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 Replies: 8 / Views: 985 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2200 Posts |
What exactly does cleaning do to a coin that is so bad? I know from my own experience that it gives the coin an unnatural pallor--for example, when I was little I took a pencil eraser to my Lincolns.
But technically, what does cleaning do the metal that ruins the value?
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Valued Member
United States
458 Posts |
Its just the way it is buddy. Collectors want coins that are original. Cleaning a coin changes the surface of the metal for life.
Acetone is the only thing I use on my coins to get dirt or gunk off.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1081 Posts |
During the minting process, the metal actually flows into the die from the pressure created. This creates a mint surface. Cleaning destroys this surface which you can never get back. It ruin the luster of the coin and in many opinions, makes the coin uglier due to the unnatural appearance afterwards.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Partially one of the major problems with cleaning anything old is the removal of some of the original material. Ever watch the Antique Road Show where they say if you hadn't of cleaned this it would be worth 10 times more? Even with old furniture, lamps, etc., if you don't know what your doing, you could remove some of the originality.
Sometimes cleaning a coin leaves lines from the items used to do the cleaning. Toothbrushes, paint brushes, etc. If a coin was full of dirt, grease, rust, corrosion, etc., much of it could now be part of the coin so removing that also removes part of the coin.
Sometimes, pending on the solutions used, the now cleaned coin starts to tone or corrode even more than due to normal conditions. Some people use products like dishsoaps that also react with the coin to discolor them.
With the present grading services a coin to be in what is a MS-66, -67, or higher condition, there just can not be those little lines from cleaning nor the pitting left from some products. And, not always, a true collector or dealer can tell if a coin has been cleaned and the value goes down, down, down.
That pencil eraser probably left so many scratches on those coins, to the average collector they would look like someone dragged them accross the sidewalks.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2200 Posts |
Actually the pencil eraser gave it a very unnaturally bright sheen. It looked like the bottom of a copper pan after you've cleaned it but before you rinsed.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
597 Posts |
i did the eraser on some LWC when I was 12 years old I still have them and now they look like rivers of scratches what a mess I made of them |
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New Member
United States
8 Posts |
I used to wash lincoln cents in toilet bowl cleaner when I was a kid. It made them super shiny, but that turned bad over the years. Now, all I will do is rinse one with warm water if it was dug. Cleaning coins just never seems to end well.
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Moderator
 United States
16679 Posts |
Carl,
I watched the Antiques Road Show once and saw a lady bring it this ugly copper or bronze lamp which happened to be a Tiffany. Well, she used Brasso to clean the lamp to a nice shiny look.
The appraiser told her you WERE looking at a $150,000 lamp now, worth $30,000 at best.
Moral of the story, DO NOT clean your coins!
swcoin.ecrater.com
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
The appraiser told her you WERE looking at a $150,000 lamp now, worth $30,000 at best.
Moral of the story, DO NOT clean your coins! OCH! Now that just have really hurt. I've seen some really great deals at coin shows for coins that were obviously harshly cleaned. The worst of it all is how many of those were actually expensive coins at one time. Now Shinny and cheap. |
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Replies: 8 / Views: 985 |
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Posted 07/30/2011 10:23 am
