| Author |
 Replies: 9 / Views: 2,520 |
|
|
New Member
Australia
27 Posts |
how come when you see a dealers catalogue all the coins have been professionally cleaned?
doesn't this ruin the value as stated a million times on these types of forums?
and why don't they leave them in the current state of retrieval to be sold at top dollar?
this confuses me as dealers sell cleaned coins at skyhigh prices?
what's up with that?
|
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1150 Posts |
Most of the time they aren't telling anyone that they have (or at somepoint, someone else has) cleaned the coins.
This is why one should study how to spot a cleaned coin. Get a lot of practice...and in the meantime, in my opinion, buy 'slabbed' coins from PCGS or NGC. This way you won't get burned when or if you go to sell them at some point in the future.
|
|
Moderator
 Australia
16830 Posts |
Dealers shouldn't clean coins. Some dealers do anyway. It's not something they're proud of, or announce to the world in their catalogues.
Some dealers, of course, are merely re-selling the cleaned coins that their customers have brought in to sell to them.
And whether the dealer cleans coins or not, the dealer certainly knows how to spot cleaned coins, and will therefore reduce the price of any cleaned coins brought in to them. This is why we as collectors always try to say "don't clean coins - it will reduce the value".
Mitchhailey: buying slabbed coins from dealers is pretty much impossible here in Australia. Practically none of them sell slabbed coins. Slabbing simply hasn't taken off here like it has in the US.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
|
|
New Member
 Australia
27 Posts |
Great info peeps thanks very much.
One last thing though - I suppose it's pointless holding onto dirty coins for long periods to prolong the value, Whilst the dirt will be eating the coin away! Bit of a catch 22 there hey...
To clean or not to clean...
|
|
Valued Member
195 Posts |
This is a tough question to answer without upsetting some people
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
I see this problem in the States as well, as most of the Aussie predecimal silver I see is cleaned, often harshly.
It's rare to find any KGV coin that doesn't show hairlines, dipping, or even scrubbing. Some dealers admit they do it, but I would prefer a coin with honest toning or grime over one with an "enhanced" appearance.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Australia
2830 Posts |
Ricky, if the cin is already green, you can do whatever you want to it. If it's not that far gone, then the smart money would leave it alone. The issue I have trouble with is black spots on bronze coins: it's probably only mould, and not corroding the coin, but how to get it off without destroying the chocolate toning ? I have put a few of these aside while I ponder that.
I always quarantine my green coins away from all the thers; and the black ones are separate again. I know they're not worth much, but maybe a "cure" might be discovered.
There are only two rules of coin cleaning:
1. don't do it; and
2. if in doubt, re-read Rule No. 1.
Peter in Darwin
|
|
Valued Member
United States
97 Posts |
|
|
Moderator
Australia
16830 Posts |
Quote:
The issue I have trouble with is black spots on bronze coins: it's probably only mould... I know it's wet up there in Darwin, Peter, but I don't think even Territorian mould will grow on bronze coins.  Black spots that look like mould on copper coins are "carbon spots", caused by droplets of water or other liquid - often saliva from somebody coughing or sneezing. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Australia
2830 Posts |
Sap, what turns water into carbon ? The black spots I see on my old pennies appear to be on the surface, rather than eating into it. I'm guessing that the spots are biological, but I may have to stand corrected on that.
and, none of the coins that I've had in storage since 1966 have gone black, or green. I only see it on coins that I buy in bulk - usually from non-tropical parts of Oz. One batch recently, I had to quarantine nearly half because they were either black or green.
|
| |
Replies: 9 / Views: 2,520 |
|
Posted 05/06/2011 04:17 am
