How much do you dislike cleaned bust halves?

Myqqy

I recently started purchasing bust halves, due to my deep appreciation of the design and the fair pricing. I've been amazed at how many of the bust halves have that unnatural "blast white" look, and am realizing how difficult it can be to find attractive examples that look original and uncleaned. How do most of you respond to the halves that have good details, but look completely unnatural due to the recent or heavy cleaning it has endured? Do you ignore them, or do you just knock off a bit of the price you're willing to pay? I can't seem to get any enthusiasm for the bright white examples, and I wonder if I'm in the minority.

Placid

Just set it on a window sill for a month or two.

wingedliberty

I would not say that you are in the minority, but you are not in the majority. Most seasoned collectors realize that the bulk of Bust material has been cleaned at one time, its just a question of when and how much time the coin has had to retone. So even the so-called "original" examples are coins that have been cleaned long ago and have had a chance to retone. It is also a fact that due to these circumstances, grading services will certify these examples that are not too harshly cleaned. So my conclusion is that you should do it on a case by case basis and the rarity/Overton variety of the example. Obviously, certain examples are so hard to come by, that compromises have to be made, but on the whole, it does not bother me that a Bust half or any Bust or Barber coinage has light cleaning that is not too distracting. Ultimalty you have to be happy with the coin and not the respondants to this thread , so have fun and share your purchases, but just keep in mind that original Bust and Barber coins are few and far between. Keep an open mind in this realm.

Baley

You're not in the minority... most collectors prefer original looking bust halves to those that have been cleaned or cleaned/retoned, and this preference is stronger the lower grade the coin is. That is to say, a dipped or very lightly cleaned high grade bust half (say, AU) doesn't look too bad, but a heavily or abrasively cleaned lower grade coin (VF or lower) doesn't look too hot, and a cleaned G or VG coin is just plain ugly.

Brian makes some very good points in his post, especially with respect to scarcer varieties, if you collect them that way, sometimes you just have to make a decision if you can live with the coin, since so many of them have been cleaned in the 150 or 200 years since they were minted, and cleaning a coin only became a "sin" in the past 40 years or so and really really looked down upon with the advent of third party grading companies, which sometimes decline to grade a coin if it has been cleaned.

I personally don't mind a light cleaning if the coin is high grade and the price is right. This coin is an example in my collection, a coin I am very happy with and really like the heavy die clash:



It's an O-107 that cost around half of what it looks like it's worth because of the light hairlines and "blast white" look. the coin is currently in an album, where hopefully it will mellow out over the next several years. not everyone is interested in owning such a coin, but I like the value vs the look. It's not the coin's fault some well-meaning owner "shined her up" at some point in the past, and I don't mind putting such coins up and hopefully rehabilitating them.

on the other hand, coins that look like this are always in demand, and there is a supply out there, if one is patient:



this is a coin that has pretty obviously never been cleaned in the past 189 years, and would look absolutely horrible if it were.

There is as much a spectrum of collector attitudes as there is of degree of cleaning on bust halves: some are very particular, and will tolerate no cleaning in their collection. Others view a coin's history as a unique part of the piece, and will forgive a past wipe or dip if the piece has other redeeming features. there is no right or wrong, just matters of opinion.

wingedliberty

Baley:
Excellent visuals. I agree with what you said.

lordmarcovan

<< <i>I personally don't mind a light cleaning if the coin is high grade and the price is right. >>


Ditto.


<< <i>Baley:
Excellent visuals. I agree with what you said. >>


Double ditto.

construct

I agree. However, I'm much more willing to compromise on a Draped Bust Half than on a Capped Bust Half. I just knock a bit off the price I'm willing to pay.

291fifth

I have reached the point where I don't even want to look at cleaned coins anymore. Original coins are the only way to go.

Wisconsin

Now that I have learned a little more about what I am buying, don't even consider a coin if I think it has been cleaned or dipped in the past. They are tough to find in original condition, but the wait is worth it when you find a nice one. I would be patient and seek out truely original coins if you can. In my case I seem to find them as fast as I can afford to buy them anyway.

I will ad that I have sold some of my mistakes on ebay as cleaned in the past, and the price does seem to be just as good for the cleaned ones, so obviously some people don't care.

I think if you buy a few bust halves and get them all together, you will prefer the original looking coins, and will want them all that way.

The biggest thing I can say about coin collecting and this is for any series is: BE PATIENT!!! The good ones are right around the corner.

Jay

nwcs

I don't mind lightly cleaned bust coinage. I draw the line at an unnatural look for the grade.