What are the tell tale signs? Often I am looking online at blurry photos but what might be some give aways - I am often suspicious of coins that looked brilliant white and they clearly show wear but what else might I look for?
Often the BLURRY photos themself are an indicator. Depending on the feedback history of the seller. Sometimes there is a direct correlation between the blurriness and feedback, both can hide defects B
Yes, that's a point - the photos might be deliberately blurry to hide defects. I'm also interested in how you can tell if it's cleaned if you are sitting there with the magnifying glass and the coin itself? Thanks!
The best way is to look at hundreds and hundreds of coins that you are reasonably certain have, or have not, been cleaned. In other words, the three most important elements of discerning coin cleaning are experience, experience and experience. That said, some of the more obvious telltale signs are unnaturally white (silver, cu-ni), yellow (brass, al-bronze), or brown (copper, bronze) surfaces with no luster and a "dead" appearance; dark areas inside lettering, numbers and small design elements; lots of parallel hairlines (from wiping); circular hairlines or heavy scratches (from whizzing); and/or a porous surface (can be from acid washing besides indicating that the piece is cast rather than struck.)
Often times-if details such as the lettering are smooth, then the coin has been altered-but NOT always. Also-like you said above, if a coin is worn/dark around some places(i.e the lettering), but surprisingly clean in others, odds are it's been cleaned
Well, very subtle hairline scratches all going in the same direction is one indicator. Another, the fields of the coin being clear/clean and the devices having crud caked around them, like stars, letters, etc. with a dark substance around the bottom. Try it using Soft-Scrub or Baking Soda on some of your purse or pocket change. Check it with a magnifying glass afterwards. B
Roy - Great summary. I'm beginning to get to the point where I can frequently identify a cleaned coin. It isn't a skill that can be developed quickly [or I'm a slow learner, one or the other].
So maybe this one was cleaned???? http://cgi.ebay.com/1899-O-MORGAN-1-SILVER-DOLLAR-COIN-NR_W0QQitemZ8367722441QQcategoryZ39466QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem *laughing*
Yeah, that one has the appearance of a slightly cleaned coin. I bet it was MS65 before they took the high-speed buffer to it.
I got burned on an Indian Head Penny. Oh it was beautiful - brought it to the coin shop and a 50 year veteran numismatist at that. He took ONE quick glance and knew it was polished. My heart was broken - but the guy gave me a refund - He too was fooled and apologized. I told him no hard feelings and we maintain a good business relationship for the future. FROM NOW ON - Any coin worth its salt MUST be SLABBED for me, unless it's like $20 or under. Esky
