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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;IdesOfMarch01, post: 2876808, member: 39084&quot;]<b>Definitions</b> (my personal definitions, open to modification and discussion)</p><p><br /></p><p><i><b>Cleaning</b>:</i> Removal of surface debris and encrustations that were not part of the coin&#039;s surface when originally struck.&nbsp; Naturally occurring patinas may be removed inadvertently or purposely during this process.</p><p><br /></p><p>Note that removal of surface debris and encrustations will necessarily make the coin&#039;s surface smoother, so this definition is probably too broad for certain posters to this thread.&nbsp; Unfortunately I can&#039;t think of any cleaning process that doesn&#039;t make a coin&#039;s surface smoother in some respect.&nbsp; This implies that it&#039;s <i>theoretically impossible</i> to clean a coin without smoothing it, thus my original note that I&#039;ve never seen an ancient bronze that was cleaned but not smoothed (other than the uncleaned lots that come out of discovered hoards).</p><p><br /></p><p><i><b>Smoothing</b>:</i> Removal of parts of a coin&#039;s original surface and/or naturally occurring patina to make the surface smoother and more even with any gouges or pitting that may have occurred after the coin was struck.</p><p><br /></p><p><i><b>Tooling</b>: </i>The addition or removal of any material or features that were not part of the coin when it was originally struck.&nbsp; This includes the raising or lowering of any of the devices or fields.</p><p><br /></p><p>I welcome any comments or suggestions about my definitions.&nbsp; I find them to be usable, workable definitions when applied to coins that I&#039;m considering acquiring.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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