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 Replies: 7 / Views: 1,145 |
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Valued Member
United States
223 Posts |
Went thru my penny album again. 86 to present no problem, all came from mint & proof sets. 34 to 86 seem to be Unc in varying stages of red. 1900 to 33 are more brown in color and different grades. Some of these coins show no sign of dirt anywhere. Have they been cleaned even though they are not shiney? Under higher magnification lots show dirt or grease on the edges of lettering, profile, and numbers. Is this dirt or what ever it is eventualy going to expand and totally ruin these coins. Seems to me the dealers have the advanage again. They sell the gunk and dirt along with the coin. Since I don't plan on selling any, is my collection doomed in the future by this dirt?
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Pillar of the Community
Egypt
3470 Posts |
quote:
Originally posted by stmpcol
Went thru my penny album again. 86 to present no problem, all came from mint & proof sets. 34 to 86 seem to be Unc in varying stages of red. 1900 to 33 are more brown in color and different grades. Some of these coins show no sign of dirt anywhere. Have they been cleaned even though they are not shiney? Under higher magnification lots show dirt or grease on the edges of lettering, profile, and numbers. Is this dirt or what ever it is eventualy going to expand and totally ruin these coins. Seems to me the dealers have the advanage again. They sell the gunk and dirt along with the coin. Since I don't plan on selling any, is my collection doomed in the future by this dirt?
Try to immerse them in water and air dry, then see if this dirt still exists or not |
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Pillar Of The Community
3147 Posts |
NO, but a little cleaning would doom your collection. Accept your coins as they are and down the road, should you get the chance, upgrade to coins you can be comfortable with and sell off the coins you have replaced. There are lots of collectors out there willing to have a "little" dirt to fill a hole, so to speak and most will never put a glass on the coin if it is circulated as a little dirt or grime comes with the territory.
Did you ever wonder where that dirt and grime came from? If only coins could talk!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2365 Posts |
I'm with crystalk (again)...don't clean them! You're collection won't be doomed unless someone else tried to clean them and did so without great caution. Coins that are well kept will/can keep their original luster. Circulated coins do get dirty, ofcourse, however that is part of their history and should not doom your collection. There are many collectors that do indeed clean their coins but, I'm not one of them nor will I recommend it with only one exception - ancients and then only have them cleaned by perhaps the Coin Conseration.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4589 Posts |
olive oil works for lincolns (long soaks but the you have to clean them with acetone I think or distilled water to get the olive oil off
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
3831 Posts |
If it's dirt or dust, you can try to remove it with a toothpick when you have the time, that is, do it extremely slow and with a proper lens.
With the olive oil procedure, do it with caution, as in experiment with one coin first and if you are happy with it, go for it. I wasn't happy with mine.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1267 Posts |
Your collection is not doomed, unless you try and clean them. Enjoy the character and uniqueness of your coins, it sounds like a cool collection!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1247 Posts |
When you remove long time dirt from a brown cent it usually exposes the old red that was formerly protected by the dirt. And that usually stands out worse.
Trying to improve coins by cleaning them is chasing Rhiannon--you'll never catch her. Each problem you fix just produces another problem.
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Replies: 7 / Views: 1,145 |
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Posted 12/06/2006 4:54 pm
