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 Replies: 21 / Views: 3,107 |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2135 Posts |
I wish it were possible to see this coin before it was cleaned.
I bought some 18th century UK copper coins recently. I could see they had been badly and probably recently cleaned.
If their owner had left them alone I think they might have fetched £500 to £800. I paid £45 and I might have paid too much !
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
As to a sub or full forum for cleaning coins, coin cleaning, chemicals for coin cleaning and on and on and on.
How to see or tell if cleaned. I too think this is one of the most frequent questions, topics, discussions that is seen over and over. Would be nice to just be able to say, look here and there would be this entire sub type forum all about that subject.
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
We don't want to pigeonhole the subject with its' own subforum; that would take away from the number of potential viewers when this is the kind of information we want most accessible to everyone who visits here.
Cleaning is such a broad concept, with so many different types/methods/outcomes, that you pretty much have to evaluate it on a case-by-case basis. Yes, there are some which can't be missed, but this is a subject that if there's six concurrent threads on the front page asking for evaluations of specific coins, we're going to be quite happy about it.
No single thread can cover it all.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
624 Posts |
There's an extensive thread on Acetone over on the Modern Coins forum... here's my take on the use of Acetone from that lengthy discussion: 1. Pure Acetone will not damage coins; you can't leave a coin in it too long 2. A water wash after the Acetone dip is unnecessary, but if you insist, use distilled water 3. Acetone will not put a shine on coins; it's best used to remove oil, grease, ink, or residue from tape 4. Acetone will not harm skin; Acetone removes moisture, so it will dry you skin 5. Acetone is flammable; use appropriate caution and use in glass (best) or metal containers only 6. Pure Acetone doesn't care where you bought it from, or how much you spend; cheapest at Walmart, but available in any paint/hardware store 7. There is nothing that Acetone will do to limit the ability to have a coin professionally graded, however using metal (or laminated wood) gripping devices, rubbing the coin (with a q-tip, rag, toothbrush, etc), or using a 'tap-water' rinse (it has sediments and minerals) afterwards are bad for your coins. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
593 Posts |
Several years ago I was garage sale hunting and I found this pile of old coins in a clump all stuck together with black goop in a coffee can. You couldnt read dates or anything, but I could see 3or 4 large cents and others. I gave them 15$ and went to figure out how to get them apart. I finally tried oven cleaner after nothing else worked and let them set for 2-3 days. I worked very well and I ended up with 4-5 large cents IH or two, some 3 cent pieces and a 1879 shield nickle in xf plus. which came out excellant for the cleaning it took and didnt hurt the surface of any of the coins.
The shield was a good date and I sold it to a dealer for $300
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1959 Posts |
A quick comment to make about garys64wildcats comment about oven cleaner. Oven cleaners use many different types of chemicals depending on brand/type etc. I'm glad oven cleaner worked well on your coins, I would caution anyone who wants to try this. Only as a last resort or possibly try on some junk coins you care nothing about. Some oven cleaners will destroy coins. FYI.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
593 Posts |
Just for the record, these were in a big clump that was very hard like they were in there for years and it was the last resort. I would never use that on anything other than the oven but it turned good with out damage to even the large cents. For 15$ not much to lose and it turned out good.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1536 Posts |
I think that you first have to determine if the cleaning is acceptable or if it was harshly cleaned. Some of us openly discuss cleaning coins by soaking them in distilled water and acetone. Sometimes it is necessary to conserve the coin from further corrosion or some sort of substance is on the coin that will damage it further.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1374 Posts |
The brevity of this original post is way too much for a thread. There must be several hundred methods to cleaning and conserving coins... which could be two totally different topics in of themselves. A quick google search for a plethora of chemicals and treatments and their use on particular series will yield a lot of information.
The skinny of it is, that over several years you will develop an eye for what is natural and what is not. Online digital pictures can't teach you that. You have to go to coin shows, dealers, and look at raw and slabbed coins. Some slabbed coins are cleaned, although they don't mention it on the slab. Some raw coins have never been cleaned. This is where skill comes in. Sadly, I'd have to assert that pictures will not teach you what is real luster and what is not. After one learns what coins should look like in-hand, you can deduce with great certainty whether photographed coins are original, conserved, or cleaned. This is my experience, at least.
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Bedrock of the Community
  United States
18725 Posts |
So, Drsandman2, what you are saying is that if someone posts a picture of the same coin that was cleaned in some manner and one original coin and explains what the tell tale signs of the cleaned coin determined it, that it will not assist anyone in being able to help them discern if they see a similar coin in the future?
I agree, nothing compares to hands on years of experience, but most collectors do not have the means to observe the number of coins to be able to get to that point, this is the reason for the thread, was to help me and those individuals. most collectors would prefer an original coin to a cleaned coin, barring rare varieties, and any information to help them would be valuable. They may see something posted here and see a coin looking similar for sale and be able to say, hey, this coin may have be dipped or this coin looks like it was whizzed, but if no one points out what to look, how are they to know even what to look for? you can find a lot information on this site, however, it is all in separate threads, folks posting coins and asking if they think it was cleaned. In posting this thread I was attempting to maintain a single thread that folks can come to and learn about cleaned coins in general and gather information and knowledge about them from folks like yourself with many more years experience handling such coins.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1536 Posts |
I think this thread is really referring to harshly cleaned coins as opposed to soaking in acetone, distilled water, or Verdi-care which can be more on the line of conserving especially if the substance on the coin can damage it. It is often, in my opinion difficult to determine if it is worth cleaning a coin and if any benefits can come from it. I am trying to determine if I should soak this coin in distilled water and use Verdi-care. I am thinking it won't improve it much.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2135 Posts |
I've not seen verdi-care.
What is it made of or what does it do, please ?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4897 Posts |
Quote:
I've not seen verdi-care.
What is it made of Proprietary information. Our own BadThad is the chemist who developed this. Quote:
what does it do VerdiCare can be helpful with the removal of light to moderate verdigris. Here is a good read..... https://goccf.com/t/62434 |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
18725 Posts |
Exactly buddy16cat, cleaning for preservation was not the intent, it was to help identify coins that someone altered in some way to sell to someone and scamming them into thinking it is original.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1536 Posts |
Yes, some coins should be cleaned but cleaned correctly especially if there is something on it that can cause damage. I have experienced removing a substance off a coin only to find corrosion underneath due to the substance not being removed in the first place.
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Replies: 21 / Views: 3,107 |
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First Page
Posted 04/14/2013 10:48 pm
