1854 $3 Gold Piece

Yes, with all due respect, you're wrong. That type of cleaning is anathema to any respectable numismatist. Even if this one's already been cleaned, "finishing the job" is a great sin.

These are not "our" coins. They belong to history, and since we die we're only temporary caretakers. It is truth that cleaning has been more, and less, in favor among numismatists throughout history, and also true that there are individual cases where some type of conservation is warranted.

But right now - as in the last 100 years or so, and ongoing hopefully forever - originality is prized, and the default is to keep the coin as original as you possibly can even if you acquired it cleaned.

There's a logical, rather than emotional, argument as well. Cleaning strips the surfaces of a coin and allows corrosive processes to get a stronger foothold. Patina protects the coin, even if that patina is dirt. And our job is protection, not ownership. Obviously this isn't as relevant for a noble metal like gold, but it's alloyed with copper and certain nasty processes can sometimes still take hold based on that if the alloy is imperfect.

Please don't clean it.

Thank you, Barry. I "know" you well enough to know that a few words would have sufficed without you taking it wrong, but this was an occasion where I had to be more verbose for the broader audience who read the Forum. Note that - before this post - there were 12 posts and over 190 reads of this thread. That fits the usual pattern - only about 10% of total readers ever participate in a given thread, and at any given time there are far more non-registered people reading this content (and all Forum content) than Members.

All right, I just got the coin in the mail today, so here are some updated pictures:



What originally looked like a ding on the reverse at 12:00 I'm now thinking might actually be Cud, especially since there are additional bumps at 3:00 and 6:00. Of course they may all be dings or evidence of jewelery mounting, but I don't think so.

OK, it just occurred to me to actually look at the rim. The bump at 12:00 on the reverse is most likely a ding after all, since the rim is a bit flattened there as well.

I'm going to the Bay State Coin Show tomorrow where ANACS has a booth set up to submit coins for grading, and I was thinking of bringing this one in for submission. Given the ding on the reverse and the amount of gunk visible in the letters and numbers and nowhere else (likely indicating a past cleaning), however, I'm wondering if this would pretty much be guaranteed to be sent back with a "details" grade and therefore not worth submitting. Of course, even if it gets a "details" grade, it would still be nice to have it authenticated I guess...

What do you guys think?

Tthanks, Ddave!

I will, thanks!

ANACS loves the term cleaned on their holders.
Your coin may come back with that on the holder but nonetheless, it's a wonderful looking coin that I'd be proud to have in my collection.
I think all coins of this age have been wiped at some point but this one sure doesn't show it.

Just got the coin back from ANACS:



I'm very happy with that grade and it indicates that I paid about what I should have for it.

The other coins I submitted, on the other hand, were a bit of a disappointment. The 1900-S Barber half dollar came back with a solid EF40 grade, which was at least a full grade below what I was expecting/hoping for (I really thought it had a shot of being AU50). The 1853 Liberty Seated half dollar (Arrows and Rays) came back EF40 "Details" (Cleaned), which was doubly disappointing because I didn't think it had been cleaned and I really thought it would be AU50 or even slightly higher. And then there was my 1807 "Heraldic Eagle" Half Dollar, which I knew had a scratch and really just wanted authenticated, but I wasn't quite prepared for it to be graded VF25 "Details" (Scratched, Cleaned & Retoned). Ah well...