I could have bought some nice coins today but.....

DoubleEagle59

I received a call this morning from a jeweller friend of mine who works on the weekend at a country flea market.

He told me that he bought a group of circulated silver coins and he wanted to know their value.

I told him most of the dates from the 40's to the 60's are only worth the silver value.

He said "I have quite a few from the 1900's to the '30's".

Well now he has my interest.

Knowing he's a jeweller and he spends most of his day behind a polishing wheel working on rings I asked him "did you clean them?"

He then proudly answers "YES, first in the ultrasonic cleaning and then I polished them to a brilliant shine on the polishing wheel."

I thought to myself "we have here another idiot and another batch of ruined old coins".

I then proceeded to tell him the coins are only worth about melt value and his 'cleaning' probably cost him $100's (as he did tell me some of the dates).

edix2001

... polish'd 'em up reeeeel guud!

MsMorrisine

future jewelry

HTubbs

CaptHenway

Jewelers have weird idea about what stuff is supposed to look like. I once took a coin to a jeweler to be made into a tie clip (it already had solder on one side of it) and, because the undamaged side had a beautiful patina on it, told him DO NOT CLEAN THE COIN! I even had him put DO NOT CLEAN THE COIN! on the work envelope.

When I went to pick it up, the coin was horribly scoured. I yelled at him "I TOLD YOU NOT TO CLEAN THE COIN!" He replied, somewhat indignantly "I DIDN"T CLEAN IT! I ONLY WIRE BRUSHED IT!" Further discussion revealed that to him "cleaning" meant to immerse an object in a chemical cleaner, such as Jewelluster. Everything else was just routine jewelry practice.

49thStateofMind

Throw them in the melting pot.

CaptHenway

<< <i>... polish'd 'em up reeeeel guud! >>



Read my Foreword to Rick Snow's Indian Cent book.
TD

BAJJERFAN

Purty is as purty does.

Walkerguy21D

Reminds me of something similar that happened over the holiday.....my brother in law and his wife said that her father had given them this 'huge coin collection' some years back that they need appaised for the family some time....would I be interested in flying out to Phoenix to check them out? Probably, do you have more details? Nearly a complete set of the 'old' silver dollars, lots of albums of different kinds of old coins, some loose stuff in bags, etc. He told it was 'very valuable, and he was a serious collector, he even cleaned the coins with baking soda'!

Baley

he's your friend, but he doesn't know not to clean coins? and he's also another idiot with another batch of cleaned coins.

well, how come he knew you and knew to call you but didn't know not to clean them?

does he know now not to clean coins in the future?

savoyspecial

my daughter is starting to appreciate Lincoln cents and she likes them 'shiny'


i can tell that she's lost when i tell here that there is 'good shiny' and 'bad shiny'.......but she will catch on, i'm sure of it

DoubleEagle59

<< <i>he's your friend, but he doesn't know not to clean coins? and he's also another idiot with another batch of cleaned coins.

well, how come he knew you and knew to call you but didn't know not to clean them?

does he know now not to clean coins in the future? >>



Geez...maybe I should have more accurately said an 'acqaintance' of mine.

Next time I post something I'll make sure to pass it by "baley" first for approval.

SUMORADA

I am a goldsmith with 35 years experience, please don't clump us together and assume that we are all............that way!!!!!!!!