Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 3043336, member: 112&quot;]No it isn&#039;t. Coins are cleaned all the time, every day, by lots of folks. Even the TPGs clean coins every day. If you own any older coins, it is a near certainty that almost all of them have been cleaned at some in the life of the coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>The thing that is a numismatic sin is harshly cleaning coins. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>As already mentioned, it is a definite possibility. Coughing, sneezing, and talking around coins quite often results in tiny droplets of saliva getting on the coins. Droplets so small that you cannot even see them. Even normal breathing through the mouth can sometimes do it. And when they do, spots, similar to those on the coin you pictured are the result, typically quite some time later.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I fully realize that pretty much any dark colored spot on a coin is commonly referred to as a carbon spot. The term carbon spot has become a colloquialism, one that is used far too often and incorrectly so. The spots on this particular coin are not carbon spots. Real carbon spots are actual tiny pieces of carbon impurities in the metal alloy. And they have a far different look than spots like these. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>You are correct, carbon spots are not preventable. Nor can they be removed.</p><p><br /></p><p>But spots like the ones on this coin are preventable if care is taken, and they can be safely removed. There is a huge caveat that goes along with removing them however. When the dark colored spots are removed, the majority of the time they leave a light colored spot in their place. Net result, you still have spots on the coin, only of a different color. </p><p><br /></p><p>That said, those who are good enough with their removal technique can sometimes feather out the edges of the light colored spots so that they are not as noticeable as they would be otherwise. But they are never completely gone.</p><p><br /></p><p>Again, as already mentioned, the simplest, easiest, and most effective solution to this problem of spots, regardless of what caused them or what kind they are, is to simply sell the coin and replace it with another.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in