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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 49987, member: 112&quot;]I understand your point, but as I said - think about it. Visualize in your minds eye what is actually happening in the two situations.</p><p><br /></p><p>When you mention hardness - would you agree that you can take a soft cotton cloth and wipe it across the surface of coin that you will leave marks and/or hairline scratches ? I&#039;ll assume you will agree. Now why does it leave scratches if the metal of the coin is harder than the cloth ? Well when you&#039;re thinking about the hard metal of the coin you&#039;re forgetting something - the luster.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you were to take an Unc coin and cut it in half so that you could look at the cut edge - what would see ? On the surface of that coin you would see small, shallow ridges. And if you were to magnify them greatly they would look something like this - /\/\/\/\/\/\/\ It is those ridges that produce the luster and cause the light to reflect. </p><p><br /></p><p>Now if you were to take a cloth and wipe it across the top of those ridges - would they be as hard as a piece of the same metal that was smooth ? No they would not because they are quite thin - almost like fine wires on the surface of the coin. So when you wipe a cloth across them - those wires break and the breaks look like scratches.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now then, on a soft surface like a cotton cloth, the coin sinks in allowing more of the surface of the coin to be touched by the fabric and the fibers of the cloth. And if there is any movement the cloth will scratch the coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>But on a hard, smooth surface like a table or countertop - only the high points of the coin actually touch the surface. And the less surface area of the coin that is in contact with the surface under it - the less chance there is of leaving marks.</p><p><br /></p><p>The key in both cases is to not let the coin move. But in all likelihood it will somewhat. And if it does - which would you rather have - the surfaces in contact in many places as with a cloth - or in only very few as with a table ?</p><p><br /></p><p>Does that make sense now ?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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