I have an 1887 ONE PENNY, VICTORIA D.G BRITT:REG:F: D its in mint condition but i'm not sure how to tell if its been cleaned at any point, will upload pics if i can. Just wondering how much it may be worth?
a cleaned coin will weigh fractions of a gram less than an uncirculated, "clean" coin, due to the acid used in the cleaning process.
I don't think that's necessarily true. There is a certain, very small tolerance for error in all coins, especially ones from so long ago - I'd bet a tenth of a gram difference between two equally graded coins wouldn't surprise an expert. Joe
It depends on how well it's cleaned, and what acid is used. If the person doing the cleaning uses anything with a PH less than 2.5 or 2 then you will be removing metal in large quantities... along with oxidization. The tarnish on a silver coin is a gain of weight over time, so it should be obvious when the coin weighs less by a tenth, VS more by a tenth... and when a coin looks like it was just minted and is 150yo, how exactly did you keep it airtight for 150years? As far as "normal" loss of metal, it should show in scratches, etc. That's the loss. Metal doesn't just dissappear assuming same die and you also have to consider that coins like an 1983-CC or 1893-0/CC are going to be scrutinized much more. There is usually a reason those coins were kept in MS condition (Nuimismatists). My coins were given by my great aunt (80%) and so far not one out of 1000 or so pre-war currency nickles, dimes, half-dollars, dollars, and even a 1928 $2 bill are worth more than a $100 as far as I know, because she wasn't a coin collector... she just forgot a bag of coins in her cellar.
