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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;calcol, post: 3226734, member: 77639&quot;]I think the tradition of cleaning coins in Europe came from centuries of collecting ancient coins.&nbsp; Virtually all ancient coins have been thoroughly cleaned, most multiple times.&nbsp; It was necessary for newly discovered pot hoards.&nbsp; They had been in the ground for centuries, and the contents were a near solid lump of coins, dirt and clay.&nbsp; In some cases, there was mineralization as well.&nbsp; It wasn&#039;t even possible to determine the coin types without considerable processing.&nbsp; This necessary initial cleaning was repeated when the coins toned or accumulated dust or the coating on them (yes, they varnished or waxed them) discolored.&nbsp; The habit of cleaning ancient coins carried over to more recently minted coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>When I actively collected ancient coins, I was appalled at the way some collectors treated their coins.&nbsp; It wasn&#039;t just the cleaning and polishing, but they were constantly handling them (and not just on the edges).&nbsp; Some would store and carry coins in groups in bags or boxes so they were rubbing and banging on each other.&nbsp; My thought was these coins survived millenia in the ground or underwater, but would be lucky to survive a century or two with collectors like this.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cal[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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