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 Replies: 64 / Views: 4,980 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
512 Posts |
I bought some silver eagles, thought it would be fun to have real coins. Bought some "bu" Peace dollars online. A coin dealer I showed them to said they'd been aggressively cleaned. And he'd give me 14 bucks each, I paid more obviously. Said they'd been dunked in acid to make them look shiny and new. So how does a novice buy coins if coins can be whizzed, blitzed or whatever else and ruined? The dealer seemed to think those Peace dollars were worth melt value only. I was surprised. Book says even a "good" Peace dollar is worth 20. And the features on these did seem sharp. What is a person to do? Only buy expensive slabbed coins? Seems like there is skullduggery here. If I see a nice looking coin on ebay and the seller has a 99.5% positve rating, it seems no guarantee. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4085 Posts |
Keep in mind that the dealer is trying to make a buck off you also. Maybe the coins were aggressively cleaned but he'll still turn around and sell them for $20. Or maybe they are not so aggressively cleaned and he will sell them for more. There are trustworthy dealers and some not so much. In terms of what to buy, we've all made our mistakes. Start with some lower value coins and maybe circulated or some uncirculated and you will start to learn what to look for. Go to coin shows or a good dealer and look at a lot of coins. Post some here. Compare certified coins to raw coins and look at the differences between them. ebay is not necessarily a bad place to buy in my opinion (others will disagree) and raw coins can also be okay. I will say I look at a lot A LOT of coins before I actually buy one. Go slow and you will learn over time how to pick out the good ones from the garbage ones. Edited by KenKat
03/22/2018 8:27 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4085 Posts |
Oh, and  |
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
24885 Posts |
To the Forum. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
Stay and learn as we all do. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
512 Posts |
I guess my main question is, how can I tell when something has been cleaned?
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Moderator
 United States
187702 Posts |
to the Community! Your post was moved to the appropriate forum for the proper attention.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
655 Posts |
KenBerthiaume: Quote:
So how does a novice buy coins if coins can be whizzed, blitzed or whatever else and ruined? We all face this issue. I expect raw coins to have problems. Doesn't mean they're worthless, though. Generally, I'll buy low end coins this way. But, for instance, if I really wanted to be sure I was getting an original BU silver dollar, I would spend a little more and get it in a slab. You can probably find one for $30-40. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8715 Posts |
to the CCF! The best way is to first start out purchasing only common date, slabbed coins. This will give you an idea of what uncleaned coins look like. It will also help you understand what counterfeits don't look like. Next, you can get some more expensive slabbed coins. Make sure that you purchase them, you are getting them from a reputable dealer. On ebay, check their feedback and purchase only from dealers that have high feedback. After you have experience with slabbed coins, you may buy a few raw coins. Make sure to scrutinize the photos carefully for any signs of cleaning, including hairlines, lack of luster, and an odd color. Here's an example: Which coin has been cleaned?   The first one has been cleaned. It shows a lack of luster. It also appears worn (AU) but the surfaces appear too "clean". Remember - purchase slabbed coins first, get experience with how uncleaned coins look, and then only purchase raw coins. |
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CCF Advertiser
United States
1533 Posts |
If I were to show you a harshly cleaned coin and an uncleaned coin in person, you would be an expert on identifying in 30 seconds. If I were to show you one whizzed coin, you would then be an expert in recognizing them. Its not rocket science and most of what you are looking to learn is nothing more than very quick experience.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Quote:
A coin dealer I showed them to said they'd been aggressively cleaned. And he'd give me 14 bucks each, I don't know if your coins were cleaned or not, but be very weary of opinions like that of someone you're trying to sell too. A lot of dealers will talk down what you're trying to sell them and yes some will even flat out lie especially if they think you're inexperienced. You very easily could see those same coins being sold at much higher prices and quality than they told you selling. They may well have been cleaned I honestly don't know, but I do know I would need more evidence than the word of someone who is trying to buy them cheap |
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
If your buying raw copper coins look for ones that are not a pale pinkish color .Or raw silver coins look out for very light and very dull colored with no luster at all . these usually are cleaned coins that you need to stay away from .The tuff part is to determine is it a normal circulation color or not ,that takes experience in the field . Good TPG will tell you if the coin was cleaned or not . But if you don't want to spend the $$ they get , Learn how to tell the difference yourself .  |
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Valued Member
United States
330 Posts |
Post some pictures of the coins you bought. It is best to buy a handful of common date silver coins as references, something you can readily do at a local coin shop. I'm actually buying some cleaned coins as reference pieces.
In absence of pictures, there are two things I can say to avoid cleaned coins. One is look for wear: if the coin is very shiny but clearly worn, it's been cleaned.
The other is consistency. Look at the UNC dollar above and you will see the surface is inconsistent in the sense that at the angle seen, parts of it are shinier than other parts. If a coin has a shiny mirror-like surface with the same shine across the entire coin, it's probably been heavily polished.
Cleaned gold coins have a hilighter-yellow look to them, while originals have more orange tones.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
512 Posts |
Thanks for the replies and help. The coin that has a lack of luster and looks dull...the dealer said that people clean coins to make them all shiny and white. He acted like too shiny and brilliant means cleaned.
The coins themselves didn't seem to have much wear either in her hair strands being matted together or the eagle's feather layers being blended.
I thought that jewlry vleaner as what people meant by cleaned and that makes coins very shiny. It kind of fools people into thinking bu when actually they're worn scuffed vf or worse coins.
I am going to try to upload a picture.
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Valued Member
United States
314 Posts |
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I am going to try to upload a picture.  You will get LOTS of great feedback if you post good quality pictures from this community! |
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Moderator
United States
34396 Posts |
Quote:
I am going to try to upload a picture. I agree that this is the best way to get lots of opinions on your coins. Just in case you are having trouble with the uploading process, here is a link to the tutorial: https://www.coincommunity.com/forum...g-images.asp"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Replies: 64 / Views: 4,980 |
Posted 03/22/2018 8:26 pm
