Polished!!! All of them

Windycity

I have had a line on a collection for a couple of months which I went to pick up today. The Morgan Dollar and Peace Dollar sets are complete sets in Dansco albums... (obviously no 1895) but nearly all have been polished. I almost cried when I opened the album for the first look.

STONE

LindeDad

They just wanted to make them nice and shiney for you.

Tvac897

What are you going to do?

09sVDB

Did you tell the person? If so, what was their reaction?

jessewvu

Many years ago, after my grandfather passed away, my grandmother had an appraiser come to her house to appraise his coin collection. Well, before the appraiser got there, she had put silver polish to ever single coin. He had a pretty valuable collection that was reduced to a fraction of the original value. Since the coins lost so much value, she had to sell her lake cottage our family had had for about 40 years to pay bills. Maybe with the TPG's slabs now protecting coins, this will be a non-issue in the future.

Moral of that story, if you are going to go appraise someone’s coins, tell them to leave the coins AS IS and to not even try to clean that what-so-ever.

foodude

I've had two incidents this year were someone had a polished up Morgan with other enhancements that they thought was a proof One of them was a part time dealer. Of course neither looked anything like a proof, but the people that had them didn't know what a proof Morgan actually looked like.

BECOKA

So how did you break the bad news to the owner?

fc

<< <i>Many years ago, after my grandfather passed away, my grandmother had an appraiser come to her house to appraise his coin collection. Well, before the appraiser got there, she had put silver polish to ever single coin. He had a pretty valuable collection that was reduced to a fraction of the original value. Since the coins lost so much value, she had to sell her lake cottage our family had had for about 40 years to pay bills. Maybe with the TPG's slabs now protecting coins, this will be a non-issue in the future.

Moral of that story, if you are going to go appraise someone’s coins, tell them to leave the coins AS IS and to not even try to clean that what-so-ever. >>



that just sucks. it makes me wonder what in the world was she thinking? if grandpa never did it why would she?

but we have all made mistakes in our lives. sigh!

BAJJERFAN

<< <i>

<< <i>Many years ago, after my grandfather passed away, my grandmother had an appraiser come to her house to appraise his coin collection. Well, before the appraiser got there, she had put silver polish to ever single coin. He had a pretty valuable collection that was reduced to a fraction of the original value. Since the coins lost so much value, she had to sell her lake cottage our family had had for about 40 years to pay bills. Maybe with the TPG's slabs now protecting coins, this will be a non-issue in the future.

Moral of that story, if you are going to go appraise someone’s coins, tell them to leave the coins AS IS and to not even try to clean that what-so-ever. >>



that just sucks. it makes me wonder what in the world was she thinking? if grandpa never did it why would she?

but we have all made mistakes in our lives. sigh! >>



I'd guess that she knew little or nothing about his coins or his collecting either thru pure disinterest or he figured the less she knew the better. I guess when you clean house and polish the silverware you polish ALL of the silver.

BlindedByEgo

My favorite was the widow who took copper cleaner to the entire XF/AU set of Lincolns before walking in the store. When she ran out or cleaner, a friendly neighbor gal told her that taco sauce would work.

Set came in looking "brite and shinny", and smelled just like Taco Bell.

I don't know what was worse - the look on her face when my store-owner friend told her what she'd done, or the look on his face when the stench hit his nose.

Luckily she hadn't gotten around to the other coins yet. Couldn't find her silver polish...

Any time I talk to new referral sources (I buy the coin portions of estates when I can), I tell them the first rule is to not clean the coins - even if they're really dirty. Better than half of them look dumbstruck - and I realize that at some point they've actually cleaned coins themselves.

jessewvu

One of the saddest parts for me was I was interested in the coins, although I was only about 13. I went over to her house to mow her lawn which I did about every week or so. I had been trying to figure out a way to ask her if I could have some of the coins without being rude or impolite. I just remember us sitting in her living room while I was getting a drink and me asking to see grandpa's old coins. She said that they were put away and maybe next time. I then asked if I could have some or buy a few off of her and in the same sentence, I promised her I would never sell them or give them away (and was very serious). I just remember her looking at me with a puzzled look on her face and not answering me. I wasn't sure what she thought but I never asked her again. My dad had told me a little while later that she had the coins appraised and how she had cleaned them and they lost a lot of value. I didn't know what that meant back then but do now. To be honest, I am not sure exactly what he had but he did have a lot of stuff. I think I just wanted some of his coins, regardless of the value, because I was into old coins at that time and I did not have anything that belonged to him. My grandma ended up selling all his coins, arrow heads, and military stuff he had from WWII. He had some cool guns and other "foreign" military stuff he won playing cards while he was in the Navy. My dad ended up with a .32 pistol my grandpa won playing cards that was taken from a German.

My uncle ended up with the only thing my grandma didn't sell. It was a book, almost like a scrapbook, about two inches think full of foreign notes from 1941-1947 timeframe. Apparently, my grandfather had collected hundreds of foreign bills from countries he visited and put them in a book along with some other nostalgia. I am not sure why she didn't part with that but that was the only thing she kept. The last I saw of that book was in my uncles bathroom on top of the toilet about 5 years ago. It looked like it was “reading material”. I think he has since moved it into a better location.

Windycity

The owners of the collection was sitting right across the table from me as I opened the Dansco... I winced and said outloud (in a very disappointed way) "ooooooh... they've all been polished. That's not good." The set was passed down from the woman's father who apparently liked shiny coins. I said I would take the set to fully evaluate. I will likely need help from forum members to determine the value of some of the key date coins. As an example, what would a VG grade polished 1893-S be worth?

BAJJERFAN

<< <i>The owners of the collection was sitting right across the table from me as I opened the Dansco... I winced and said outloud (in a very disappointed way) "ooooooh... they've all been polished. That's not good." The set was passed down from the woman's father who apparently liked shiny coins. I said I would take the set to fully evaluate. I will likely need help from forum members to determine the value of some of the key date coins. As an example, what would a VG grade polished 1893-S be worth? >>



I went to a coin auction several months back and there was a 89-cc probly in good, maybe vg on a stretch that had a couple dings IIRC, but that sucker was polished till it were as shiny as the day she were made and it brought surprisingly strong money fer a terd. Around $700 IIRC. I was talking to my local B&M man bout it later and he said the buyer brought it in and showed it to him. It may bring more than you think.

mike92694

<< <i>The owners of the collection was sitting right across the table from me as I opened the Dansco... I winced and said outloud (in a very disappointed way) "ooooooh... they've all been polished. That's not good." The set was passed down from the woman's father who apparently liked shiny coins. I said I would take the set to fully evaluate. I will likely need help from forum members to determine the value of some of the key date coins. As an example, what would a VG grade polished 1893-S be worth? >>



I dunno.

I usually don't take problem coins, but if I did, a general rule would be half the value of one increment grade lower, so in this situation, I would pay 1/2 of "Good-4" price.

Mike

JRocco

<< <i> Maybe with the TPG's slabs now protecting coins, this will be a non-issue in the future. >>



What makes you think these coins would not have been polished so they would look nice and shiny for the slabbing company?

If someone could have intervened with that knowledge before the trip to the slabbing company, maybe that same someone could have intervened on their trip to the Dansco album.

MICHAELDIXON

Sometimes people will not listen even whenever you explain cleaning the coins is harmful to their value. We did a mall show several years ago and a young guy came by with some Choice BU Peace dollars he wanted to sell; several had nice toning. We gave him a price and told him not to clean the coins, as it decreased their value. He talked for awhile and left. The next day he came back to accept our offer and took the coins out. He had scrubbed every one of them! Whenever I asked him why, he replied: "I wanted them to look as shiney as yours in the little cases." Of course, the ones in the "little cases" were certified MS63 & 64 by PCGS.

Barberian

My Aunt had a beautiful, darkly-toned Cap Bust quarter in VF-XF that had been handed down to her from her father. Absolutely a PQ coin. One day, she called up the new coin dealer in town and asked if he was interested in it. Before driving down to show him the coin, she broke out the silver cleaner and Brillo pad and scoured it to a bright shine. She found out about not cleaning coins that day.

Sadly, though, she has done the same thing with a huge collection of hand tools. Never knew any better.