1948 Dollar - Cleaned ?

I forgot to do this sorry, the listing has ended. I got a reply from seller and he stated he thinks it may have been at one time but wasnt sure. That was enough for me - no interest in cleaned coins I made some costly mistakes on some coins I purcahsed only to have them come back from ICCS noted cleaned so I'm gun shy now.

IMO cleaned coins are just ugly. In hand I can spot them instantly it doesn't take a genius to see them you just have to train your eye. The best way to do that is to study a cleaned coin and the only sure way to get one is to clean it yourself, make sure it is a Bullion Value scrap coin and try it out.

There are a few ways I spot cleaned coins depending on the alloy.

1. On copper coins check for contrast color on high points vs the planchet.For instance if the overall appearance of the coin is dull brown but the legend is shiny copper you may have a cleaned coin.

2. On silver any chemical treatment will give the coin all of the shine but none of the luster of a mint strike coin, the shine will be duller than a natural coin. This is hard to explain but impossible to forget once you learn how to spot it.

3. Again for silver coins check the rims, if there is black put it back. If both the obverse and reverse are uniform with no signs of toning but the rims are black you may have a cleaned coin. This rule is not always true but it will help you spot some cheats.

4. Check grade, a VF30 coin is not going to end up that way without traveling around a bit. A lower grade coin that is shiny is usually a telltale sign of a cleaned coin for obvious reasons.

You ever watch The Antiques Roadshow? When someone refinishes an old piece of furniture... "To bad, with the original finish it would fetch perhaps in the 20 thousand dollar range, but now... perhaps 2 grand."

Same with coins.

Search this coin forum on cleaning AND conservation topics... there are many.