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 Replies: 9 / Views: 3,940 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
666 Posts |
I know... I know... Never clean a coin... That's the mantra for numismatics... And I am a believer... But I'm in the process of learning about detecting and have the feeling that I'm going to take the plunge soon. Before I do something I generally like to have a fairly good grasp of what's going on. So I'm on a metal detecting forum reading and I'm amazed at some of the results. Just as a for instance is the numismatic value really decreased on a cleaned coin like this?  That's from a hydrogen peroxide bath... No way would I ever consider buying the uncleaned coin... but the cleaned one looks great... I know I'll enjoy MDing once I get started and have already done some homework on hunting spots that haven't been touched by other MDers. Including a German POW camp, a park that was used as a tent city during 1942-44 due to a lack of housing in the town where a munitions plant was built, and 3 old Railroad terminals which were abandoned over 60 years ago. All of this within a 15 mile radius. All of this located in a county with a population of less than 15k. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1429 Posts |
Wow that is phenomenal work. Excellent.
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Valued Member
United States
101 Posts |
If you were to send that coin to a TPG and I think that ANACS is the only one that will grade a cleaned coin they will do so. It looks pitted to me in the photos so if it is it will be noted as such for being recovered from the earth. I wouldn't complain about owning or finding it though. Large cents didn't wear well so they commonly lost a lot of detail. Congratulations on your find if it is yours. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
666 Posts |
No it's not mine... I wish... I was just using it as an example for the question
Should you never clean coins?
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Valued Member
United States
101 Posts |
If they have value thats a good question. Is what you are about to do going to increase or decrease the value. If you have an IH that you have found and can't read the date and you can't read the date and you clean with the hydrogen peroxide and find 1877. Are you better off having cleaned it? I would certainly say so. Is it of a lesser value than a coin that has not been cleaned of the same grade. It wasn't going to be graded in the encrusted dirt that was on it. I've never found nor heard of a perfect way to clean a coin that has come out of the dirt. Raw coins that have/or have not been in circulation shouldn't be cleaned. Metal detected coins obvisously have to be. Sometimes just to determine what they are. In the field when you find say like an IH and can't read the date don't ub the dirt off as tgat can cause scratches. Carry a medicine or old 35mm canister filled with cotton to get it home. Then do the HP trick. A dug valuable coin is never going to have the same value as a non-dug coin but will retain some value depending upon grade and other factors such as corrosion from having been in the earth.
Dig it, clean it. Buy it let it lie.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
527 Posts |
Good advice shamrock, I have to addmit that I have cleaned almost all of my MD finds. To me it is not worth having if you cant see what it is. However, I have never found a very valuable coin. I always clean the coins that have potetial of being valuable with soap and water to first see what they are. If I were to find a coin of significant value, I would send it to a TPG company that offers a professional cleaning/restoration service, and let them do it how they think is best. No matter what the coin is, it is worth more now that it is out of the ground, regardless of it being cleaned or not. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
To clean or not to clean has been dewbated for years. Almost all ancients and shipwreck coins are cleaned, but it's done by people who know what they're doing.
Blonde-in-a-bottle will remove organics. Acetone is another good cleaner that won't otherwise affect a coin. Water can't hurt in removing basic crud.
Beyond that, you're best off leaving stuff alone.
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Valued Member
United States
90 Posts |
Does anyone know what to do with Nickel (CuNi) Finds that have turned red or black?
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Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Cleaning a coin involves either altering or removing part of the surface of the coin. Conserving a coin removes dirt or other deposits that obscure details and allow the coin to be clearly seen.
That 1820 cent has been "conserved", but not "cleaned". Polishing, whizzing or otherwise altering the metal of the coin is the big no-no.
Remember, Conserve but do not clean!
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Valued Member
United States
380 Posts |
Agreed... Don't scrub the crap off of the coin, gently rinse it with distilled water or an acetone rinse.
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Replies: 9 / Views: 3,940 |
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Posted 06/09/2008 5:10 pm
