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 Replies: 8 / Views: 6,327 |
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New Member
Estonia
5 Posts |
Hi! I wonder if it is possible to make an old coin with no luster by any means look like a new one with luster? I know what luster is and how its appearance depends on the pressure of strike and the flow lines that the strike creates, but I don't know if one can artificially make a similar effect on a heavily circulated coin? Looking forward to answers, thanks :)
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
4411 Posts |
I would say no. Cleaning may make a coin look shiny but it wont make it attractive!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
716 Posts |
I agree. Luster is the sheen or reflectiveness on the surface of a coin that is produced during the minting process. It cannot be recreated on a circulated coin. Any attempt to clean a coin may make it shiny but it destroys the surface of the coin and the luster.
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Moderator
 Australia
16829 Posts |
There are ways to make a coin appear lustrous at first glance. "Whizzing", for example, is the process of using an electric wire brush to polish up the metal, creating synthetic lustre lines. It is one of the more deceptive forms of cleaning.
Of course, a worn coin with full lustre does not "look right", since whatever caused the wear ought to have removed the lustre too. Whizzing also tends to remove or blur fine details.
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
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Valued Member
United States
492 Posts |
I've found some quarters that look like they were hit with a buffing wheel. They shine like there's no tomorrow, but as Sap points out, even a slightly worn coin that shines too much just doesn't look right at all.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
Renaissance wax gives a lovely shine but no cartwheel effect. I've put it on some circulated coinage to test it out, it makes them look pretty nice but obviously cleaned/polished unless you buff the polish off roughly.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Many coins are used to demonstrate an auto or home polish. A worn, dirty coin is polished with their product and then put back in change. I've seen many of these and some actually look like a brand new coin from the Mint. Until the wear is noticed of course. Depending on the polish or wax used a coin can be made to look as good as new. It is just the wear that would always give them away. Not sure how he does it but at a coin show there is one dealer known for his coins being sort of faked as newness. By that I mean he has many coins that almost everyone thinks are as they were right from the Mint. Other dealers tell me he does something to make them look like that but no one knows for sure.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1796 Posts |
There are only two effective ways to fake original luster that're hard to catch. The first involves carefully formulated acids that strip off just enough to expose the under layers of the cartwheel effect. This requires higher grade coins to start with, and has several really bad fail states (too much metal removed, a bad wash afterwards like with standard dipping, etc) The second involves an elaborate over striking process to force new cartwheel on just the surface that has a very high failure rate, but even that can be spotted if you know what to look for.
So yeah when there's a will (or a price tag) people will find a way (to cheat). :-) They just don't tend to work well.
Edited by SteveCaruso
01/20/2013 2:13 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
Well, I went to the pocket change I brought back from the USofA and picked out some nicer red pennies and gave them some Ren Wax. Heres the results: Heres them blending in with the shiny new 2011s I picked up over there:  They looked pretty nice before hand, but this gave them a nice sheen. |
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Replies: 8 / Views: 6,327 |
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Posted 01/20/2013 06:59 am
