Washing circulated silver coins with mild soap and water

yup

 

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Hey,
I did successfully softly clean around 100 Liberty Walking half dollars. I had less than $6 in each one. I sold every one of them to dealers at a premium (today).

The wash never washed away any of the coin, but it did remove the outside layer of grim and dirt that adds nothing to the value. It made an ordinary melt coin have a little more of it's original brilliance.


The dealers are really smart guys so they never asked me about the coins.

I rolled the profits (and some of my cash) into a 1922 Double Eagle Saint-Gaudens $20 (clad MS 62).

 

I'd like very much to have contact information for a dealer who pays a premium for obviously-cleaned, average-circulated, dirt-common-1940's Walkers. I might have some business to transact to our mutual advantage.

 

What did they pay you for the coins? You left that out of your post.

 

Dealers around here are back of melt for 1940's Walkers in that condition that aren't cleaned.

If there's a magical land where VG-ish cleaned super-common Walkers command a premium from dealers, it's probably worth a road trip!

 

This OP is a lying moron. Ignored.

 

You can probably find them by searching the GNA website.
http://www.gamoney.org/coin-show/

Who are you and what is your business? Do you you have millions of revenue every year in the perfect unmolested coins? You do own a huge and very profitable business while I am a very small buyer.

What is your website?

 

I said melt or $6.

 

I ask what they paid.

 

No, you said "I had less than $6 in each one. I sold every one of them to dealers at a premium (today)."

It wouldn't be worth a road trip, but I'd be very surprised to find dealers offering full melt for generic 90% silver. At the show here this past weekend, at least one dealer was selling 90% at melt; the best offer I got for buying was 11.05 x face value, which would be about $5.53 per half.

Don't deflect. I'm a mere collector/scavenger myself -- but if I have an opportunity to offload my previously-abused coins "at a premium", I'd be happy to take it. I'm trying to establish whether and where you've embellished your story. Right now, I'm zeroing in on the "at a premium" claim.

 

I’m curious. What did you pay for that $20 gold?

 

Nope, not as long as Google can choose to land every search for "should I wash coins" on this very thread. If anybody's claiming cleaning circulated coins will get you "a premium" when it's time to sell, I'm going to challenge, not ignore.

 

Yes, I did sell them for more than I bought them. It was not a huge bet but a small transaction for me to test my theory that melt value can be increased by gentle washing. It worked for me.

I didn't destroy any of the 9 Billion coins issued. I helped them.

I can't buy half's for 11 X face now due to the increasing value of silver (with the sinking value of gold). I would say it is the normalization of the value of silver vs. gold (I say gold will sink further vs. silver--or perhaps silver will be stronger and get back to near it's normal ratio?).

The charts show a clear uptrend in silver with a clear downside with AU.

BTW, you are not coming here on a road trip.

And I am not going to where you call home. We are talking small numbers here. !2 X face or 11 X face can't buy a decent martini at a nice hotel.

Next: I paid $1325 to a friend for the clad 1922 Saint-Gaudens (I like 'em). There was one in the show for $1350 (it was a 1909, No Motto, no clad) which was interesting.

 

Wonder what they would have paid if they weren't cleaned? You got 12x face.

 

Congratulations on proving your theory. You now are on ignore.

 

a clad 1922 Saint-Gaudens...clad...clad...clad

 

I sold some common silver dollars at the show this past weekend.

A couple of them were coins that I paid less than $10 for (a rare opportunity, one I couldn't pass up). They were cleaned. I sold them for $15. Yay, me! If I buy things at unusually low prices, I can sell them at the going rate, and make a profit.

Did the cleaning increase their value? No. It reduced their value. If they hadn't been cleaned, I would have gotten $17-30 for each.

If you think you improved your coins' value by washing them, you're wrong. That's all there is to it. You may not have dropped the value any further -- those were not premium coins even before you got your hands on them -- but you didn't raise their value.

If you wanted to "test your theory", you should have washed half the coins, offered the washed and unwashed ones in separate transactions, and seen how the value compared.

But if you think washing can "increase melt value", I'm not sure further conversation can help. Maybe you think washing transmutes dirt into more silver. I honestly don't know at this point.

 

The simple reasons most say "Don't clean coins" is that it changes their NATURAL, UNTOUCHED, OLD, ORIGINAL SURFACE which many enjoy and when changed limits half of your potential customers:

A. Those who value originality.
B. Those who cannot wait to clean them.

Another reason is that most folks (if you need to ask if it's OK or how to do it you are include in "most" ) who touch their coins in any way besides holding them by the edge HARM THEM. That includes the crude attempts (soap and water) to clean them.

 

You proved my point. You bought at $10 and sold at $15. These were probably Peace coins?

Please understand that I am experimenting with old 'melt' grade silver coins. I liked the way the experiment worked. When there are 98% on the "do not wash side" and 2% on the "try something different" view, I am all over the contrarian side.

I would never say that someone should wash any coin that would grade at a AU 50 and certainly up to the MS60 grades.

I think the VF (very fine) grades are nuts. These are old worn out coins (I am going with poor condition--call it PC). I say have fun with them.

That said, the Double Eagle $20 Saint-Gaudens (1907-1933) gold coins are the most beautiful and the best investment. I've bought several this year.

It's still the most beautiful coin, and one that has a fair ask price. The .25 oz and .50 oz. Liberty coins are a really nice buy today.

Don't wash these.

 

Especially the clad versions.