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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Cherd, post: 1463505, member: 24754&quot;]This is a good point. The quarter shown above is the first attempt that I have made at coin &quot;cleaning&quot;. I have not cleaned coins in the past, however, I do seek out and purchase cleaned coins. I purchase cleaned coins because appearance ranks higher on my priority list than does &quot;originality&quot;. Of course, I would ultimately prefer aesthetically pleasing coins that are completely original, but unfortunately my financial situation prevents entry into that kind of market.</p><p><br /></p><p>Like you said, it makes more sense to purchase coins that are already in a state that you appreciate. I have no plans to make coin cleaning a common practice, and/or to seek out coins with cleaning potential. I have had that quarter for about 4 years, and it has been stored in an airtite for most of that time. It did not look like that when I originally purchased it, most of the tarnishing has occurred during storage. While knowing that removing the tarnish has decreased the value of the coin, in this case I feel that the value drop is a worthwhile swap for having to sell and repurchase another coin.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This is also a good point, and it is actually the line of reasoning that motivates my personal &quot;no cleaning&quot; attitude towards collecting. Like you say, interpretation of appearance is a matter of opinion, there isn&#039;t necessarily a right or wrong answer. While not being right or wrong, once done, cleaning cannot be undone. It&#039;s the finality of this action that generally prevents me from doing it.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>But with all that being said, here&#039;s the point that I am trying to make. With all cleaning and originality issues aside, I was making claims based on the appearance of the quarter before and after cleaning. Yes, interpretation of appearance is an opinion, but it seems nonsensical to me for anyone to say that the uncleaned example is more aesthetically pleasing than the cleaned example. It&#039;s basically a fact that the cleaned coin looks better! Line up 100 non-numismatic individuals and ask them which is nicer, I guarantee that the &quot;opinion&quot; will weight very heavily in the cleaned direction.</p><p><br /></p><p>You can say that collectors would prefer the coin in the uncleaned picture, in general this is true. You can say that the coin in the uncleaned picture retains historic originality whereas the cleaned example does not, this is an opinion. But if you say that the uncleaned example is more aesthetically pleasing, then you are confusing your attitude towards cleaning with your interpretation of appearance.</p><p><br /></p><p>Why do we wash our cars? refinish furniture? polish the silver service? It&#039;s because we prefer clean cars, don&#039;t want dingy furniture, and like shiny silver.</p><p><br /></p><p>Why would a person clean a coin? Same reasons, we want them to be more visually appealing. It&#039;s the stigma that has developed towards cleaning that has altered coin collector&#039;s perception of appearance. Why do the &quot;knowledgeable&quot; coin collectors constantly have to re-iterate &quot;don&#039;t clean coins&quot;? It&#039;s because the general attitude toward cleaning is not immediately apparent to novice collectors, it&#039;s not something that can be independently, logically deduced.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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