Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="SuperDave, post: 2296005, member: 1892"]Yes, there are "acceptable" cleaning methods. More importantly, there are acceptable reasons for cleaning a coin. None of those reasons involve the owner's enjoyment - or lack thereof - of the coin's appearance, and that's where collectors go wrong. There are chemical process which, left unarrested, will damage the surface of a coin permanently. These must be dealt with, and the appropriate methods can be described as "cleaning" even though the appropriate term when you're doing it for the right reason is "conservation." There are coins (dug, ancients) so encrusted/corroded that intrusive methods ought to be used to make the coin more visible and identifiable. That's it. The only reasons to clean a coin. There are fairly non-intrusive methods and chemicals (acetone for instance) which can be employed without themselves damaging the coin.[/QUOTE]