Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;-jeffB, post: 2470929, member: 27832&quot;]Lucky. I&#039;ve already outlived nearly all of <i>my</i> ancestors. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie3" alt=":(" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Kidding aside, <i>today</i> sentiment is overwhelmingly against cleaned or damaged coins. A worn but &quot;problem-free&quot; example will see more demand, and bring more money, than a polished or scratched or corroded coin. A &quot;toned&quot; (tarnished) coin will often bring a lot more money than a &quot;blast white&quot; example.</p><p><br /></p><p>Forty years ago... okay, I&#039;m not sure it was that different <i>forty</i> years ago, but forty years before <i>that</i> cleaning coins was still commonplace. In particular, lots of collectors thought of toning as damage, and would &quot;dip&quot; coins in a solution that removed the tarnish.</p><p><br /></p><p>Forty years from now, it&#039;s hard to guess what fads or pet peeves will be driving collectors. By that time, I expect we&#039;ll be mostly done with cash in commerce (everything will be electronic), which might make for a big collapse in the collecting hobby. If kids can&#039;t fill coin books from Mom and Dad&#039;s spare change, it&#039;ll be a bit harder to pull them in.</p><p><br /></p><p>Collect what makes you happy today. If you stick with the hobby, you&#039;ll probably find <i>yourself</i> preferring undamaged coins; with time, your eye for &quot;eye appeal&quot; will learn to distinguish cleaned coins from original ones.</p><p><br /></p><p>In your descendants&#039; time, your coins will almost certainly be worth less than a similar investment in stocks and bonds. But during the time between now and then, collecting the coins will bring <i>you</i> a lot more enjoyment. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in