| Author |
 Replies: 13 / Views: 1,053 |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
549 Posts |
I can't believe I keep coming up with more questions about cleaning, but I'm still new at this and I'm trying to learn. I got a box of coins in the mail today...an amatuer's entire collection of pennies, minus any key dates or valuable errors which he cherry-picked out before I bought it. Most of the coins are in great condition, but a substantial portion of them seem to have been cleaned. I'm still too new at this to detect minor cleaning, so I'm assuming most of these are severely cleaned. I'm having a hard time deciding at what point a severely cleaned coin is a better addition to my coin book than the poor-condition coins that are already in it. As examples, here are two coins from the box I received today, which I think have been lightly cleaned. They're in much better condition than the coins I already have filling those holes, so I'll happily use them.  But what do I do in instances like the coins below? The coins on the right have been severely cleaned. You can't tell from the photo, but they actually have a yellowish brassy glow to them...yet they are in better condition than the ugly coins in my book (which look better in the photo than they do in person LOL). I have a whole lot of other instances like these ones. In some cases, it's an AU severely cleaned coin versus an AG natural one, so I'll probably opt for the cleaned coin...but I'm uncertain what to do in the cases like those in the photo below, where the grading is probably only off a little bit.  |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
7123 Posts |
I would choose the natural coin over the cleaned one everytime ,, better to have a natural G-4 than a cleaned problem coin in my opinion .
Metalman
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1490 Posts |
|
|
Moderator
 United States
23484 Posts |
I have two cleaned coins
value very low
If not cleaned each would be worth over $100
Do not clean or buy cleaned coins
rggoodie
aka Richard
"catch em doing something right"
|
|
New Member
United States
14 Posts |
i hate cleaned coins. I know there out there but I dont like em. sorry. the pics on the right are really cleaned.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1283 Posts |
Since you own them it's pretty much your choice as to which you would like to display. If it was me I agree with everyone else. Go with the natural, circulated coins. Unmolested, heavily circulated coins have their own appeal. They have a long history and their condition has a story to tell. Think about all the things those pennies have been through and seen in the past 90 years. Cleaning wipes some of that history away.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1934 Posts |
I cannot bear cleaned and oiled coins. Now and then, I'll buy some supposedly un-searched coins. Today I have decided not to buy another lot of coins from ebay. This, after my last 1000 cent lot of coins included 90% of coins damaged or corroded enough to have no value and the remainder smeared with an oily film. p.s...to me, with the possible exception of the one 1916, all those coins you posted looked cleaned to me. |
|
Valued Member
United States
60 Posts |
I have to agree with the above posts. If you want shiny coins, you should collect new ones. The "character" of the older coins is a big part of the appeal.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
I have mixed emotions when it comes to cleaned coins. Most people don't remember but way, way back when I was a kid everyone cleaned coins. If you collected coins and showed them to anyone, they would almost always say, nice but dirty. Why don't you clean them? So we all did. It was great to have a Whitman Folder (Albums not invented yet) full of nice shiny coins. And don't forget we had to push them into slots with our thumbs. In reality many times pounded in with a ruber mallat. If well worn, they would fall out so we licked the back so it would activate the glue in the back of the slot. After all that, recleaned with a cotton ball and anything to make them shine.
My feelings now are no one should clean a coin. However, if I find one for sale in fantastic condition compared to the one I have, and the price reflects the cleaning, I'll buy it and put it in my collection. It will take some years to tone down but then it will eventually fit in. It will always be a cleaned coin but as long as I'm not selling it, who cares. It is just my coin. I still have coins from way, way back that I did clean and by now they all look just like another coin. Of course that has been about 60 years.
Back to the original problem. If you have time in life, no big plans on selling coins, Put all coins in Albums, I suggest don't worry about what others may say. Make the set as great as you want. Eventually you can either replace the cleaned ones or some day you will not know which ones they are.
Don't clean coins but don't throw away a great deal on a coin because someone did clean it.
Of course there are exceptions. The ones that are obviously polished with something may never tone down and do look horrible in an Album.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Not meaning to drag this out but here is a similar situation. One of my cars is a 1968 Newport Convertible with about 32,000 miles. Never seen rain, snow, etc. and about 23 coats of paint. I pulled up in front of an auto parts store with that car to get something. Several people went out to look at it. One asked to see the engine. I lifted the hood and heard "OH NO. Orange Heater Hoses. Chrysler alwasys used black" I closed the hood and drove off laughing. What a jerk. It's my car so who cares about the color of a heater hose anyway.
Same with coins. They are mine so only my opinion counts.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
204 Posts |
I agree with Carl - what matters is that you like the coins you collect. Obviously I don't encourage cleaning coins, but I believe it is unrealistic to think every coin you ever buy is going to be pristine. I buy some coins I believe to be cleaned because I get them at a 20-50% discount and still get the amount of detail I want. It's also a case that if you pass by some coins that appear cleaned, you might not see one for sale again for a long while (although this is much less of a reason to buy something cleaned in my opinion). I also don't believe by buying something cleaned I am encouraging people to clean coins - I sure the coins changed many hands before I got it.
And yes, all things equal, I would much rather have uncleaned coins. When will the world learn?
|
|
Moderator
United States
187702 Posts |
I know I have some cleaned coins in my collection. When I was a young, naive collector in the 80's, I bought a few coins from a now closed local dealer. When I bought them, he broke them out of the 2x2's, DIPPED THEM, and WIPED them dry with a cotton cloth, all the while telling me that this is the RIGHT stuff to use and the RIGHT way to clean a coin! I later visited another local dealer and learned the truth. I look back at that now and chuckle.
Carl makes a good point about time. Those coins have been in a Dansco over twenty years now. IMHO, they look fine and I cannot tell they were cleaned. In the end, they are mine, I will keep them, especially since I have this story to tell about them!
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
19935 Posts |
Another vote against cleaned coins. The original brown are much nicer IMO.
Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2443 Posts |
I would prefer original over cleaned coins, but I don't think cleaned coins are as evil as some people make them out to be. They're good if you want to save money if your on a budget(like buying an early dollar). They're also sometimes unavoidable if your looking for certain varieties or errors since their's so few of them. They're only evil when you buy them unknowingly as being cleaned.
|
| |
Replies: 13 / Views: 1,053 |
|
Posted 01/09/2008 10:57 pm
