Did this improve or detract from this wonderful little piece?

[psgen]

Hey Everyone:
I went to the jeweler the other day to sell a few of the gold & silver rings, I've found over the last couple of years. While I was there, I asked him if his services included professional metal cleaning. I showed him a relic I recently dug and he said it shouldn't be a problem. The picture below is the before and after. Did this improve or detract from this wonderful little piece? I'd like you have some opinions on this topic. Comments would be greatly appreciated.

Psgen

[MichiganRob]

I don't know about that but it sure does look nice...after

HH
MichiganRob

[mark43]

nice cleaning job...i forgot to take a look at it the other day when we went mding........looks sweet and is just another piece of history for this part of new york........to bad we cant find something that the museum would just die to have in their collection..................mark43

[mastereagle22]

Not to be the sour one of the bunch but I prefer the relics I dig to keep that dark patina. I think it looks really nice and lets you know you are holding something old. Yes I know the date is on there but I just think the weathered look is nice.

Still I haven't found anything that cool in my detecting time and you have a nice item cleaned or uncleaned.

[Montana Jim]

It depends on what you value about the piece I think...

Do you want to keep it, display it, throw it in a box for the next 50 years, sell it as an antique, donate it to a museum or throw it away. It only matters what YOU think unless you want to sell it... then it's best to leave it alone and let the new owner decide.

I like the original and uncleaned look better than the cleaned look.

[Michigan Badger]

It's a very nice piece as you now have it.

But, I think it was even nicer before cleaning.

I've done this myself many times because I just have to see what it looks like cleaned. Every time I was sorry a few days after cleaning.

I once dug what I believe to have been a 17th century "Fur Trader Knife." It looked awesome with it's heavy covering of greenish corrosion.

But I wanted to see if it had a makers mark and I also wanted to see it cleaned. So I did the electrolysis thing to it and found no makers mark and I hated the looks of it.

I finally sold it on ebay for about $80. Had I left it uncleaned I may have gotten several hundred for it.