Cleaned Coins In The Real World.

Personally, I don't give a rip about cleaned coins. 99% of the people I show my coins to would have no idea in the world the difference between a cleaned and non-cleaned coin, so it's not like anyone is going to judge me for having cleaned coins.

The only coins that should be cleaned are ancient coins recovered from burial, and if they are likely to have significant value, they should be cleaned by experts who know what they are doing.
The cleaning of ancient coins can nevertheless involve the risk of damage anyway, and that is why THEY should be doing it. THEY are the ones by experience, that take a measured and considered risk, not the collector.

My collection comprises about 4,500 coins of all ages, ancient to modern.

I have cleaned only about 10 of them, because I felt that I had no choice. I WILL NOT interfere with a coin just to make it look better.

I know it matters but how much does it matter for coins that are unlikely to be extremely valuable. The penny example above is one where of course you make sure it is legit. But a what about a coin that's unlikely to ever be worth more than say $50 even in the best condition?

I've gotten boxes of halves that have shiny bright orange rims but the rest of the coin is hammered. It seems casinos also wash their coins as anyone who has every roll searched can tell you how black your hands turn afterwards and I'm sure casinos don't want their customers playing the slots to end up with black hands.

If you find a coin that you need in change and it has been cleaned you don't have a choice.

If you are buying a coin you might not have a choice if the coin comes up rarely for sale or an uncleaned example is way out of your budget.

the term "cleaning" covers so many variables it's hard to really refine what it means singularly.

mechanical whizzing or using an abrasive is going to be bad regardless of the value of the coin. I would argue with anyone who says this is ok.

chemical (acidic) dips? not my cup of tea, but hey if it's your coin so go for it but I think it would limit the coins audience/value if you choose to sell it in the future.

acetone? good at melting away the organic junk but can leave coppers with a rainbow toning. still "cleaning" but supported by a large number of members here who still claim "cleaning" is a bad thing.

other "cleaning" or conservation agents like verdi-gone/care (works wonderfully by the way) make the coins healtheir and more attractive. is it "cleaning"? kind of, but the end result is often better than leaving the coin alone.

reverse electrolysis? I played with this a little on junk silver. left some toning but freed up the gunk and some of the heavy oxidization. technically still altering the surface but not as intrusive as a chemical bath.

removing junk & gunk with oil and a toothpick/thorn etc ? some coins are going to come out with better eye appeal than leaving it alone. does it affect the value? I dunno, I put A LOT into eye appeal.

(see image)
coins on the top row are both original, one is acceptable, one is not.
coins on the bottom row are both cleaned, again, one is acceptable, one is not.

I wonder if you'd have ever gained an appreciation for coins if you'd not have gone through the quantity phase. I know that I look at $1,000+ listings for rare date high grade certified coins and I just don't get it at this point. Besides,unless you make a major boo-boo, it's not like these won't sell on ebay for what you paid for them after you decide what you really want to collect. Right now, I don't even know what most of these coins look like in person. For example, I just saw a Morgan dollar today and was shocked at the size and weight.

Let's just say it's hard for a newbie to pick a slabbed XF-40 coin that is definitely not cleaned over a MS grade, but maybe cleaned coin, for the same price, and then say you are adding a higher quality coin to your collection.

Have to agree with the Fed here.

Bottom line is collect what you like and be happy.