hello knowledgable ones. is their any tell tale way to see if a coin has been cleaned or dipped in a cleaner. in genearal and specifacally lincolns.
Very few people would ever dip a copper coin - at least not more than once. Copper is very reactive and it can and will turn all sorts of weird colors if dipped. Basically the dips that are used are a mild acid - some are stronger than others. Most will actually remove metal form the surface of the coin if used several times. With silver coins all will alter the surface of the coin but some so slightly that it is not noticeable to the untrained eye. But with copper - they all alter the coin. A silver coin that has been dipped too many times appears a dull gray and lifeless color - it has no luster. For the dip has actually removed the luster from the coin. A cleaned coin may have scratches across its surface that can sometimes be seen with the naked eye and sometimes require magnification to see them. You can also sometimes see a slightly curved area or what appears to be raised areas next the devices of the coin. This is because as the coin is cleaned the metal on the surface of the coin is actually pushed up against the devices. Learning to identify cleaned coins can be just as hard and sometimes even harder than learning to grade. Many an expert has been fooled by a coin cleaned by a pro. That's one of the neat things about this hobby - there's always something else to learn
I am currently reading How to make money in coins right now by Scott A. Travers. scan of p45 when he writes about grading:
just as a little test, i took a regular lincoln cent (didnt want to mess up my nice coins) and dipped them in a cleaning solution. They turned all bluish i even tried it with a capped die (on accident) and now it has a blue tinge to it (especially around the design elements)
Didn't believe me huh ? Well that's OK - it is not wise to believe everything you read And I don't care who wrote it ! A little skepticism is a good thing in this hobby
