I like coins that display well. Cleaned or ungradable coins are often great for this purpose if they look attractive. One example is an 1872 Seated Dollar with a place on the fifth star where it looks like someone pried off a drop of glue just slightly bigger than the star. The coin has otherwise AU details. What is a fair price to pay for this and other Seated/Bust coins that have similar problems?
There are a lot of levels of damage for a cleaned coin. I think the only possible way to assess the 1872 you're talking about is to provide a picture.
Gotta show some pics! Cleaned coins are something I stay away from, most are uglier than a one tooth lady. With that said I may make an exception if I can make a quick buck.
Treashunt has the right idea because very few people want to knowingly buy cleaned or un-gradable coins. When you go to sell, and they're advertised as such, no serious collector will pay you much for them. Look at every one as a potential loss, regardless. The exception would be a very rare piece, or just the opposite, an album hole filler. If I were you, I would keep my purchases under $10, maybe $20 for a common classic. Above that, they will become a real headache for you.
In swaps, if anyone ever picks a cleaned coin from my extras, I don't put a value on it past spot (if it applies) or I throw it in for free if there is no silver content. Now, that's for common coins. If I had a very rare cleaned coin, I probably wouldn't be trying to get rid of it. I try not to keep cleaned coins. Displaying them is sort of cheap and shows off the bad side of our hobby. Even in lucite, I prefer to see an unaltered coin surface. I wouldn't even recommend cleaned coins for one of these... http://www.ebay.com/itm/REAL-US-COI...515?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d26b92593
Here's the pic. Notice the fifth star. Click to enlarge. The reverse doesn't seem to have any problems.
