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Message:: [QUOTE="-jeffB, post: 26107830, member: 27832"]The reason coin collectors don't like cleaning is that once a coin has been improperly cleaned once, it's damaged forever. Rubbing a coin leaves small (or large) scratches in its surface, and to experienced collectors, that change is easy to spot. This coin really, really looks like it was cleaned, probably long before it even came into your grandmother's hands. I mean, if you get change at the store and there's some gunk on one of the coins, of course you're going to try to rub it off. That's what someone did to this coin, sometime between 1964 and 2000 (if, as you say, it's been put away for 25 years). And, as others have already said, it's not important for this coin. The die crack/chip is interesting (and good job spotting it, by the way!), but not enough to add much value. This one's worth $12 or so for its silver content, regardless of whether it's damaged or undamaged. But it's also something that your grandparents have held, regardless of whether it's damaged or undamaged. That's valuable![/QUOTE]