So I've seen a lot of debate whether or not to clean coins. Personally, I like a shiny silver more than a toned coin (unless it's really cool of course). Here is a silver 1972 Olympic German 10 Mark I cleaned with before and after pictures. Should I have cleaned it or not? You decide!
Can you reveal what method was used to go from original to cleaned. This may hinge on my answer...well, for now it does.
Well, what can I say, this is like the Cardinal Sin in the coin collecting community, to harshly clean a coin in this nature. There are other options available to enhance your collectibles that will not be so harmful to the surfaces.
Personally I liked that coin the way it was before you cleaned it. That said I have had to clean a couple myself and I ruined at least that many. I had to clean a couple of proofs and I gotta be honest I damaged one a bit and the other one turned out just fine. I don't know what your point is for posting as it is still advisable not to clean coins. Of course if you want to that's up to you but you keep messing with fire and you too, will get burned.
Ouch, that baking soda has probably left lines all over that coin. It might look cleaner at first chance but I'd hate to look at it under the glass.
the before surface did not bother me. the coin should not have been cleaned, especially with baking soda as it causes micro abrasions. the surface is now altered and for most who oppose cleaning, damaged.
I didn't like the toning on the "before" coin, but similarly, I don't like the "after" result either. If you were bent on cleaning it, a really quick dip would have been preferable to the baking soda treatment. Abrasives are really the worst way to clean coins.
It looks better now, although I suspect it has harsh scratch lines I can't see in the picture. I would have just given the coin a quick dip followed by a rinse off and then gently dried. The coin in question usually trades for BV only anyway so I doubt that you damaged its worth at all.
Agreed. A dip would have been better, with a pat dry using a lint free cotton cloth and not wipe drying it leaving rub marks, which is a dead give away of cleaning.
I'm definitely with cleaning but in some cases one shouldn't Here is a cleaned coin of mine (Roman Claudius). http://www.cointalk.com/t102432/#post858961
I had to look it up to make sure I used "facetious" in the right content, but that's what I presume you meant? Main Entry: fa·ce·tious Pronunciation: \fə-ˈsē-shəs\ Function: adjective Etymology: Middle French facetieux, from facetie jest, from Latin facetia Date: 1599 1 : joking or jesting often inappropriately : waggish <just being facetious> 2 : meant to be humorous or funny : not serious <a facetious remark>
Thanks for the insight all. The baking soda really didn't leave any scratches, so not too bad on that end. I do admit the first photo looks kinda cool. I figure since this set is just BV in my opinion, no biggie cleaning. I'm surprised how much toned Morgans sell for. Just went to a coin shop today and saw coins that others would think are horrible looking sell for $90. Toning just blows me away sometimes on its value.
After more than 10 years of trying to determine what the average consumer desires, placing "top tier" certified ugly "natural" coins in auction with a starting bid of "CDN bid minus 10%", and cleaned coins of the same type/era/grade, I've substantiated that you are in the majority. I have those same certified coins, imaging some in past posts, as I never even receive an initial bid. The cleaned coins always sold when listed with similar pricing. I know from dealer communications that a significant portion of coins are cleaned before being submitted for certification. Many coins have a lower grade before removal from holders, being returned with a higher grade.
This is exactly what I'm talking about, imrich. The average person prefers the cleaned versions and the collectors know the value of toned/uncleaned condition. It's funny because I just got back into this hobby about 3 weeks ago and ended up cleaning a bunch of Morgans. Everyone in my family says they look great, but I probably washed away some value. Funny how the world works. I wonder if dealers pick up coins cheaper because they are "dirty" to the mainstream eye.
I do wonder sometimes if the dealers prefer uncleaned coins because they can add value to those by cleaning/conserving them. As usual, there will certainly be examples of dealers who do and dealers who don't do this.
