once, many years ago. i got a set of four german silver coins. it's a rare set as i later on knew it. all four coins were toned, i thought it was ugly and grade looks x fine. so i sold it very cheap to a collector. it turned out that all four coins were uncirculated but toned into a very beautiful color. it worth several thousand dollars. one of the dealer told me. anyway. during that time, i am still knew to this hobby. and that will be stupid.
Probably dipping some wheat pennies in vinegar and salt. Later realized it was a mistake. Other than that, I take good care of my coins.
I have some 1964 halves that I experimented with. I wanted to see how they do fake toning to help me spot it. I did this when silver was about $4.50. If I knew silver would hit 7+ this quick I would not have done it.
My stepfather started me in coin collecting in the mid 1970s when I was 8 or 9 years old. He thought there was nothing wrong with cleaning coins, so out came the baking soda and toothbrush. I sure did a nice job with my first Morgan, an 1899. Ugh. Probably the worst part is that I sold all of my coins 4 or 5 years later when I got into model airplanes and cars. I didn't have anything really special or valuable, but it would be neat to have a few coins from my childhood. Live and learn.....
I took an 1899 indian head penny to the carnival when I was 10 and lost it on the tilt-a-whirl ride. I had no idea of coin values at the time but it seemed to me that anything from the 1800's must be valuable. I regretted that for far longer than the coins actual value would suggest. Another time, my grandfather gave me a silver dollar. To keep it hidden from my 8 brothers and sisters, I put it on the upper most ledge of the cinderblock basement in my home and heard it fall all the way down to the bottom block. It's still there today.
If that happend at my house the cinder block would be undergoing major repairs. I'm pretty sure the silver dollar is worth more than the couple buck required to patch the block. Plus I'd have a blast breaking into the wall. I used to love construction work. Demolition is fun as h#!!.
I moved out of that house 34 years ago. I wonder how the new owners would feel about the construction project? Hum?
i bought soft plastic flips.... still cleaning green gunk off of coins, luckily i found it before anything was damaged.
that won;t affect the silver value... I have about $200.00 face value of 1964's that are ugly ( scratched, cleaned, etc ) but they are srtill worth their silver value...
I once thought a Mercury dime I had been given was a little dark. So I took a pencil eraser to it. Shined right up!
I used Kaboom cleaner to shine some wheaties and a '43 S nickel. Ohhh, they are now the disgrace of my collection. While attemping to clean the wheaties, I dropped one down the sink! %*$@ ! I don't know if I want to know the date or not.
stupid thing you did to your coins. before i kept some unc coins in a wrong place. full of pvc contamination. anyway, i still pray for my coins to be safe from contamination.
give away that was when i was still fresh at collecting coins. i gave my nephew an uncirculated hong kong trade dollar dated 1800's. because i did not like the design.
