Cleaned Coins

Patosh

If you buy raw coins that seller claims to be defect free and not whizzed or cleaned and after submission to ANACS they come back cleaned or damaged do you bite the bullet or attempt recourse politely against the seller? I think it is difficult to ascertain a cleaned coin if only a minimal amount of solvent remains. Equally when a damaged coin has a slight scuff that many would find acceptable on the soft gold coins in question leaves me at a loss. I usually buy slabbed PCGS or NGC coins but the urge hits to go the old fashioned route sometimes. I then send to ANACS and if it comes back NET 45 do you value it at 45 even if cleaned?
Your thoughts would be appreciated. These are always early or classic coins.
Bill

crito

lightly cleaned coins are a tough call. some people feel ANACS is a little too quick to net grade borderline coins; there are plenty of examples of cleaned coins in NGC and PCGS holders. here's one from my personal collection, someone used a soft brush (probably horse hair) on it... luster is a little better than the scan, but it's really an unc details net AU58, or that's what ANACS would likely call it.



personally, it doesn't really matter to me. sometimes it's a judgment call, like AT or eye appeal or grading in general. so, I guess my answer would be: it depends on the severity of the problem and personal preference (strike over luster over surface preservation, etc). If ANACS knocked it down 20 points, I'd probably be upset, from AU to XF45, probably not.

Cam40

That seller sucks at grading if they really believed the coins he sold you were not whizzed.
Hard lesson to learn but it will help to learn to spot those coins with altered surfaces.

dorkkarl

my thoughts: your getting too caught up in the plastic.

be honest w/ yourself. put all other concerns aside & look at the coin & how it stands on its own merits. do YOU like it? if YOU like it, then it is a terrific coin!

it's really that simple. why do you need someone else to decide whether YOU like it or not?

if you are honest w/ yourself, you don't need anacs help deciding how to value it.

good luck!

K S