I Just Cleaned My Circ. Pennies. Did I Make A Mistake?

Hey guys. I'm new here.

I'm not trying to start a thread that asks or debates whether you should clean coins. I already know the answer to that is a resounding NO!, and i would never attempt to clean any coin that i thought had any value.

That said, i did clean some coins the other day ( shudder ) and i imediately regreted it. The coins i cleaned were pennies. I recently completed a 1975 - 2013 penny folder, and I figured that i'll be long dead by the time this penny set would be worth anything close to say, what a completed Indian Head penny set might be worth today, if ever. Given that, i thought, "these pennies sure would look nice all clean and shiny in the folder, and they're never going to be worth anything monetarily anyway, so what the heck"... And so, i pulled a cheap tube of toothpaste from the cabinet and went to work. Immediately i realized that i had just wiped away the character and individuality of every coin in that folder, but thats about all i lost by cleaning them, right? It's not like a 1975 - 2013 coin set is going to be worth much anyway, right? Or was this a bigger mistake than i think? Will my great great great gteat grandchildren get boned 200 years from now because their grandfather made the mistake of cleaning his modern, circulated, common coins?

P.S.

When you consider that a circulated coin that has spent the better part of its existence banging and clanking around in peoples pockets and cash registers, being scratched and marred by being dropped and slid across tables and counters, collecting oils from peoples fingers and god only knows what other gunk, i fail to see why its potential future value would be harmed by the microscopic scratches that an abrasive cleaning would leave, but thats just me.

 

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Yes

 

Yes you killed the coins but it does not matter. Just replace them with something that does not need to be cleaned. There is no future value for this set.

 

Well, that and the time its going to take me to go through a bunch of rolls and replace them all should i decide to do so...

Thanks for the welcome!

 

At least I don't feel like as big of an idiot as a guy I know of who literally had SHOEBOXES full of Barber dimes, quarters, and halves, and he scrubbed every one of them clean....

THAT, I'm sorry to say, is a true story.

 

Oh man.... I don't even wanna think about that....

( but that's probably what I'll do once I've accepted that thats what i need to do )

 

As other have said, you made a mistake, but it was an inexpensive mistake.

There are lots of high grade 1975-2013 around, so keep looking and enjoy the thrill of the hunt.

 

WhipperSnapper 88, Welcome to the CT community. Too bad it started out by posting a "sad" but learning story. There is not enough words in the world to explain MY cleaning stuff. Again, welcome.

 

WhipperSnapper...Good job...we all did the same thing when starting. Now, figure the time invested in your effort and spend the same on E bay or your local coin shop looking for nice Unc. cents. A few of these in your new penny album will amaze you and you're on your way to being a dedicated collector!

 

I think I was about 9 years-old and had just started collecting coins. I got some copper cleaner for pans out from under the kitchen sink and went to town on some of my 'better' pennies. I can still remmber very clearly how the pennies looks after I cleaned them. Bright and shinny - but not in a good way. Then I tried some lemon an salt. A little more natural, but still not right. I also tried an eraser on a penny. It was a little after that when I learned that you never, never, NEVER clean coins.

 

Can I give you some advice? Read about why cleaning coins isn't a good idea. And, on these coins, your hopes are a little on the high side. At the rate coin collecting is going now, everybody saving and preserving everything in sight, nobody is going to want to collect that set in 2000 years, let alone 200 years.

 

So I am getting mixed messages as a relatively born again coin collector. I have read all about using acetone on coins and other soft cleansing methods which seem to have the approval of some of you. However in a lot of threads the warning is adamant NOT to clean anything. I have several coins I would like to clean just to get what appears to be soil off of them. Is that okay? or is ALL cleaning frowned upon?

Also I am highly interested in the ancients at this time. They are so neat and collectible. I am amazed at the knowledge of the individuals here at CT have in relation to the old coins. It is very exciting and I was wondering if anyone could provide any dealers who are honest and fair to help me begin. Many thanks in advance.

 

At risk of being skewered mercilessly by others for generalizing, here are some cleaning comments.

Acetone removes organics and other substances that are not chemically bonded to the surface. It does not affect the surface of the coin and it will not have any effect on toning.

Toning is due to the surface metal reacting with the environment and forming silver or copper oxides and sulfides. Dips and abrasives methods remove this surface layer which is actually removing some of the original metal. If done correctly by an someone with a lot of experience it may not be noticeable, but many times it is easy to see the changes to the surface.

Ancients are a whole different animal. Hang around the Ancient board if you want to be corrupted by the dark side. Be careful, if you get hooked there may be no coming back

 

You're in it for life.

 

I started, but managed to escape. I knew I was in trouble when I started spending $100+ on RIC volumes, Sear and other books to ID crappy AE4's that I found in uncleaned lots.