Cleaning Coins, whats the big deal?

If there is a way to practice "conservation" instead of just cleaning a coin, are there any books or other writeups that explain the procedure or procedures? If there isn't, then the whole thing smells fishy to me. Experts in all fields continuously tell the public that whatever it is they do is too difficult to understand and implement for mere mortals to attempt. That's where the money is. I'm more of a self-reliant do-it-yourself type who doesn't really buy into this concept. It would be interesting to try to master some of the "approved" methods on cheap circulation coins and graduate to more meaningful coins.

 

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I'm not convinced that it is the method used, but rather the agreement between the "cleaner" and the "grader" that the coin being treated will be graded and accepted as conserved and "not" cleaned.
It's kind of like the cop who has his buddy hold a gun to your back while he removes your wallet from your pocket. Since it's the law that is involved, they are not robbing you, but helping you transfer funds.
See how that works?

 

I think that cleaned coins are ugly. They get that phoney shiney look. The patina is an important part of the coins history and story. The patina gives the coin character like the wrinkles on an old persons face.

 

nm joke no good

 

What kinda of "cleaning" are we talking about here though?

I use at most hot water and soap (dish detergent) to remove fingerprint and dirt. Is this bad? I mean, this can't be any worse than regular wear from circulation right?

I hate that fingerprint mark on nickel/bronze coins. The grease mark tones differently and leaves a permanent mark on there. I've tried using a toothbrush, didn't work. Thankfully these coins are pretty common circulation examples and soon enough a shinier example will come around.

But yeah, any proof set or anything that comes in a slab or box i don't touch.

 

well a month and a half later and i do see a part of why cleaning sucks but i think there's a range where it would make an actual difference. on an MS through i think (high)VF coins you can still see some of the original mint luster, improper cleaning can remove ALL of the luster or add marks to the coin ( NEVER EVER clean a proof- it will leave brown water lines ). i looked back at the coins that i cleaned with baking soda ( junk silver so no loss) and some of them had a transparent layer of white on them, didnt really effect the luster, but some of them toned gold.

cleaning on a coin AU+ could make a considerable difference on a coin whereass cleaning a F- coin could to me, at least, be a good thing.

still to each his own

 

I take my coins to a local coin laundry.

 

ALL kinds...and yes...I count the way you do yours as bad cleaning...and I wouldn't be buying any from someone who cleaned their coins like that...a collector can tell when a coin has been cleaned most of the time...

Speedy

 

I am against cleaning; I leave my coins as they are

 

Yeah, Bacchus I tried that too. Took some coins down to the local coin laundry where they had a machine you could put them into. Then I pushed the button and waited for the cleaned coins to re-emerge. But all that happened was this big cylinder started spinning around and the whole thing got real hot inside. Bummer.

 

If you are seeinbg a fingerprint, then it is most likely an uncirculated coin, and most cleaning will hurt the value. Having said that, if you can wash it off with no ill effects, then you win.

I will admit to sometimes wisping a soft cloth across a fingerprint on an Unc. coin I getin circulation for the reasons you stated, but if I added any hairlines, then the coin is no longer worth saving.

 

I would say that cleaning coins is also an issue because newbies don't have the experience to judge properly what good eye appeal is. I recall a classmate in grammer school boasting about having an uncirculated Morgan dollar. I skeptically asked him how he knew it as unc. He said he knew it was unc. because he polished it every week.

So....the standing rule is, NEVER clean a coin. If you stick to this, you will not do any damage to anything. (There are exceptions - clumps of dirt, PVC, etc.).

 

Exactly. You don't get them back, but you can be pretty sure that they're clean wherever they are.

 

I was wondering - what does PVC & PVC damage look like on a coin? It's possible that I've seen it, but didn't know what it was exactly.

 

On silver it looks like a dull gray to gray-blue film on the surfs. In extreme cases it turns green and can deeply damage the surfs of the coin. Damage can look like little gray or green bubbles. If dipped it may look more brown in color. Such bumps can form a crust on high spots where direct contact of PVC was made. After cleaning it may look like little pit under 20x power, that leaves the surfs dull looking.

I stopped most of the damage on my coins by cleaning before noticeably damage to the field surfs. However most of my 50+ BU and proof coins have some pitting on the rim and common wear spots.

Things to look for if your buying a clean PVC coin:
Small pitting on wear spots,
Hair lines form rubbing (cleaning),
Odd colored tone from dipping,
A dull gray to gray-blue or brownish film ring around or next to the high spots where it’s would be hard to clean. Such as tightly spaced lettering.

 

I may be a "dip" on this matter but I feel that I get cleaned as in cleaned out everytime I buy a coin. Talk about being taken to the laundry. Man.

If you want to clean your coin, go ahead and clean it. It's your coin.
Just do the favor and don't buy any rare coins.

 

better yet, buy them already cleaned! they sell at a huge discount, so you save money, and your work has already been done...

if you want to own cleaned coins - there are plenty out there ready to buy.

 

I've seen 100+ year old cleaned gold coins on Ebay where the final selling price was less than bullion value. Intellectually, I know there is something very very wrong about that situation; but emotionally I can't bring myself to bid on them because it has been hammered into my brain to never buy a cleaned coin. So forums like this have helped to either save me from making a mistake, or brainwashed me into conventional numismatic thinking to my own detriment.

 

As it was said before....back in the 1800's many thought it was the right thing to do to clean coins...they did it to good coins and bad coins alike....that is why you see a lot of cleaned old coins.

Speedy