hello! just a quick question.. I heard somewhere that it was possible to use a pencil eraser to clean up a coin. So i was curious about this of course because it sounds silly.. So i did it to some worn down "V Nickels" i have, and to be honest i liked the way they turned out. So I was curious whether this was frowned upon? Lessen the value of the coin? etc.. Any info will help. Don't worry i won't do this to any of my "better" coins until i hear what you guys have to say. Nothing better than coins for christmas :]
Its always a good idea not to clean a coin in anyway shape or form Chemically or otherwise, Just brings down the value!!
Please do not use this method on ANY coins. You are doing more damage than good. And to answer your questions - it is VERY frowned upon, and yes it lowers the resale value of the coins considerably.
that is the answer i expected.. just was unsure in the case of a more darkened coin than is typical.. I'll keep my coins as is. thanks guys.
A buffer works well also and a wire brush is amazing! A buffer works well also and a wire brush is amazing! In all candor though any method that removes by abrasion has ruined any numismatic value a given coin may have. Even those that do clean coins do not use abrasion.
I have cleaned a few of my coins with coin cleaner and even that makes me nervous. I recommend not cleaning any of them unless they are already damaged sevearly enough to only hold personal value.
The problem with this is not being clear as to the type of wire brush or the buffer. Now I recommend only using a brass type wire wheel on a bench grinder with speeds of 1750/RPM. Higher speeds may actually ruin the coin.:hammer: Of course using a buffer must be done with Jewlery stones too. OH and WELCOME TO THE FORUM. Naturally do not use these methods nor the one you stated. Rubbing a coin with anything does more harm than good. For some reason people try almost anything to make a coin look like new but in almost all instances, it ruins the coins.
Believe it or not, some of the old nickel and cent collector boards from the early 20th century actually had instructions printed on them suggesting to use an eraser to make your coins nice and shiny. I will try to find a picture of one, as I have personally seen them.
Yes and yes. If you take a close look at your coin you will see that the entire coin is now COVERED with thousands of hairline scratches. An experienced collector will take one look at it and realize exactly what has been done to it.
I guess it's a good thing i did it to a few coins already in terrible shape just wanted to give it a try. lesson learned!
Jump Back I only use such methods to determine the denominations of coins dug out of my back yard so the local retailers know what I'm trying to pass off on them. So it CAN be useful, but never adds value.
Since coin colleting has grown so much lately there has been a really large increase in cleaning, dipping, fake toning, polishing and even plating. Don't know why anyone would spend the money plating a penny that was worth a quarter and now worth a quater. I've got 1943 Lincoln Cents that are plated with Copper, Zinc, Chrome, Tin, Lead and many just normal for some reason. I've seen many demonstrations using auto chrome polishes by polishing a coin. Sure makes it look like a proof too. Regardless of what is done in cleaning, polishing, baking, painting, etc. it never increases the value.
Thats a good point!! You see on these coin shows dipping quarters in Gold and other medals to try and make them more attractive to buyers Here,s one buyer that,s not impressed:hammer:
