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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;bhp3rd, post: 543156, member: 16510&quot;]<b>If we, so many of us have such strong opinions</b></p><p><br /></p><p>If we, so many of us have such strong opinions and disagreements on the subject how in the world is someone new to the hobby going to make any sense of this subject so here is the rules - take em or leave em!</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><b>Don&#039;t clean any coins ever!</b></p><p>This is certainly safe advice but sort of self limiting don&#039;t you think.&nbsp; One things for certain you will never ruin a coin this way.&nbsp; This is self limiting advice for people who think black or white.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><b>Clean all your coins all the time!</b></p><p>This is kind of like saying, &quot;heck there&#039;s no coin like a cleaned coin&quot;.&nbsp; This advice is for the baby that got throwed out with the bath water.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><b>Clean some but not others!</b></p><p>Well which ones deserve cleaning, or, &quot;how do I know which one to clean and which one not to clean&quot;?&nbsp; This advise is somewhat close to the truth but also self limiting and gives people that wink, wink sort of, &quot;why do I feel left out here?&quot;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><b>Finally</b> - Learn proper coin cleaning/conserving.&nbsp; Learn and study coins and grading.&nbsp; Ask experts in the field, never attempt it the first few hundred times on anything with true numismatic value.&nbsp; Listen, read, look and continue to gain knowledge as needed to always try to make the best decisions regarding any type of cleaning/conserving.&nbsp; Always have the coins aesthetics in mind and never attempt to do anything to any coin unless (through the above experience) you genuinely believe it will help preserve and improve that particular coin.&nbsp; Additionally, if you do not want to clean your coins don&#039;t - they are your coins do what you need to do to feel you are doing the best thing for you.&nbsp; Know always that you will make mistakes and like anything else in life there are no easy, black and white answers to anything that has value or is worth serious pursuit.</p><p>This advice is for the person who wants and desires the whole story and will work to learn which truth is most applicable in most situations for them.&nbsp; This person will not accept the answer &quot;don&#039;t ever clean coins&quot; anymore than he would &quot;clean all coins all the time&quot; or &quot;clean some and not others&quot;.&nbsp; The answer for this latter collector is, knowledge, experience, empowerment, and a strength in his/hers own ability&#039;s to discern a lot of complex information for his/her own future enjoyment </p><p>of our fabulous hobby.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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