Anyone else clean their silver, or am I nuts?

[lastleg]

What do you mean by "polish"? It sounds like taking an abrasive and rubbing the #ell out
of it. You wouldn't do that to your kids would you? Why do it to coins which we idolize?
Shouldn't we instead spray them with black paint and call it good?

 

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[nathan104]

More than if it was polished.

Thats pretty much the answer I was expecting. I dont think many on here actually do very much buying of silver coins. I do. And unless a coin is a rare date/mint, or are in extremely nice condition, they pretty much all sell for the same amount of money whether cleaned or not. Cleaning will definitely impact the value of a coin with numismatic value but on a common date mercury which displays average wear, it doesnt. I buy a lot of 90% US silver and the price is the same whether they are polished to a shine or not and none of it is at spot/melt value. The only difference in price is a coin in near mint condition or a rarer date/mint mark.

So, personally, if the guy likes his coins to shine to appreciate them more, more power to him. I think its far better for him to have a polished coin he is proud of and will look at and appreciate as opposed to a dirty coin that he will keep i a drawer or a jar and forget about.

 

[jerseyben]

Many of you are living in a fantasy land...

There are any number of non-dug, low grade, common date silver coins that are only worth their weight in silver and are still basically junk silver. A "cull" will have a negligible difference in value as compared to a low grade example with original surfaces.

It will basically come down to a bulk price. You might pay $5-10 less for a bag of culls vs low grade examples.

Whoever said a dealer won't buy cleaned coins and it is unethical to pass them along to other collectors. Give me a break!

 

[coinsareawesome]

Personally, I would only buy silver coins if it is a rare date, or if I can get it for a cheap price, like recently, when I paid $.25 for a coin that has $.90 worth of silver in it.

 

[Iron Patch]

Many of you are living in a fantasy land...

A fantasy land where the coins aren't very old.


Anyone who speaks in general terms how cleaning would affect a dug coin's value I'm pretty sure does not have a whole lot of actual experience. It's ALWAYS a case by case basis. Is cleaning the heck out of a coin that's only worth its weight in silver going to affect the value, of course not. Can you clean a dug coin and destroy it, or make it worth less, sure you can... but you can also increase the value and I have done it many many MANY times. Hell I popped one out of lemon juice one day and sold it for a grand 20 minutes later. People say the same thing about relics too, cleaning hurts the value, and they say it without seeing the relic or the result. Many people don't seem to get how it's a different set of rules when you're talking about dug finds, because in most cases you're already dealing with condition issues, and because of that eye appeal probably counts for a little more. And eye appeal is why choosing the correct cleaning method is important because there's a big difference between doing a good cleaning and one where you used an abrasive and left a million deep obvious scratches all over the coin.... that is the condition that scares off most every collector even for something they want fairly bad.

 

[lastleg]

Obviously IP understands Coin Logic.

 

[QuarterMaster87]

Wow, I appreciate all the opinions. To be clear, the only coins that I've polished were Mercs and Rosies, and an extremely worn 1926 SLQ. I used paste silver polish and a Dremel tool with a small plastic brush and very low speed- the coins come out clean and brilliant looking. I'm new to metal detecting, and I pull those coins out all the time to admire them. If friends come over, you can bet they're going to see my silver coins and stories behind all of them! Since my original post, I've found a 1918 Walking Liberty Half, and a 1919 Mercury dime that I have not cleaned. I found a 1952 silver Washington today and will likely clean that dude if it's not worth anything. For me, the value is intrinsic, not numismatic.

 

[Ahab8]

IP is dead on here. We are digging coins that have been in the soil for decades or even centuries. Most of the coins we dig aren't worth much. Once in awhile we dig a key date or even a very old rare colonial coin. I for one dislike the look of an old coin that is bright and shiny. I want to see that nice dark toning on an old silver coin. Some sort of "cleaning" is normally necessary just to make an identification possible or make a coin worthy of display. I don't sell anything I find and don't plan on selling anything. But here's a real life example of making a tough decision on cleaning a scarce coin. My first full season of detecting I found a 1652 Pine Tree Shilling. I was scared to death to do anything with it. But whether it's an $8 coin or an $800,000 coin if it's dug it likely is going to need some sort of "cleaning". I contacted Iron Patch about how to best go about the process of "cleaning" the pine tree shilling. I wanted to be able to remove all of dirt without scratching the coin and also keep the dark toning that centuries in the dirt had left. This is what the coin looked like freshly dug and then after the majority of dirt was gone.



This is what it looks like after a quick lemon juice soak. I personally am very very pleased with the way it looks. I like the toning and the detail. Others may not like the way it looks. One thing I've learned is that you will never please everybody. But here is my thought on any coin or relic that I dig. I love colonial coins and relics. Most that I dig have been in the dirt for 200+ years. The last thing I want is for them to look new. I want to remove the dirt from them and be able to display them. I don't want to change the patina drastically or shine them up. They are old and I want them to stay looking that way. I'll be the first to say that it's not easy and it's a very fine line. I once buffed out an 18th century shoe buckle to its original shiny brass. It looks terrible and now I can't even display it with the other shoe buckles. That was a good lesson learned. Sorry about the rambling lol. Here is the tree coin.

 

[Joe777Cool]

Ahab8 - you did an excellent job restoring that dug coin. But keep in mind what you did and what the op did "using silver polish paste and a high speed dremel tool" are at the opposite ends of the restoration spectrum.

 

[Ahab8]

Ahab8 - you did an excellent job restoring that dug coin. But keep in mind what you did and what the op did "using silver polish paste and a high speed dremel tool" are at the opposite ends of the restoration spectrum.

Yes Joe absolutely. I got a little carried away there. But the point I was poorly attempting to make was that we are digging coins from the dirt and that they require some sort of cleaning or restoring as you termed it. Finding that balance between making something identifiable, showing nice detail, yet not too cleaned, altered or shined up is a delicate balance. As I said I always want my old finds to not appear new or shiny. One of the really beautiful things about this hobby is that it forces you to become knowledgeable in so many areas. You must know coins, buttons and relics in general. Then you must become proficient in how to properly handle, clean and preserve all of these items. I recently found a few War of 1812 pewter buttons and that requires a whole separate set of skills to clean and preserve as opposed to a silver coin. A copper coin offers its own set of challenges. To truly show these historical items the respect they deserve you must become a student of all these things. It is truly a unique hobby in that way. One of the many reasons it's so attractive to myself and others.
And Joe I appreciate the compliment on the Mass silver. Not everybody shares your opinion but most do. You will always find those that criticize. They are usually the ones who have never had to make the tough decisions on how to deal with a scarce dug coin. Certainly a nerve wracking experience

 

[Silver Searcher]

This works because the lemon juice strips off the top layers of silver. Not only does this damage the coin, ruin its value, but it sets it up for future tarnish, that is more likely to be black or brown rather than blue or green. To a purist, you should never ever clean your coins. If they are dirty from being dug, you can soak them in Olive Oil or gently wash them with your finger tips in warm soapy water. You pat dry with a soft cloth and keep it in a warm, dry place for a few hours before putting it in a mylar flip.

If you need to clean a bit of hard dirt, you can try to pry it off with a green rose thorn. The green thorn is flexible enough to not cause too much damage.

I'm sorry but lemon juice does not take of the top layer of silver, it removes the tarnish and nothing else.

SS

 

[Silver Searcher]

It's easy to strip a ancient coin down to a shiny coin, and then put the patina back, you can leave it in sunlight for one, if it's quality silver it will darken with time.

SS

 

[Silver Searcher]

IP is dead on here. We are digging coins that have been in the soil for decades or even centuries. Most of the coins we dig aren't worth much. Once in awhile we dig a key date or even a very old rare colonial coin. I for one dislike the look of an old coin that is bright and shiny. I want to see that nice dark toning on an old silver coin. Some sort of "cleaning" is normally necessary just to make an identification possible or make a coin worthy of display. I don't sell anything I find and don't plan on selling anything. But here's a real life example of making a tough decision on cleaning a scarce coin. My first full season of detecting I found a 1652 Pine Tree Shilling. I was scared to death to do anything with it. But whether it's an $8 coin or an $800,000 coin if it's dug it likely is going to need some sort of "cleaning". I contacted Iron Patch about how to best go about the process of "cleaning" the pine tree shilling. I wanted to be able to remove all of dirt without scratching the coin and also keep the dark toning that centuries in the dirt had left. This is what the coin looked like freshly dug and then after the majority of dirt was gone.
View attachment 1263263
View attachment 1263264
View attachment 1263265
This is what it looks like after a quick lemon juice soak. I personally am very very pleased with the way it looks. I like the toning and the detail. Others may not like the way it looks. One thing I've learned is that you will never please everybody. But here is my thought on any coin or relic that I dig. I love colonial coins and relics. Most that I dig have been in the dirt for 200+ years. The last thing I want is for them to look new. I want to remove the dirt from them and be able to display them. I don't want to change the patina drastically or shine them up. They are old and I want them to stay looking that way. I'll be the first to say that it's not easy and it's a very fine line. I once buffed out an 18th century shoe buckle to its original shiny brass. It looks terrible and now I can't even display it with the other shoe buckles. That was a good lesson learned. Sorry about the rambling lol. Here is the tree coin.
View attachment 1263277
View attachment 1263278

My God Abe, you ruined that coin...never Listen to Iron patch.

 

[Ahab8]

My God Abe, you ruined that coin...never Listen to Iron patch.

Lol yup some dude wearing a spandex suit....what the hell was I thinking