Hello, I have a collection of indian cents, 1859-1909 (35 coins). Sadly a few of them were previously cleaned. I was wondering if there was a process to "unclean" them or if it would be more reasonable to just replace/upgrade them. Probably a dumb a question but anyways... Thanks in advance, MikeJr
I know of no way to unclean something. Best bet in my opinion is let them build back up their patina naturally or upgrade as you find ones to replace them.
You can't undone cleaning, but you can place them in certain environment where they could re-tone naturally, its easy with copper/bronze. If the cleaning damage is not too extensive, in a year or so they won't look cleaned at all. Couple of years ago I tossed some copper coins into an environment that turned out to be "tone-friendly". In few weeks they started changing color from cleaned shiny red to toned brown, and in a year they looked old an naturally toned, no cleaning signs under loupe (as far as I could tell of course). I don't consider it AT. If you`re uncomfortable with the thought you have coins that were cleaned, then just upgrade.
Truth is, as has been discussed here, many older coins have been cleaned at least once and many times this goes undetected when the coin re-tones. Many will still want them still knowing these facts. Sometimes just carrying a coin in your pocket is a form of cleaning and being out in the sun can cause a copper coin to change color. As taxidermist said though, they will re-tone. Why don't you post the cleaned coins here so you can get opinions about them. When I get a cleaned coin, I am not so worried about what I do with it, I can dip it in alcohol to kill the accumulated cooties or what not. Hopefully you got a good deal on them because they are cleaned as well.
welcome to cointalk! As already mentioned, the only way to unclean a coin (as far as I know), is to let it sit around for a while.
Thanks for all the replies, what type of environment would be best to let them re-tone? I'll try and post some pics. Much appreciated, MikeJr
There isn't much you can realistically do to help cleaned coins. However, depending upon the previous insult, you may be able to take some measures. Is there any chance we could see images?
