Is There Anything Wrong With Purchasing Cleaned Coins?

A good question @hum, and one that comes up frequently as a topic. Here is a link to one example:

https://goccf.com/t/181571

Eye appeal is number one with me. If a cleaned coin looks decent to my eye, I can and have overlooked cleaning.

Doesn't bother me
Unc. details "cleaned"
I'm still happy

I agree, and I'm going to say something even more controversial: I'll buy a holed coin as long as it's adjusted down a couple grades for the hole. I'm even happier if it just turns up in a lot of coins that are unholed. Obviously, I'd be happier with no hole, but if it's there, it's there. I've gots some pretty high grade 19th century pieces with holes. While I may call them place fillers, I'd probably never get rid of them even if I upgrade them.

To me the hole is part of the coin's story. I like to think about the person coming to New Zealand during the gold rush in the 1860s, possibly from the US via Australia, who put a hole in all their coins so they could put them on a bit of string or wire to keep them close during the months-long sea journeys that would take them to a new land with their few worldly possessions. Personally, I almost like the idea of the hole if that's how it's been for more than a century. But I will upgrade to a better specimen without a hole if I can.

There's nothing "wrong" with it. As others have stated, you may regret it, and not enjoy the cleaned coin as much as its more expensive not-cleaned cousins, but there's no ethical problem with buying or owning cleaned coins.

Ethics only comes in to play if/when you are selling. It is "not OK" to attempt to sell a coin you know has been cleaned as if it were not-cleaned, and/or fail to mention this to the buyer or otherwise obfuscate about the matter.

And make sure your estate knows about the coin's status, in the event of your untimely demise; we wouldn't want your heirs and successors (who may not be knowledgeable about coins) to think they've got valuable coins, when they aren't.