A question on cleaning and pcgs.

izzy452

Bowers and Merena has a 1936 proof 66 mercury dime in auction. It has some toning on it. It is in a pcgs holder. I was wondering if I won this coin ,could I send it to pcgs to have the toning removed. Would the mirrored fields be damaged and the luster removed when they dip it. Secondly after they dip it and reholder it, would the cert tag say
"cleaned" ?

Thanks
Walt

coinguy1

izzy,

Usually, PCGS will not do that.

If you don't like the toning, I'd recommend that you wait for one that is untoned. Dipping might or might not not improve the appearance of the coin - it depends partly upon the type/degree of toning and what is underneath it.

No notation is made on the grading labels of coins graded by PCGS that have been dipped by them or others (unless the coins receive "no grades", in which case, they might be called "cleaned").

Russ

PCGS does not provide such a service as a regular business practice. They also don't net grade coins, which would be the situation where a holder says "cleaned".

This is not so say that you couldn't crack it out and dip it yourself, or send it off to NCS and have it professionally done. But, not all coins should be dipped. What does the toning look like? Attractive? Ugly? You also have to be careful that a dip reveals flaws that the toning covered up and may result in a downgrade.

It's a risky game.

EDIT: Man, Mark is quick on the draw today!

Russ, NCNE

prooflike

Before playing that game you would have to see the coin in person under a glass to see what is under the toning and the quality of the luster. Dipping does remove a minute layer of luster but does not repair hairlines, rather it exposes the hairlines even more.

BigD5

If the coin is already slabbed as a 66, I hope hairlines aren't a worry. If the toning is light, the coin can PROBABLY be dipped without a problem. If it's deep, or dark in nature, it PROBABLY won't look better after a dip. I wouldn't mess with a pf/66 Merc. myself.
Pcgs won't do the dipping and they won't notate the coin as "cleaned", unless they bodybag the coin.

stman

Agree with coinguy1, You maybe should just look for one without toning that you like.

Tonelover

Yeah, don't ruin an originally toned one. Leave it for someone else. There are plenty of blast whites out there, wait for one of those.

izzy452

Thanks for all the advise.


Walt