cleaned my 1877 seated quarter

[mattysee]

cleaned it up good, also a walker I found a few months ago, had no idea the shape it was in. and a kids private eye badge

 

[Stan Milgram]

I clean and/or polish almost all of my copper coins because the sentimental value is greater than the monetary -- and I like to look at a pretty coin. A lot of my silver coins don't require any cleaning because they look good out of the ground. Though if I found a coin that had an exceptionally high monetary value, I'd leave it as is in case I wanted to sell it at any point.

 

[MUD(S.W.A.T)]

Hello,

I've been waiting to say this for the longest time, now's my chance.... Most the coins we find are "dug"... Just that simple, most dug graded coins will come back as "dug, cleaned or environmentally damaged". No matter what you do to them... Most cases if you don't know what your doing you can reduce the value but... If your good like some of the people on here and know what your doing then sometimes you can get a better grade than if you did not clean it. However my point is still in general you'll get your coin graded as "Dug, Cleaned or Environmentally damaged." to avoid this you should have your coins cleaned by a professional grading company, more so if they are valuable. Otherwise they are your "Dug" coins and you can do whatever makes you happy. Enjoy yourself and enjoy cleaning your coins cause at the very least you have nothing to loose with "Dug" coins...

Keep @ it and HH !!

 

[WHADIFIND]

Enjoy yourself and enjoy cleaning your coins cause at the very least you have nothing to loose with "Dug" coins...

Ahhh, a breath of fresh air! Thanks! You KNOW they have GOT to be degraded, devalued and demeaned right? After all the REAL collectors who have all these EXPENSIVE RARE coins simply can not allow for some son of a digger to come along and queer their collection's value by bringing a whole bucket of the same coin back into life. LOL

HH!

 

[l.cutler]

The owner of any coin can certainly do as they please with them. If you prefer them polished and shiny then go for it, but to say they aren't devalued, or that the condition can be improved by cleaning them this way is just plain wrong. Collectors prefer coins with original surfaces, harsh cleaning, such as polishing, removes and displaces the surface metal severely reducing the value. Again it is a free country, and anyone can treat their coins any way they like, but just so it is understood that the value definitely does suffer with improper cleaning.

 

[ironman]

So what I get from this is if I find a old coin I should leave all the dirt or whatever on it

 

[ynpto804]

So what I get from this is if I find a old coin I should leave all the dirt or whatever on it

I guess what you should get from this is- shine it, polish it, smash it with a hammer! It's yours to do what you want but don't think if you post it on here someone's not gonna have anything to say about it.
( I for one will be shining then smashing. I like to ruin my hard work.)

 

[WHADIFIND]

So what I get from this is if I find a old coin I should leave all the dirt or whatever on it

Yep. Or, pay to have some hoi-faloi grading company give you an official "dug/environmentally damaged" grade. Or, maybe, pay some hoi-faloi "professional" coin cleaning company to remove the dirt with "proper" and "due diligent" techniques and THEN send it off to get it graded. (see previous).

LOL

In ANY case. the coin will NEVER be worth one in somebody's hoi-faloi, Wall Street backed collection. LOL LOL LOL (Wheeeeeee! I'm having fun with this one!!! LOL )

HH!

 

[ironman]

Lol I understand to b honest it's mine and I will do as I please I'm not in this hobby to get rich I make enough money at work I do this hobby for the excitement of the hunt or find and so far it's bn. Pull tabs and a few 100yr old nails from a old logging operation.

 

[DirtDodger]

Ahhh, a breath of fresh air! Thanks! You KNOW they have GOT to be degraded, devalued and demeaned right? After all the REAL collectors who have all these EXPENSIVE RARE coins simply can not allow for some son of a digger to come along and queer their collection's value by bringing a whole bucket of the same coin back into life. LOL

HH!

Just a few thoughts.... from a life long Coin Collector. Ignorance is not a virtue... nor is championing it ...

Dug coins which are only have the soil removed are generally far more valuable than polished coins.

Also, just another idea to think about...

Are collectors really 'owners' or merely custodians for a brief time... care takers of historical objects for say.
Why does a man made value have anything to do with the responsibility to care for these objects.

I ask the same too all diggers... do we really 'own' (coins/objects etc...) ... or are we really custodians ?

Example: Most of the coins in my collect are way older than me, some two thousand years. Many collectors over the years took the responsibility to care for them,
I too have that same responsibility to those who will be the next custodian/custodians after I fade into history and not even a distant memory.

Yeah, we can be ignorant and willfully destroy objects.... but is that responsible?

 

[WHADIFIND]

Just a few thoughts.... from a life long Coin Collector. Ignorance is not a virtue... nor is championing it ...

Dug coins which are only have the soil removed are generally far more valuable than polished coins.

The key? More "valuable" to whom? And what basis is the "value"?
The "no clean" law is more for those who have something to lose by more of a rare coin. Makes it easier to tell.

Also, just another idea to think about...

Are collectors really 'owners' or merely custodians for a brief time... care takers of historical objects for say.
Why does a man made value have anything to do with the responsibility to care for these objects.

I ask the same too all diggers... do we really 'own' (coins/objects etc...) ... or are we really custodians ?

Well, you can have MY coins when you can pry them from my cold, dead..... (LOL)

Yeah, we can be ignorant and willfully destroy objects.... but is that responsible?

"Destroy" is in the eye of the beholder.

HH!

 

[Papaw55]

Being new to detecting, I have a serious question(s) about cleaning coins. Why does the coin degrade in value if it is made to look better and in some cases, almost a new look? We clean our vehicles, motorcycles, travel trailers ect... to bring more money when selling. Does a buyer leave a rare coin as is if purchased from, say, one of us fortunate to find one? Do they then send it off to have it cleaned professionally, retaining value than if the finder cleaned it? I hope that these are not dumb questions and would appreciate if someone would explain the "why's and why nots" of how this works. Thanks, Papaw.

 

[Erik in NJ]

DD,

I have been guity of cleaning almost all of my silver coins over the years with either toothpaste or baking soda and water. Most of these were simply common date silver coins, none were key dates, but some were in quite nice shape. I guess what you wrote has resonated with me and I will not be so quick to clean my silver. If I find one with full split bands I don't think I would now clean it, but I have done so in the past. The jury is still out on cleaning let's say a common worn Merc dime for example. What's your take on this?

I guess the other point to be made is does cleaning a coin really destroy it? I know that the current trend in collecting is that cleaned antiques are bad, but this is really a common opinion amongst collectors as a case could be made that a cleaned antique is aestetically better than one that is not cleaned I suppose. I wonder if cleaned silver coins will ever be in vogue and fetch a higher value than one with a patina/tarnish. The collecting community is funny. This doesn't happen really with stamps, because you have a mint stamp or one with a good cancellation. Some mint stamps are worth more and some cancelled stamps are worth more, but you really can't clean a stamp. With coins there are a lot of weird rules such as ones with a rainbow-like tarnish are more sought after, don't polish it, don't clean it, etc. Obviously you need to remove the dirt froma coin when dug. What about a silver coin with black spots on it after the dirt removal--better to clean or not to clean? Seems there are many variables. Perhaps it's best to gently clean the dirt off the coin with a bit of dish soap (?) and water and a soft make-up brush and just leave the coin as is? What's the best way to preserve the current state an value? Thanks for any insight!

Just a few thoughts.... from a life long Coin Collector. Ignorance is not a virtue... nor is championing it ...

Dug coins which are only have the soil removed are generally far more valuable than polished coins.

Also, just another idea to think about...

Are collectors really 'owners' or merely custodians for a brief time... care takers of historical objects for say.
Why does a man made value have anything to do with the responsibility to care for these objects.

I ask the same too all diggers... do we really 'own' (coins/objects etc...) ... or are we really custodians ?

Example: Most of the coins in my collect are way older than me, some two thousand years. Many collectors over the years took the responsibility to care for them,
I too have that same responsibility to those who will be the next custodian/custodians after I fade into history and not even a distant memory.

Yeah, we can be ignorant and willfully destroy objects.... but is that responsible?

 

[DirtDodger]

"Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience".

 

[mattysee]

didn't mean to start the coin cleaning revoloution.........."don't shoot to you see shine from their coins" lol to me my coins are not destroyed, as with antiques some you clean some you don't, I like to appreciate every detail of the coins I find, most of all the history of where I found it and who possibly held it last, im new to this sport only my second season, and I def made a few mistakes cleaning coins, and ill make a few more before I go to that virgin cellar hole in the sky!!! thanx for all the input. p.s. DUTCHTOGA at least I don't have to give all my silver finds to my wifey!!! haha

 

[Argentium]

mattysee, don't worry - everythings ok ! you didn't F-ck Up that badly - our lives on this planet are an eyeblink , and nothing that you've
shown us here was really valuable anyway ! just be aware that even though you might like em shiny - coin collectors would rather have them
in a more naturally worn/circulated condition. Cheers !

 

[l.cutler]

Being new to detecting, I have a serious question(s) about cleaning coins. Why does the coin degrade in value if it is made to look better and in some cases, almost a new look? We clean our vehicles, motorcycles, travel trailers ect... to bring more money when selling. Does a buyer leave a rare coin as is if purchased from, say, one of us fortunate to find one? Do they then send it off to have it cleaned professionally, retaining value than if the finder cleaned it? I hope that these are not dumb questions and would appreciate if someone would explain the "why's and why nots" of how this works. Thanks, Papaw.

Not dumb questions at all, coins can be carefully cleaned with a soak in distilled water, and patted dry. Acetone can even be used to remove glue, or other foreign materials that can harm the coin. The key is to remove the contaminants without damaging the surfaces or the patina of the coin. In your comparison to cleaning vehicles, you could carefully remove the dirt and road grime with a proper washing or you could scrub it off with a wire brush and sandpaper.

 

[Papaw55]

Definition: The patina of a coin is the layer of surface metal that has changed as a result of interaction with environmental agents or contaminents. On modern coins, a patina is generally considered to be undesirable damage to the coin's surface, and is often synonymous with tarnish or toning.

On ancient bronze coins, however, which have usually been buried in the ground for 1,500 to 2,500 years, the patina is not only desirable, but practically essential. The color of the patina on ancient bronze coins is usually green, and can range from very light green to a deep, lustrous, dark verdigris green. Sometimes patinas are seen in other colors, as well, such as blacks, reds, browns, and yellows.
Thanks LCutler. Read up on patena. Evidently important to the collectors that the patena is still on the coin although a lite washing is ok. Thanks again.

 

[Digger2]

Mattysee, you sure did a beautiful job cleaning those coins. Would you please share your secret, it sure looks like a professional job to me!

 

[WHADIFIND]

just be aware that even though you might like em shiny - coin collectors would rather have them
in a more naturally worn/circulated condition. Cheers !

The coin collectors, who are writing the rules about what is acceptable, would "RATHER" coins not to be dug, at all! Especially if it's a rare one that they have purchased for their collection. But, as long as they can delineate between their prized possession and one of those "crappy" old dug up, environmentally damaged, coins. They're ok.

That's fine with me and to each their own.

Mattysee? I LOVE what you did with your coins! Just be careful and PLEASE don't rub the coins in the field. You might find out it really is one worthy of professional cleaning/grading/auction. Or at least, it used to be.

HH!

 

[mariposagold]

I really get tired of people who know "all that" telling others' how they should treat their finds. Do we have a responsibility to keep exceptionally rare coins in the best found condition? Sure. But, I saw the dates and knew they weren't especially rare. So, I knew you were cleaning up something for yourself and THAT is your business, and yours alone!

I would disagree on cleaning a very rare coin. But, not because of the so called numismatic value. Rather, I figure to pass that one down for historical purposes. So, I would attempt to keep it as nice as I can without "hurting" how much someone might be able to sell it for, later on.

I have an idea, next time, just tell them about how pretty and pristine your coins look after you gave them a good cleaning and buffing. BUT, by NO means, post ANY pictures of them at all! See how they like them apples! LOL

If I didn't already have one, I'd gladly pay you 30 bucks for that pretty coin!

HH!

I've seen your clean jobs too! You clean a nice coin my friend. If I had more than two or three, I'd send them to you for cleaning,