I am really fairly new to coin collecting but got interested after receiving some coins from my Grandparents. And I have found this site helpful and I enjoy reading responses and learning from other about the hobby as I start out. I bought an 1883 Hawaiian Dime. Here are a couple of photos.I don't know for sure but I think the coin has been cleaned? Has it been cleaned and how you tell? And if the coin has been cleaned, how much value does it lose? Thoughts
This is a very nice example of a cleaned coin: some surfaces are almost shiny clean, others are covered with black patina/dirt. According to the scratches, it also looks like harsh cleaning, which definitely makes the coin lose certain value.
Yeah, take a look at the reverse. Almost as if someone took a Brillo pad to it. LFCfan, this is what's refereed to as a "problem coin". It's the kind of coin that most collectors tend to shy away from. It will never be as desirable as an unaltered coin of the same type. On a positive note.....those are some nice pictures. Large photos indeed. And I bid thee welcome to the forum dear fellow......
Thanks, for the help. We all make mistakes. The real mistake is not learning from them. Thanks for your pointers.
How much value does it loose? If they were light hairlines you would have to drop it at least a full grade in value. Being more radical, this coin would have to be dropped at least two grades. Say VF to VG. Since even a VG still has some value, don't just give it away. It's worth keeping until you can, or will want to, repurchase another.
