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"Modern silver coins can often be cleaned ...
LickThoseStamps
Posts: 1,028 ✭
with a paste consisting of baking soda and water without harming the coin." - Handbook of United States Coins - 15th Edition 1958
There was an entire section on "Preserving and Cleaning Coins"; Anyone know when this was removed from subsequent editions?
There was an entire section on "Preserving and Cleaning Coins"; Anyone know when this was removed from subsequent editions?
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reminds me how archaeologists used to go about their business back then.
They would dig with shovels to find lost treasures.
Now they use a tooth brush ;-)
Back in the '60s baking soda was THE thing to use to clean silver. That's why so many Bust Dollars look like hell today. The collectors wanted them white even if they only graded Fine or VF, and the dealers were ready to give them what they wanted.
utmost in protection is received by wrapping the coin in lead or aluminum foil ":-) Bob
As a kid, I recall cleaning some of my Mercury dimes using baking soda. I don't remember where I got the instructions, but I did not like the looks of the coins afterward. I assumed that I was not doing it correctly and stopped.
I notice coins being described as having an "old cleaning". How long does it take to be considered an old cleaning?
Does anybody think that cleaning will come back in vogue someday, and be recommended to collectors??
Today, its called toning and commands a great premium!
Isn't this (at least in part) what NCS is??
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
<< <i>It's horrifying to me that collectors were instructed to clean coins like this in the past!!
Does anybody think that cleaning will come back in vogue someday, and be recommended to collectors?? >>
LOL. Cleaning is in vogue today. Not the destructive baking soda technique, but dipping in acetone, MS70 and other methods are commonly practiced by dealers and collectors. There are probably only about 10% of dealers that have never dipped a coin. A good percentage of dealers and collectors probably dip one a month or more. What percentage of white 19th century silver coins in TPG slabs do people think have been dipped? 10%? 20%? 50%? 80%? I don't know what the number is, but it is a significant percentage, and a large number of coins.
Before toned coin lovers start feeling smug and safe, what percentage of nicely toned coins in TPG holders do people think have been accelerated or aided by artificial means? Again, I don't know what that number is, but it is significant. Sometimes the two techniques are combined, a dip followed by a retoning to make a coin look original.
<< <i>Protection against what? Nuclear holocaust? >>