Cleaning Coins with Pencil Eraser!

Honestly, this is really a no brainer. It was an experiment. And no one has yet offered proof as to why using an eraser would be harmful. Where is the microscope evidence? For the coin collectors be more mindful of coin collecting history. Understand when the rules to not clean coins first started and why. Science and reasoning matter. Don’t shoot down an experiment just because your blindly following arbitrary rules without understanding why the experiment was done in the first place.

 

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Honestly, this is really a no brainer. It was an experiment. And no one has yet offered proof as to why using an eraser would be harmful. Where is the microscope evidence? For the coin collectors be more mindful of coin collecting history. Understand when the rules to not clean coins first started and why. Science and reasoning matter. Don’t shoot down an experiment just because your blindly following arbitrary rules without understanding why the experiment was done in the first place.

Why did you do the experiment? Do you have any plan for those coins? Are they going back in circulation?

 

Welcome to CT……. Man, as a kid I was a terrible offender of shining cents with my pencil eraser. While it most certainly will make an old cent shiny and unnaturally pink, it absolutely scratches the devil out of the poor defenseless cent that any numismatist worth his mustard can detect immediately. Heck, you give me a loupe and I can tell you if a coin has been lightly wiped with a soft cotton diaper….. Yes, a pencil eraser is fun coin play for a youngster, and absolutely does ruin the numismatic value from the erasers abrasion.

 

There are as mentioned before different eraser material. Some expensive art gum erasers can remove charcoal and soft graphite from soft paper. Some erasers use fiberglass with very small diameter and lots of flexibility, but the angles of the fibers may cause problems for non-flat surfaces. Pencil erasers usually have ceramic or small sand crystals ( in microns range) that will scratch coins easily.
Often coin collectors only have those @@##*! cheap electronic video camera type of microscope and they can not resolve the scratches whereas a TPG can.



This a photo through my microbiology scope @ 400X of an uncircuated morgan $. This is what produces the "wagonwheel" effects when you tilt such to light.

So even though a person doesn't see scratches with poor magnification after erasing, others with different optics can do so. IMO, Jim

 

Are you serious?? Nobody has offered proof? Go to any coin show or web site and look at slabbed coins in "details" holders. The hobby is littered with coins that have noticeable hairlines, impaired luster, scratches, and dull surfaces all from improper cleaning. Many of these hair lines are visible to the naked eye

The majority of those cleaned and dipped coins were subject to much gentler cleaning than an ABRASIVE pencil eraser. Would you clean your car with sandpaper? Basically, it's the same thing. Maybe you could try the pencil eraser on your car and show us some proof.

No big deal if you want to play around with a couple of cheap wheaties, but to make the statement that nobody has offered proof is completely irresponsible as a hobbiest. You ABSOLUTELY need to do more research on the subject before making such unfounded statements. If you haven't found any proof, your head must be under a rock.

 

I don't think any collector with half a brain should answer this question, but here goes.......where is the proof? Look at the countless photogs members have posted regarding this method of 'cleaning'. It creates hairlines.........annoying hairlines. Much like annoying 'you'..........

 

Oh, and welcome to the forum. Hope you have a thick skin..........with a foray like that (onto this platform) you're gonna make lots of friends.