Are there grading companies that will grade a coin that has been cleaned and not NOTE IT on the slab? I know that when grading companies first began they would not grade a cleaned coin.
Star Grading Service (SGS) but they don't have quite a "stellar" reputation amongst coin enthusiasts. Something to consider, not every grader will see a coin as cleaned as I have had coins returned as "Genuine - Cleaned" which I knew had NOT been cleaned. The coins were cracked out, resubmitted, and came back graded by PCGS.
Interesting thought - how about a company that will slab coins and guarantee them to be genuine but not grade them. Has a possibility to be fairly cheap and return the grading to the collectors where it belongs.
Instead of that just realize that there are only two companies that you should have anything to do with, NGC and PCGS. Avoid all others.
All the better companies will do that. All you have to do is ask them to. Of course it costs just as much as having them graded.
That is the point, remove the uncertainty due to counterfeits and do the grading yourself and make the slabbing cheap.
No reputable grading companies will, no, and you wouldn't want them slabbed by anyone else. Well, actually, even the reputable companies if you ask them, will only issue an opinion on whether or not a coin is genuine and issue no opinion about the grade (NGC I know will do this; not sure about others). But none will issue a grading opinion and not say it was cleaned if they believe it was. Sometimes an old cleaning that leaves little or no trace left will be considered passable, but if it's not obvious to them, it probably isn't to you either. It used to be all the TPGs refused to slab "problem" coins, cleaned coins included, but now they will issue a net opinion on the details and just note the problem.
If the grading company cannot detect that a coin is cleaned, why would they have any basis to say it was cleaned?
Often times, a grading company will label a coin as cleaned on one submission and give the coin a grade on a subsequent submission. I know because I have had it happen to me. This tells me that, like coin grading, a "Cleaned" opinion is just that. Only an "opinion".
For the most part, Doug, I agree with you. However, there are those VAMpires who often use ANACS if a coin cannot be attributed by either of the top two services because ANACS will attribute all VAM's. Personally, I don't care to use ANACS, but that's just me. Chris
PCGS uses code 92 (following the four digit coin number) to indicate a coin was cleaned (in their opinion). Chemical dipping, if suspected, doesn't get a 92 code, nor does it receive a code indicating "altered surface." I find that very odd. It's very frustrating to have a coin returned in a slab with "Cleaning" on it, as cleaning includes a coin that have been whizzed, has significant scratching, or just has minor scratches (hairline) in one small area. Of course, many third parties will assume a "worst-case scenario and the coin with minimal signs of cleaning is lumped in with the whizzed coin, significantly devaluing an otherwise fine coin. IMO, they need to address this. They also routinely write "AU Details" on coins they believe were cleaned, even if the coin clearly has no signs of wear and is in mint state, once again devaluing a coin when it shouldn't be.
