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 Replies: 9 / Views: 1,328 |
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Valued Member
United States
169 Posts |
how can you tell if a coin has been cleaned?thanks  |
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Pillar of the Community
798 Posts |
no mint luster, round hairline scratches, faded die. other than that I cant really explane it. 
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1109 Posts |
Also if the person selling it says it was cleaned. :) But yeah, all of the above. It won't look "mint" like.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4337 Posts |
you can tell once you've handled enough and seen enough pics
you should keyword search the forum and spend an hour looking at whatever pics you can find
Normic is correct about absence of mint luster, it will just look dull and lifeless, the flow lines are stripped with the outermost layer of silver sulfide so there's no "shimmy" of light but more like a dull bland silver blah
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11951 Posts |
As others posted .. it is all how it looks.
Others might not like this idea .. but next time you get some AU/BU common coins in change. (I am thinking current year coins) do some test .. clean a few in different ways. Wipe one with a cloth, dip one .. clean one with baking soda ..you will see how the luster goes away.
Another suggestion is when you are looking at a coin, look at it is different ways.
Look at what is good about it ... then look at what is wrong with it. Look for rim dings/bumps .. scratches .. stains .. set the coin down .. for a few minutes .. then look at it again ..
just some suggestions ..
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Valued Member
 United States
169 Posts |
What does luster look like
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7123 Posts |
I agree with all of the above and would add that coins that have circulated should have some signs of dirt and accumulated grime in the details the absence of any accumulation of stuff in the details could be a sign the coin has been cleaned even if was only soaked in acetone or some other solution. I consider coins that have had such treatments to be cleaned just not abrasively cleaned. swirls,hairlines that all go the same direction would be signs of a whizzed or abrasively cleaned coin. Here is an example of an abrasively cleaned coin.  |
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Pillar of the Community
798 Posts |
If you look into a MS 64 silver coin you will see a lighter tone of silver glare, that is luster and other stuff as well.  |
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Pillar of the Community
798 Posts |
Or a VF 30 coin, its the shinyness of the silver.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1536 Posts |
I think coins that are cleaned are different than harshly cleaned. I often soak coins in acetone, distilled water, or Verdi-care and consider this type of cleaning to be acceptable. Harsher methods are used to remove toning. One of the sure signs I notice is systematic scratch marks on coins or being mis-colored. Silver coins tone and white-faced coins with no mint luster is a sign of harsh cleaning. Copper coins that are orange and not brown or red-brown is a sign of harsh cleaning. |
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Replies: 9 / Views: 1,328 |
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Posted 04/06/2013 8:18 pm
