Rookies Only... Part II
dakra
Posts: 513 ✭
Okay, so we had a pretty good conversation about starting out your collection but this is going to cover part of the do's and do not's.
Cleaning Coins:
I say this knowing full well that I have a bottle of acetone, MS70 and EZ-Est on my kitchen counter and I have used everything I could find in experimenting. No matter how you think it makes the coin look, the bottom line... IT HAS BEEN CLEANED! you may think it looks great but more often than not, YOU CANNOT FOOL THE PROFESSIONALS.
The worst thing you can ever do is CLEAN a coin. If you want to experiement in cleaning coins practice on your pocket change and never practice on the $100 coin you just purchased. I have practiced enough on pocket change that I feel confident in performing light cleaning.
I recently purchased a Long Island Commemerative and when I received it in the mail, I found it was harshly cleaned. They must have attempted to dig out the dirt with a sharp instrument as I could see the scratches on the coin around the lettering. I was pissed!!!!!!!!! The seller went against modern wisdom and cleaned the coin improperly. I thought about returning the coin but I knew I got the coin cheaply and it was a coin I HAD TO HAVE. But I was just angry with the fact that if the seller sold the coin without cleaning it, I would have been able to restore the coin myself without causing any harm to the coin. As it was, a possible $200 dollar coin is now worth...$50?...err.. I got it for $40
If you really need to experiement. Soak the coin in Olive Oil/Baby oil/mineral oil for a week. This is the mildest cleaning you can do. It will help loosen up the dirt that has accumulated on the coin. If you need to take it one step further, soak the coin in Acetone for a while. This will further loosen up the dirt that has accumulated on the coin. Never "rub" the coin as rubbing will leave scratches on the coin. if you choose to use MS70, EZ Est or a similar product, I'm not going to sit here and tell you how to do it but I will say that too much time in certain cleaners can cause the coin to turn white...and as such, you have basically ruined the coin.
The best advice I can give you. Stick to the Olive Oil and at most the acetone but go no further than that. DO NOT HURT THE VALUE OF THAT COIN! Do not take chances... although, feel free to screw up as many 1921 (P) Morgan's as you can. There are a great many people who may purchase a coin from you, it might end up making them look like a fool when they send it in for grading and it gets body bagged for cleaning.
I'm sure thousands of coins per year go in the sh itter because someone attempted to clean it. Do not be part of this minority... DIRT IS GOOD! CHERISH THE DIRT! Dirt=Value as Clean=No Value.
While this rookie is at it, can someone tell me what the lure is to Toned Coins? I guess I just don't understand why toned coins are in such demand. I recently read an article on how you can tone coins... something along the lines of sticking your coins in some muffins and baking them at 450 for 15 minutes or so. Seems to me some unscrupulous people can profit this way. While I'm at it, I came across a toned coin in which I dipped for a few seconds and it came out great and still had the mint luster. Now I look at it and wonder why it just lost $25 dollars in value? Toned Vs. Natural toning... We rookies need to understand it!
-Dave
Cleaning Coins:
I say this knowing full well that I have a bottle of acetone, MS70 and EZ-Est on my kitchen counter and I have used everything I could find in experimenting. No matter how you think it makes the coin look, the bottom line... IT HAS BEEN CLEANED! you may think it looks great but more often than not, YOU CANNOT FOOL THE PROFESSIONALS.
The worst thing you can ever do is CLEAN a coin. If you want to experiement in cleaning coins practice on your pocket change and never practice on the $100 coin you just purchased. I have practiced enough on pocket change that I feel confident in performing light cleaning.
I recently purchased a Long Island Commemerative and when I received it in the mail, I found it was harshly cleaned. They must have attempted to dig out the dirt with a sharp instrument as I could see the scratches on the coin around the lettering. I was pissed!!!!!!!!! The seller went against modern wisdom and cleaned the coin improperly. I thought about returning the coin but I knew I got the coin cheaply and it was a coin I HAD TO HAVE. But I was just angry with the fact that if the seller sold the coin without cleaning it, I would have been able to restore the coin myself without causing any harm to the coin. As it was, a possible $200 dollar coin is now worth...$50?...err.. I got it for $40
If you really need to experiement. Soak the coin in Olive Oil/Baby oil/mineral oil for a week. This is the mildest cleaning you can do. It will help loosen up the dirt that has accumulated on the coin. If you need to take it one step further, soak the coin in Acetone for a while. This will further loosen up the dirt that has accumulated on the coin. Never "rub" the coin as rubbing will leave scratches on the coin. if you choose to use MS70, EZ Est or a similar product, I'm not going to sit here and tell you how to do it but I will say that too much time in certain cleaners can cause the coin to turn white...and as such, you have basically ruined the coin.
The best advice I can give you. Stick to the Olive Oil and at most the acetone but go no further than that. DO NOT HURT THE VALUE OF THAT COIN! Do not take chances... although, feel free to screw up as many 1921 (P) Morgan's as you can.
There are a great many people who may purchase a coin from you, it might end up making them look like a fool when they send it in for grading and it gets body bagged for cleaning.I'm sure thousands of coins per year go in the sh itter because someone attempted to clean it. Do not be part of this minority... DIRT IS GOOD! CHERISH THE DIRT! Dirt=Value as Clean=No Value.
While this rookie is at it, can someone tell me what the lure is to Toned Coins? I guess I just don't understand why toned coins are in such demand. I recently read an article on how you can tone coins... something along the lines of sticking your coins in some muffins and baking them at 450 for 15 minutes or so. Seems to me some unscrupulous people can profit this way. While I'm at it, I came across a toned coin in which I dipped for a few seconds and it came out great and still had the mint luster. Now I look at it and wonder why it just lost $25 dollars in value? Toned Vs. Natural toning... We rookies need to understand it!
-Dave
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Comments
I am totally with you on "cleaned." I prefer gold coins with natural color--not the bright yellow-gold you increasingly see. The duller the appearance, the more I like it, especially for the older, circulated coins.
Regarding "toned" coins, I am with you 110%. When I was young, these coins were called "tarnished". Often these were coins that sat too long in an album in suboptimal conditions. I guess folks felt that they could increase demand by calling them, "toned" and even, "monsters"--I still do not know exactly what this latter term means.
Before you guys keep me here all night... I'm calling it an earyly night but keep this thread going!
-Dave
Casey
Remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
How do you folks feel about NCS cleaning up those "Toners"?
Twowood
Link
Yet you turn around and state:
" ... I would have been able to restore the coin myself without causing any harm to the coin. "
and then come back with:
"DIRT IS GOOD! CHERISH THE DIRT! Dirt=Value as Clean=No Value."
Can't on one hand say it is never good, you can't fool the professionals, and on the other say, but I can and I did?
I have actually seen some coins that come out of the old albums with the toning. They look nice but I guess it's just one of my things. I like the natural color of a coin. Plus I would gander that because there is so much Artificial Toning (AT) going on, that I have a natural tendency to avoid toning all together as I couldn't tell you what is natural or artificial....but wow, they do get a nice premium at times!
-Dave
Thanks for pointing out that I contradicted myself. I'm going to contradict myself again when I say that if you find a coin or have a coin with PVC, it might be a good idea to soak it in acetone before the PVC eats away at your coin.
In the example of my Long Island coin, I mentioned the fact that it was harshly cleaned and had obvious scratches on it. Had the coin not been cleaned by the time I received it, I could have soaked it in olive oil and then acetone. This would have removed the dirt on the coin without damaging it... although it is possible when you do this type of light cleaning, you may discover scratches or damage underneath the dirt.
I believe it is fine to experiment with crap coins in order to learn. When you are confident with your cleaning abilities, it's okay to try clean in order to remove pvc or any other dirt or gunk off the coin but as I general rule, never clean a coin.
Again, I am guilty of cleaning a coin here or there. I did some "Extra" cleaning to both a 1921 Morgan and my Long Island coin but these are coins that will always be in my collection and will never be sold. Despite the harsh cleaning on my Long Island, I'm in total love with that coin.
Hope this clears up my contradiction.
-Dave