I was working at a ladies house and told her that because my older daughter is named Victoria that I collected coins of Queen Victoria. A little while later she said she found something for me. They were from her mother but since she was Irish that she didn't have any fondness for the queen. She held up her hand and I could tell from the size that they were crowns. That's when I started getting excited. Then she said they were dirty so she cleaned them up for me. I have to believe that this wasn't the first time she had done that. When I saw the Brillo pad and Tarn-X, I decided she had to have done it before or I would cried. Any other tales of having your hopes raised and then dashed?
I heard a similar "I shined it up for you" kind of story from a dealer friend. Apparently this happened just before the coin in question was brought into the shop. Except this particular coin a near-Mint State 1794 US Flowing Hair dollar that got Tarn-X-ed. That was a $10K mistake. (The tale may be apocryphal, but it's cringeworthy. And similar things have happened.)
What a shame, but such a common mistake for someone that just doesn't know... Or to someone new to coins. I hate to admit this, but when I was brand new (about 20 years ago), I shined-up an entire set of mercury dimes, and about 50 silver dollars... I almost cried when I found out that I ruined them...
