This is about crud on the coin, really? Should have known that the inadvertent reference was to the crud. Free he says.
I do dislike black schmutz on coins in slabs. Very easy to take care of and it does improve the eye appeal a ton.
This is the kind of thing I'm talking about. ALL FOUR are DIFFERENT! I'll agree with you. Many times I will call first. It is purely a judgement call on my part. Anything I do w/o calling goes into the grading notes. We usually do charge for conservation; however, when it is something minor like on this coin (four patches of crud near the rim and some patches of green PVC around the stars), if I don't need to leave my desk or neutralize the coin - its FREE. Next, I call the customers whenever I can do something that will raise the grade of their coin. If they say yes and it is something easy (removing haze) I do it for FREE. Many of our customers like our conservation. They check please conserve on the submission form. Since MOST COLLECTORS don't examine their coins as closely as I do (proven above - all four different) I find I can remove almost any debris (not haze) and they either do not notice OR on two occasions this year they call to thank us for improving the eye appeal of their coin for FREE. Unfortunately, at the two largest TPGS "sweatshops," they do not have the time for this type of service. Furthermore, customers of your extraordinary knowledge have already given us blanket permission to do anything we wish to their coins. Each of these major dealers "tested the waters" first before jumping in. The eyes of each penguin are different.
Some really interesting answers on this post... I got a call to remove some tape/ glue residue on a low grade large cent and said yes; happy with the service and response.