A coin I bought off ebay arrived today...only to find it has some fingerprints on it. Its a silver coin and this has annoyed me...how can I remove them? I tried rubbing them with just a cloth but it didnt work. Thanks
... Ok if your fingerprint is old, don't clean it, send it to a professional. If it is new and you don't care about professionalism/value , take a Q-tip and use Isopropyl alcohol to lightly rub it off , haha . Sincerely , Porsche2007
Cool, I dont think I have any Isopropyl alcohol...but i'll look out for some when im next in town. Cheers
I once tried to clean a silver proof coin which I accidentally touched. I used a dry cloth. I ruined the mirror-surface! Although, I rubbed very slightly, it left marks. To this day, I leave the coins alone.
I would advise AGAINST cleaning, without knowing what type of coin it is. Is it a silver Proof? If it is any rub at all will destroy the coin. If it is something like an uncirculated silver coin, LEAVE IT ALONE. The fingerprint will not hurt it.
You can't...it might come off for a time with something as a cleaner but it will come back...A coin I bought off ebay arrived today...only to find it has some fingerprints on it. You might well make a hole in that coin....rubbing a coin has left tons of marks all over it...you might not see it too well but take a 10x magnifier and you will. bzcollector is right...leave it alone--if you need it for a set...you better buy another one. Speedy
Alright then. It was a cloth normaly used to clean spectacles if that makes it any better. I think im just gonna re-sell it on ebay. But what really annoyed me is that the coin was advertised as 'still in capsule from chinese mint' It was in a capsule...but had been handled.
I see nothing better about any cloth...its better to never clean a coin...and like I said...if you need this date and such...buy another one...it will be better in the end. Speedy
It's too bad that cleaning is one of the hobby's brain cramps. Sometimes I'm tempted to put together a collection of cleaned but otherwise valuable coins on the cheap and put them away until the day that a new sane generation of collectors emerges that isn't so hung up about it. "Normal wear" is okay on a circulated coin and will lower the grade a bit to AU or EF but clean an otherwise uncirculated coin and you might as well go play golf and use it for a ball marker. It just doesn't make sense.
I may agree, cloud. The Capped Bust half dollar series is rife with coins cleaned a generation or more ago. If I have an 1815/12 that absolutly looks AU50, why should it be worth $5000 less just because someone cleaned it in 1938?
I got another coin in the post today....which im very chuffed with....so ive all but forgotted the problems with the other coin. I got a Silver Proof One Pa'anga Saturn-V coin...I saw it advertised on a coin site for $41...I got it for $16 off ebay.
I agree. Sure I am new to the hobby, but some of the cleaning stuff is over the top in my opinion. I think much of it has to do with the definition of cleaning(dip?,rub?remove grime?fingerprints?,spots?, etc). Why do coin shops sell cleaning supplies if cleaning is the kryptonite of the hobby? As a newbie this is very confusing. For me personally, if a coin has obviously been cleaned I don't want it, but if I can't tell I don't care. Yeah I know, I am compromising the integrity of my collection/value etc. But I am not collecting to maximize a return on investment, but because I like coins. Just my opinion. Thanks.
Cleaning using s dip like acetone isnt harsh on the surfaces of the coin, doesnt effect toning or mint luster. Using a q tip with it to mop up the grime it brakes free does. A spray bottle with more acetone would be ideal and would effect neither the appearance nor the value. Touching anything on the surface including those white gloves and moving across it is going to slowly create wear. Even with the gloves on, dealers hold by the rim for precisely this reason. On the other side of dipping, using a reactive substance like an acid on the coin will quickly remove every contaminate that is carbon based bt will also oxidize the metal surfaces and leave you open to continued problems until you ultimately have had enough and rebuy with the lesson learned the hard way. We have all been there. It makes it look better, but only for a while.
My secret reply - don't touch any proof coins. Nothing you do will work and you will destroy the value down to melt. However, for circulated coins there are some tricks - the only oil that works is the oil on your forehead. You can use this on coins to gently get rid of marks but do not then go and wipe it with a cloth! I have had no bad results with this even after years. I welcome other people's experience but this oil is used in the finest clocks for the most delicate mechanisms. On copper that is not overly valuable and may be grubby and not choice lustrous EF+ I use the same treatment but I have soaked coins in virgin olive oil to loosen the dirt -in Irish coins dirt seems to adhere to the line that represent the harp strings - mixed results.
Hey I'm not an expert but. ....If it's for your eyes only ....I have some info u might find interesting....... its pretty expensive but if u have 69 cents at Walmart they sell pencils .....use the eraser and c what happens it may take the time off of the coin but only till the print was put on .....and if u have one yo try it on frist you ll c
On a proof silver coin.... once you touch it the finger print is there.. unless professional clean... i would return it but since you said to try to run it with a cloth i thing it’s yours now.... try what ever you want to depending on the value of the coin but it’s damaged now...
