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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;johnmilton, post: 3440959, member: 101855&quot;]There is a difference between dipped and cleaned.</p><p><br /></p><p>Dipped refers to dipping most often a silver coin in a weak acid solution to remove tarnish. After that is done the coin must be thoroughly rinsed to remove all of the dip solution. If that is not done, the toning will return, sometimes much worse than before.</p><p><br /></p><p>Dipping can be overdone. If the coin is dipped for too long, or if it is dipped repeatedly, the surfaces will become dull and lifeless. Such coins can become “no grade pieces” if it is bad enough.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cleaning refers to moving medal on the surfaces of a coin. Tell-tale signs are little scratches like hairlines or bright, polished surfaces.</p><p><br /></p><p>There is a difference between polished surfaces and original mint luster. Mint luster plays with the reflection when you swirl a coin under a light. Polished is usually just a shine. It’s hard to explain the difference in words, but once you have shown the difference, it will probably stick with you. Learning to spot mint luster is cornerstone to learning how to grade coins and spot problem pieces.</p><p><br /></p><p>In today’s market a lot of collectors want coins with original surfaces that have not been dipped. They won’t touch the dipped pieces, although I think that they are getting a bit extreme. Most any coin from the 19th century has had something done to it. Much of what these fussy collectors insist upon is secondary toning that has formed after a coin was dipped years ago.</p><p><br /></p><p>I know you might be confused by now, but I’ve tried to give you the beginnings of an answer[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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