Previously cleaned - what do you do?

xbob

If you have a coin that's obviously been previously cleaned but doesn't have great eye appeal in it's current condition, do you finish the job?

I have an XF seated liberty quarter that has a few spots and I'm thinking of using the washing soda/foil method of bringing back to cleaned condition. It has signs of being cleaned in its past.

xbob

My own vote was 'depends on value'. My threshold is about $50.

Although I once "restored" a 1928 Peace, with foil & washing soda, and did not get a CLEANED detail from ANACS.

MadMonk

Put it in your pocket, and let it wear some more

Hedger

Spend it.

FullStepJeffs

My votes not up there... send it to fullstepjeffs...

Max2

What is the foil + washing soda method?

xbob

Max2,

It is described in detail in this thread. Link

It turns the tarnish on silver back into silver and releases the sulfur. It strips away none of the coin like dip does. Try it on some old silver junk coins (or silverware) and watch them shine!

clw54

I sent one in I suspected was cleaned to ANACS and sure enough it was. I sold it that way on eBay. Whoever bid on it did so knowing it was cleaned.

ARCO

I sell them off again. There are collectors who are not as concerned whether the coin is totally original or if it has been cleaned. there is a market price the coin is worth even having been cleaned, and I just move them along.

Tyler

Jdurg

Heh. I suspect that a lot of people wind up spending their cleaned coinage in my area. Nearly every coin I pull from circulation has evidence of being cleaned. While it kills the financial part of it, generally the coins are still nice enough that I want to keep them. I'm probably one of the few people who don't mind having a cleaned coin as long as I don't have to pay the price of a non-cleaned coin for it. (In fact, if I have a choice between getting a cleaned coin at a cheap price as opposed to the uncleaned same coin at a higher price for a collection I'm trying to complete, I'll generally go for the cleaned one if it doesn't look all that horrible).

tsacch

Yeah, man, whats the 'washing soda and foil method'???????

Jdurg

Okay, it's simple chemistry working. You take a shallow pan and put a layer of aluminum foil on the bottom. You then pour some hot water in the pan that has baking soda mixed into it. A chemical reaction occurs as long as the silver and aluminum are in contact under the water. The reaction is:

Ag2S(s) + Al(s) --> Ag(s) + Al2S3(s)


In a solution with a basic pH and an elevated temperature, the silver sulfide decomposes back into silver metal and the aluminum foil takes the free sulfide ions and forms aluminum sulfide. The two metals must be in contact with each other, however, otherwise the reaction won't proceed.

jdsinva

This kind of sounds similar to the process used to eliminate impurities when they're refining gold. Is it?

dorkkarl

for coins of high value, there should be an option to have a coin doctor do his job.

K S

shirohniichan

I'm probably one of the few people who don't mind having a cleaned coin as long as I don't have to pay the price of a non-cleaned coin for it. (In fact, if I have a choice between getting a cleaned coin at a cheap price as opposed to the uncleaned same coin at a higher price for a collection I'm trying to complete, I'll generally go for the cleaned one if it doesn't look all that horrible).

I agree. I use some coins for display purposes and don't want to risk having nice examples stolen. If I can show off a cleaned but decent coin and pay a fraction of the price for an unimpaired example, I'll do it in a heartbeat. "Cleaned" does not necessarily mean "junk."