Does toning/dirty affect grade much?

would that be an acetone bath or a different route?

 

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MS70 is a commercial detergent coin cleaner. It removes dirt and some light tone and is great for dirty looking mint state silver.

Perhaps it takes a little experimentation to learn which coins can benefit from using it. If I owned these, it is what I would use to make them more market acceptable.

 

Interesting. Thanks, I'm going to look into it

 

I was raised to believe that there is no such thing as a "proper cleaning" under any circumstances for a coin. Of course, I still believe in the Easter Bunny, and I get candy yet, even at age 62.
and that's the troof... from:
SilverWilliesCoins.com

 

My thought is that if no one can tell it's been cleaned then it hasn't.

If a tree falls in the forest.......

 

Use of acetone is not considered cleaning... not by any coin experts or TPG's.

 

Unfortunately, you don't get to know if it "looks like it's been cleaned" until afterward, which is a bit too late....

 

I think toning gives a coin character.

 

"Unfortunately, you don't get to know if it "looks like it's been cleaned" until afterward, which is a bit too late...."

True. But with experience, I have gotten better at what to leave alone.

That was why I said those would be perfect, if I owned them. They are '21's, they are higher grade, and they are large and silver.

I still ruin one now and again but they are insignificant coins moneywise and weren't any better before cleaning.

 

They're such common dates, why bother cleaning them?

 

Just was a thought, only because the true detail maybe could be seen better. Not thinking of cleaning them to sell or anything, like you said, common dates, so really only staying in the collection just to have them, and was thinking why not see bout getting some gunk off to see the real toning. Then started thinking in general bout cleaning them and grades etc. Then came this thread lol

 

All I will write is this: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Probably should not have posted here at all!

 

I think that's the best, and easiest answer.

 

Some coins should never be cleaned, especially when they still have 2,200 year old Italian soil still clinging to them.

Roman Republic
AR Victoriatus, Anonymous, ca. 211-208 B.C.
Uncertain mint(traditionally, Vibo Valentia).
Laureate head of Jupiter right. Border of dots
Victory standing right, crowning trophy with wreath; between, VB; in exergue, ROMA. Line border. Crawford 95/1a
Notes: Traveling Roman Military Mint in Southern Italy

 

Yeah, probably wouldn't clean those!

 

Nope! Me either!

 

Those ancients have a super strong strike. Even with the crud. Must have been lost shortly after striking.

 

Ancients tend to vary as far as strike. Roman coins typically had a fair bit of deep relief comparable to the relief of earlier US. coins, or perhaps a little bit more (depends on the particular issue).

Ancient Greeks went crazy with deep relief. Some of their coins really take relief to the extreme. It may not be too easy to tell from these pictures, but the artwork on these coins really pop out. Nothing modern can match them.

 

I think most ancient coins were struck in such high relief that their designs lasted longer and as this was a lot of money back then, they did not circulate that much. I cannot recall seeing many silver or gold ancients worn down to VG or less. Even the big lots of circulated silver. Copper is another story.

 

You would be surprised. A lot of ancient coins are indeed heavily worn as they tended to circulate for hundreds of years. We know that into the second century AD there were Roman Republic coins minted nearly 200 years prior that were still in circulation (based on hoard finds).

You are right that money passed through less hands than it does today and wore out less, but some coins (provided they weren't burried within 50 or so years after being minted) could become quite worn over time. Some of the Republican denarii found in hoards from 200 years later are the worse for wear.

Here is an example of a somewhat fairly worn Denarius of Julius Caesar, minted in 44BC a month before his death.