tom was able to tell from the color if he was immediately able to tell they were cleaned, (assuming they were not red). Good practice for you would be to look through something like Heritage's archives of large cents. Look at all of the cents in problem free holders, and I mean look at hundreds. Then, look at yours with fresh eyes. Seeing good coins over and over again many times is terrific training on how to spot problem coins. Us old geezers are lucky in that we have looked at tens of thousands of coins, and many times even though I cannot immediately enunciate the problem, my eye notices something is "off". Besides, what is more fun than looking at hundreds and hundreds of coins?
You may find it a worthwhile investment to purchase a few common large cents (cheap, non-key dates) and try a different chemical cleaner on each. This should help to give u a better feel of what cleaned large cents will look like. This is also a good method to employ on silver coins.
But we know what chemicals on large cents look like. No reason to destroy 150+ year old coins just for one more person to find out. Hopefully someone from the EAC club can chime in here if there are resources for collectors to show them this.
Search on eBay under US Coins> Large Cents with (genuine, details) in the search string . . . Examine all of those that are cleaned or have a 92 code on them, and you'll have a great sampling of coins to learn from.
As an EAC member I am not aware of any picture based resources to teach about cleaned coins. Keep in mine that each and every computer monitor renders color slightly differently. The advise above to look at hundreds of known good, unmessed with, copper coins is excellent. Each collector needs to develop an eye for what just doesn't look right. What color(s), yes there is more than one color, are acceptable. Where to look on the coin and compare color is important as well. Dark gunk in devices compared to flat surfaces for example. Wear should be considered, is the wear evident consistent with the color? Look at hundreds and hundreds is the best way to develop the "eye" and experience.
