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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;clembo, post: 499779, member: 8033&quot;]I acually think most of us are in the real world and know that a lot of cleaning goes on.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have rarely cleaned coins from my personal collection. The harshest treatment those got was Blue Ribbon. I started a thread on it WAY back and met some harsh criticism. I only used it because both of my local dealers used it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now I work for one of those dealers and, yes, Blue Ribbon is used on copper and nickel on occasion. Acetone is used as well and silver does get a dip at times. I might note that a lot of dipped coins go to NGC or PCGS where they get slabbed. So yes it does happen.</p><p><br /></p><p>However I do not suggest it to those entering the hobby and I haven&#039;t gone on a &quot;cleaning binge&quot; since I actually started working in a shop.</p><p>Now that I&#039;m there I have a tendency to buy a nice, &quot;ugly&quot; coin and leave it as it is. Totally original and I get first look on many occasions.</p><p><br /></p><p>Conversely I have become somewhat adept at cleaning coins. This is not a &quot;goal&quot; of mine. It&#039;s a job. They are not my coins and it takes practice and I can&#039;t honestly tell you what any coin might look like in 20 years. Some I just refuse to touch as it only takes one little mistake to DEVALUE a coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>As of late I&#039;ve been restoring Buffalo nickels for fun. I&#039;ve found some good dates. I&#039;ve sold some actually but with the understanding that I have chemically altered these coins. I sell them cheap.</p><p><br /></p><p>So there are many ways to look at this whole picture. I haven&#039;t cleaned a coin of my own for ages in any way. I clean them at work when asked (most times) but I do NOT recommend it to anyone.</p><p><br /></p><p>Think about it. A coin starts to look decent and patina is still evident. Well, a novice will want to make it look better. More work can kill a beautiful coin. I&#039;ve killed a few &quot;commons&quot; myself. That&#039;s how I&#039;ve learned and they weren&#039;t my coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>You say your methods are safe but how safe are they to the beginner? What are the long term effects?</p><p><br /></p><p>I think I&#039;ve lain out some pretty good reasons to NOT encourage cleaning.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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