I like Cleaned Coins and you should to thread

Sorry but toothpick CAN cause damage especially if used "dry" without the coin being submerged in acetone or verdicare or other conservation fluids as being submerged adds a buffering layer of protection. If not used correctly toothpicks can very well cause minor scratches. That is why a citrus thorn is the better tool to use when given the option but again using a cautious approach ALWAYS is the name of the game

 

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I'm sorry, but I'm going to jump on this one too...

Over all I very much agree with what youve said. However, whIle a toothpick may not be responsible for the scratches on the (long ago) posted coin, the absolutely and without any doubt, CAN cause scratches on and/or damage to a coin. This certainly isn't to say they will, but only that they can. Remember that even though you may be directly speaking with someone who knows better, many others (members, lurkers, whatever) do read these threads, so we should always try to be very clear about what we're trying to say, and this is especially true when discussing something that could be misinterpreted.

 

Thanks for clarifying my post for those members who cannot read English!

What part of PROPERLY and MICROSCOPE and CHEMICALS did you miss?

 

Hey all you "jumpers" try this at home on a new cent:

1. Take a razorblade and shave a round toothpick to a sliver-point.

2. Get a brand new, red, cent and put a drop of water on its field. Now scratch the heck out of the coin under the drop and tell us all what happened I already know the answer.

PS: As I said before: VC has been virtually worthless to us in the "lab" for removing just about anything we have tried it on. Nevertheless, it seems to be a great "preservative" for copper.

 

I do prefer the look of a brilliant copper wheat to the dark brown one but the general opinion of collectors is to not clean the coins as it brings down the value. I have cleaned some culls & had fun trying different methods of creating rainbow colored wheats. For collectibles if they're really gunked up I will wash them with warm water & a wire brush on my dremel.
Just kidding. I just use the warm water & if need be use a super soft baby tooth brush.

 

Now, how about you grab a nice mirrored PR and take a toothpick to the surfaces.

Don't make such a generic statement, only later come back to qualify it, and then act as if it's some big joke.

 

BEEN THERE DONE IT , many, many times! How do you think we conserve a proof when certain things are needed?

Now, would you please take a Cheap PROOF Lincoln and do what I asked before making any more comments even though you are demonstration the "depth" of your knowledge.

 

PS, You never answered my question.

 

What part of my very short and to the point post was too hard for you to understand? Perhaps if you would worry less about all the damn faces, and instead focus on the written words, this wouldn't be so difficult.

Let's revisit, shall we?

Regardless of the (not-quoted) blah, blah, blah, the above statement is not a blanket fact; there's no ifs, ands, or buts about it. This is very simple. Had you qualified it from the beginning, there's nothing unreasonable or wrong about it, but you chose not to, so I did it for you. Again, very simple.

I'm not going to bother with your little "test" for the sole reason that it's a waste of time; I'm well aware of the would-be results, just as I'm sure you are of my suggestion. Believe it or not, you're not speaking to someone who just fell off the truck here.

Now feel free to spin this however you wish because that's so much easier than thoughtfully considering what has been said to you.

 

Since you pretend to know what happens, why not tell us all? I think you might be surprised. Anyway, there are plenty of opinions on CT and I LOVE these faces that I never knew existed (computer illiterate).

Unfortunately for all of us, from what I've seen since joining CT, some members duck questions and refuse to back up their opinions with simple experimentation. Can't learn new things unless we try to see for ourselves.

PS Wish you could be here with me right now to see what I'm doing to a dirty 1874-CC MS-62 Trade dollar WITH A TOOTHPICK among other things! But your security level precludes this from EVER happening.

 

Sharpened toothpicks don't damage coins when used PROPERLY, under a stereo scope, with certain chemicals...by a professional (?) that's all. Now say it...

 

Why are you picking fights over toothpicks insider

 

Picking fights? Picking fights? Just having fun with words/opinions and IMO (as a proponent of professional conservation methods) correcting the record? I may be giving away too much. Now, some wacko is going to ruin a coin because he doesn't know what he is doing.

Anyway, one poster has said they damage coins. I agree THEY CAN if not used properly. That is what my original message said: Toothpicks don't damage coins, people do...Now where have I heard something similar.

 

If you don't mind me asking, who is we and what kind of lab?

 

Oh no...I'll never tell. Can you keep a secret?

 

Your "lab" wouldn't be underneath a dry cleaners in Albuquerque, New Mexico would it?

 

Shhhhh...just between us chickens...

 

I had a mail-order coin business many years ago. One of my long-time customers told me that my coins were the dirtiest he had ever seen. When he boiled them, they left a circular residue on his boiling pot! I took that as a compliment.