Most collectors prefer toned and original surface coins, but sometimes one finds a key that has been cleaned, or has a lot of crud on it, and if that crud is acidic or reactive, it will eventually corrode the coin.
Cleaned coins in my opinion are very common and look horrible, but I don't like risking contaminants on my coin surfaces. I usually soak most of my stuff in acetone before I stick them in a holder.
I would imagine a cleaned coin would have to be re-oxidized to get back the original look. Is there a safe, long or short term way to "re-surface" a cleaned coin?
If you use it as a pocket piece for a while you can wear off the cleaned surfaces and restore the natural surface of the coin. Depending on how deep the cleaning penetrated it could take quite a while
Do you know what kind of toning "tricks" or chemical solutions were used in the past and how to spot them? I've read that sulfur from old paper holders will leave a tone.
Not sure about chemicals, I know you can leave them on window sills for tone or bury them in the yard to get that more authentic look. I've heard of people baking them for tone as well
A while back I purchased an 1876 Seated Liberty Half that was in UNC condition, but has a small area to the right of liberty in which there are some surface scratches... I have debated using the coin as a pocket piece to see if I can get rid of the hairline scratches. Thoughts?
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