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 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,222 |
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Valued Member
United States
234 Posts |
I received an album for both Buffalo and Liberty Head nickels this past week for Christmas; so begins the journey of completing both of them. However, after looking at many coins online and even posting some here for feedback I am truly struggling to figure out how to identify cleanings on them. My first thought is this has something to do with the metal itself. With copper and silver I am able to see cleanings with some level of accuracy due to their washed out appearance and altered color. However, after looking at various nickels on ebay and even photograde I find it impossible to differentiate between those designated as cleaned and problem free coins from TPG's. Is there something I am missing? Do nickels wear differently in some fashion? To further complicate things, it is fairly easy to find resources online to help with identifying cleaned silver and copper coins, but no special attention is ever given to nickels that I can find. To sum everything up, if anyone has any tips for identifying cleaned nickels, opinions on whether they are different in any way, or online resources that would help me in this task I would love to take a look at them. Thanks in Advance! |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
With modern coins,
if the luster had been disturbed in any way.
it is a sure sign that the coin has had some sort of cleaning.
Cleaning devalues any coin, but I will happily consider a cleaned coin at a cleaned coin price.
Depends on the amount of damage that the cleaning has done.
Note that almost all ancient coins recovered from in ground burial have to be cleaned, sometimes even to enable identification.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6383 Posts |
The usual indicators apply for nickels, too. Hairline scratches from an abrasive cleaning are usually visible, best seen by tilting the coin under a bright light. You can study examples of problem-free nickels on the Heritage website (among others) to get a feel for the "look" of original coins in various grades. You can also post pictures here to get opinions from your fellow CCF members. I suggest you store your album carefully. I had a Whitman folder of Jefferson nickels I kept in a closet for years. I pulled it out one day and discovered green corrosion spots on the rims of many of the coins. Pretty much destroyed whatever numismatic premium they might have had. Probably Dansco albums provide better protection than the old Whitman folders. |
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Moderator
 United States
188052 Posts |
For classic coins in my Dansco albums I am more concerned about (naked) eye appeal than whether or not the coin has been cleaned. Of course most all my classic coins are circulated, so an old cleaning would easily go unnoticed.  Quote:
I suggest you store your album carefully.  A stable environment is a must. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4469 Posts |
As noted look for hairlines from a cleaning. The nickel metal is harder than the silver or copper, so the cleaning may not be as noticeable. My recommendation would be to take some Jefferson nickels out of circulation or some dateless buffs and clean them. After cleaning compare the cleaned coin to an uncleaned example. Tilt the coins back and forth under light to obverse the hairlines and you may want to look at the coins under magnification. |
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Valued Member
 United States
234 Posts |
@jaobler: I have seen that before in an old collection of one of my family members. mine are stored in a climate controlled room all together and thankfully I haven't had any problems yet. @Slider23: That's a good idea. I have several dateless Buffalo nickels, and I've always wanted to try acid dating them. Maybe this is my excuse to do that among other things. In general, it sounds like I need to find my way to a coin show sooner rather than later. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3634 Posts |
One way to spot original nickels that are from old-time albums is the toning. A gentle golden tone over the entire surface is a dead give-away for a coin that spent some time in an old Wayte Raymond / National Coin album. The high sulfur paper reacted with the surfaces by causing this even toning. Unlike silver coins, the toning on nickels tends to be slow, even, and truly beautiful. Almost always, they will have original surfaces and nice eye appeal. There were a lot of those albums back in the day, and the coins all have the same appearance.
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Valued Member
United States
234 Posts |
Huh, that's very interesting. I wouldn't have guessed that, but I will definitely keep it in mind.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
One thing I look for is dirt inside letters and numbers. For example the dirt inside a letter e or inside the number 9. If it is an older coin, regardless of quality, should have dirt in those places. Not a full proof method but better than nothing.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
705 Posts |
Quote:I had a Whitman folder of Jefferson nickels I kept in a closet for years. I pulled it out one day and discovered green corrosion spots on the rims of many of the coins. I had this happen to me too with a Whitman Buffalo nickel folder. I was not happy with that and will never use a Whitman product again. |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
That is why I use Mylar/cardboard 2x2's in achhival quality non PVC album pages.
The presentation of the collection is nowhere as near as nice,
but the coins are always OK over the long term.
Bonus: you can write all of the acquisition history on the card: price, when bought, condition, mintage etc.
You are not restricted to the rigid presentation of a printed album, and can re arrange the collection in any way that you prefer.
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,222 |
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Posted 12/29/2021 01:48 am
