What year did Coin Doctoring fall out of vogue?
llafoe
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I remember when I was a child, ALL coins were cleaned, dipped, whizzed, etc. The collection I just purchased reflected the same; tooled, whizzed, recolored, etc. What year (period) did coin doctoring become less acceptable?
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The TPGs drove the whizzed, harshly cleaned, and polished coins to the status of dreck and helped to raise consumer awareness. Doctoring is still
with us, just in more sophisticated forms.
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<< <i>Coin doctoring was never 'acceptable'. Buyers do not knowingly purchase coins that are whizzed, etc. (except for a few coins that are very rare).
The TPGs drove the whizzed, harshly cleaned, and polished coins to the status of dreck and helped to raise consumer awareness. Doctoring is still
with us, just in more sophisticated forms. >>
Not quite true.
From what I've read back in the 1800s, the ultimate coin doctoring, re-engraving design details that had been worn off the coin, was acceptable. Many of the re-engraved coins that we see today date from work that was done more than a century ago.
As for more modern coin doctoring, the use of whizzing to turn “sliders” or AU coins in to “Unc.” coins became a recognized problem circa 1973-4. At that time the ANA outlawed the sale of whizzed coins by ANA member dealers. Whizzed plated and otherwise played with coins became the bread and butter for crooked “investment houses” whose owners made millions by selling over graded and condition altered coins to the public.
As for the “look” everyone wanted, back in the 1960s collectors wanted “white” silver coins even when they were over 160 years old. I remember that my first early coin was a 1799 silver dollar that would grade VF-30 by today’s standards for the sharpness grade. It had uniformly white surfaces, which were obviously not natural. I sold it to a dealer for more than double what I paid for it in 1973. So that “look” was okay, at least to that dealer, at that time.
Re-coloring has been around at least since the 1980s. Back then dealers were looking for ways to “restore” the original look to coins that had been turned “white” in the 1960s. “Monster color” became a practice in the 1990s when collectors who wanted such a look encouraged it.
<< <i>
<< <i>Coin doctoring was never 'acceptable'. Buyers do not knowingly purchase coins that are whizzed, etc. (except for a few coins that are very rare).
The TPGs drove the whizzed, harshly cleaned, and polished coins to the status of dreck and helped to raise consumer awareness. Doctoring is still
with us, just in more sophisticated forms. >>
Not quite true.
From what I've read back in the 1800s, the ultimate coin doctoring, re-engraving design details that had been worn off the coin, was acceptable. Many of the re-engraved coins that we see today date from work that was done more than a century ago.
As for more modern coin doctoring, the use of whizzing to turn “sliders” or AU coins in to “Unc.” coins became a recognized problem circa 1973-4. At that time the ANA outlawed the sale of whizzed coins by ANA member dealers. Whizzed plated and otherwise played with coins became the bread and butter for crooked “investment houses” whose owners made millions by selling over graded and condition altered coins to the public.
As for the “look” everyone wanted, back in the 1960s collectors wanted “white” silver coins even when they were over 160 years old. I remember that my first early coin was a 1799 silver dollar that would grade VF-30 by today’s standards for the sharpness grade. It had uniformly white surfaces, which were obviously not natural. I sold it to a dealer for more than double what I paid for it in 1973. So that “look” was okay, at least to that dealer, at that time.
Re-coloring has been around at least since the 1980s. Back then dealers were looking for ways to “restore” the original look to coins that had been turned “white” in the 1960s. “Monster color” became a practice in the 1990s when collectors who wanted such a look encouraged it. >>
Great summary, I would also add that cleaning coins was common practice prior to 1840, and a large number of slabbed coins from that era are cleaned.
Coin doctoring is as prevalent now as ever, but the methods have improved greatly.
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<< <i> Whizzed plated and otherwise played with coins became the bread and butter for crooked “investment houses” whose owners made millions by selling over graded and condition altered coins to the public. >>
Whizzing or other metal moving actions were as despised by the dealers & collectors that I dealt with in the early '60s as much as it is now. For most dealers, however, it seemed to be the norm for most any UNC silver coin with some color to get a little bath!
At least that's the way I remember it after 45+ years . . .
HH
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Sure, the coins from this era have a large percentage that are cleaned, but they were likely "done" in the 1910's through the 1960's. In the 1840's and earlier there were very few people collecting.
<< <i>Great summary, I would also add that cleaning coins was common practice prior to 1840, and a large number of slabbed coins from that era are cleaned.
Sure, the coins from this era have a large percentage that are cleaned, but they were likely "done" in the 1910's through the 1960's. In the 1840's and earlier there were very few people collecting. >>
In the 1840s there were NO collectors of small cents (or Morgan dollars for that matter). What, oh what, did they do for fun? No wonder they tooled their coins! Nothing else to do.
roadrunner
<< <i>In the year 2525...........
roadrunner >>
if man is still alive, if woman can survive, they may find... a non-doctored 1793 Cent!
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