A new form of cleaning coins?

It's me again... I was wondering, what would happen if you steam-cleaned a coin, like with a tap-water household steamer? Could someone with one test it on an unimportant coin and tell me the results, as I don't own one?

 

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crispy1995,

Steam cleaning a coin with household tap water will leave behind anything that was in the water such as Calcium, Lime or other Minerals which usually leaves the steamed subject white or off-white! If you try steam cleaning, then I would suggest one that has a reservoir for water and use the same water recommended for use in irons when steaming clothes while ironing.

I have seen quite a few Dealers use Olive Oil for removing buildup and other dirt from Indian and Lincoln Wheat Cents as well as to stop any further deterioration. They will soak the coins for weeks or months in the Olive Oil and then use something (Rose thorn) that will not scratch or gouge the coin to remove any buildup or dirt than doesn't come off in the soaking process. They then either dry off (remove) most of the Olive Oil by placing the coins in a towel and patting the Olive Oil off of them or lightly wash them in a mild soap with warm or hot water then pat dry. It is not recommended to do the same with old Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, Halves, Dollars or any other coin that is made from Silver or a composite of Nickel and other materials or with cladded coins, as they tend to discolor and stain which will not come off.

Some may disagree and with certain coins you would not do so but I believe that a good old soaking in a mild soap and hot water is okay to remove some of the buildup and dirt on some circulated Indian and Wheat Cents, then pat dry in between a towel! These coins have been around for some 47 to 147 years and been through all sorts of conditions (such as being in hundreds of pockets or purses, buried or lost in the ground, washed in washing machines, dropped in toliets, sitting in a box or can with other dirty coins for decades or more, etc., etc.), so a gentle, long bath sure is heck is going to do them any more harm! Can you even imagine how many rare and very valuable Over Date (ODD), Over Mint Mark (OMM) or Repunched Mint Mark (RPM) coins that have gone undiscovered or found due to buildup and dirt filling the Date and/or Mint mark???!!! I can't either but I would bet it is a very, very high number!


Frank

 

cleaning is cleaning and cleaning is cleaning...there is NO way to get around it....either you clean the coin or you don't and when you do you lower the value and you damge the coin...the only thing you can do after that is to mark the coin as clean and sell it...at a lower price.

Speedy

 

It would be interesting to know how many uncleaned coins have really been cleaned. Since a good cleaning job would be virtually undetectible anyway, maybe what we're really talking about is lowering a coin's value with a bad cleaning.

 

Deleted by AJM229 7/28/05 9:52 pm.

 

It took me almost 5 years to see how bad cleaning is....and I'm sure you will see it too...just don't get fustrated or it will take longer ;--)

Speedy

 

AJ-

I'm with Speedy on this one. one day you will see cleaning differently than you do now.

 

Hello

While cleaning is cleaning. That does not mean that a coin should never be cleaned. Case in point, coins with pvc damage. In my opinion cleaning coins such as these does not make them worth less. In my opinion what ever they are worth cleaned is about how much they were worth in the first place. Here the cleaning process is done for restoration and preservation. Just like ancient artifacts found by acheologist. Obvously the preservationist must know what he or she is doing and have a great deal of practice, and it should only be done for preservation sake. The fact that it is preserved should also be disclosed. Just because it is toned and has a little dirt on it is not a reason to clean though. It should NOT be cleaned to look like new either. Just cleaned to remove curosion. Thats my 2¢.

James

P.S. Don't say never.

 

"Is wiping a spot or a fingerprint off with a cloth cleaning ? How about using baking soda ? Or another abrasive cleaner like Ajax ? A toothbrush ? Steel wool or a Brillo pad ? I think you see what I mean. "


I find it hard to believe that rinsing a coin in distilled water, and drying (with a hair dryer, or air-dry) would damage it. Leaving dirt on the coin would seem to be a greater threat to it's condition, IMHO.
But an abrasive cleaner, scrubbing the coin, or a dip cleaner, is obviously going to affect the condition, and the value, of the coin.

 

Deleted by AJM229 7/28/05 9:52 pm.

 

Patting a coin with a kleenex or papertowel or almost anything is a big no.no...I have proof of what it can do to a coin...it leaves sooooo many marks any beginner collector could tell something was wrong.

I'm sorry you feel I'm crazy or snobbish about this...but cleaning a coin is damage...you don't go out to a new car and hit it with a hammer...to me its the samething with cleaning coins

...even when you clean a coin to take off PVC it does something to the coin that most consider cleaning.

Speedy

 

Come to think about it, but don't believe I've ever seen one of these coins that had been graded into the high 60's or 70 that hasn't been white. Don't remember any multi-colored coins in the lot.

The act may be cleaning to you, but it is only conserving to NCS and the boys at NGC. Everything is relative!

 

It's not about collecting for profit. Although some people like to see their collection appreciate in value, others don't care - both these groups can have an adverse opinion on cleaning. Some people don't clean because they figure that some coins in their collection have survived, through some miracle, for 50 or more years without being heavily worn or cleaned - they don't want to be the one that changes that. Some people like to just not mess with a coin - you can't go back in time, and make a coin undirty - but if you clean it, chances are you are doing something that will damage the surface of that coin more than the dirt that was already there - so why mess with it? You can't fix what has already been done, but you CAN damage it more.

And I do agree with what has been said, already - if you stick with the hobby, down the road you will change your stance on cleaning a bit.

 

Hey All,

There are definitely certain coins that you would never attempt to clean such as any rare coin (very low mintage and other rare coins, Pattern or Trial pieces, struck on experimental planchets, Doubled Die or other valuable error coins)! However, if you searched a bunch of just purchased coins and have sorted out all of the above (if by luck there were some of the above types of coins in the lot) and now you are left with a bunch of dirty, greasy, grimey, well circulated Wheat cents that have very little collectible value anyways, what is a good soaking and good rising going to hurt? Like I said in my previous post on this subject, these coins have been circulated, been in possibly thousands of pockets, been lost of buried in the ground, been washed in who knows how many washing machines, been in boxes or cans with other dirty and corroded coins, so a good soaking and good rinsing can do very little to do more damage to the coins than what they have already suffered. All you are doing, is removing enough the dirt, greade or grime so that they are readable and possibly presentable for sale, for gifts or whatever you choose to do with them.

It really goads me when I offer a coin (high value or not) to a Coin Dealer and they say they are no interested in the coin because it has been cleaned and they don't buy cleaned coins but if you look real closely, this same Coin dealer is selling cleaned coins. Heck, I have even had Coin Dealers say that my coins had been cleaned when I know that had not been cleaned! You might not know it but there is a high number of Coin Dealers that clean coins and then offer them for sale with no mention that the coins were cleaned! I know this to be the case because I have been at their' shop, booth or table while they were cleaning the coins or have seen them as a distance. I put together a complete set of Peace Dollars and went to a Coin Dealer to purchase a 1928-P Peace Dollar is a slightly better grade than the one that I had in my collection. Well the Coin Dealer refused to take my 1928-P Peace Dollar in fine condition that had a couple of gouges on the Obverse but he was very willing to sell me anyone of the 1928-P Peace Dollars graded in Very Fine condition which he had for a very high price and everyone of these as well as most of the other, higher grade 1928-P Peace Dollars that he had, had also been cleaned.

Just my thoughts and observations, take them for what they are worth which is probably what my cleaned coins are worth!

Frank

 

Deleted by AJM229 7/28/05 9:52 pm.

 

thank you for numbering my original postings. I always appreciate that. It makes it easier for me to remember how many points I made...

AJ - my posts are my own numismatic opinions, which you appear to not care for. This is fine, but they are not mine alone, in some cases - in other cases they may be. Feel free to discard them, as you see fit.

As for cleaning, it's already been said that there are some things that can be done, in some instances, to remove dirt. In addition to this, there are exceptions to cleaning - such as PVC residue that must be removed via cleaning, or the coin will be destroyed to a larger extent. Beyond that - they are your coins, and you can do whatever you want with them.

 

I suppose the whole cleaning argument applies more to uncirculated coins. Cleaning an uncirculated coin makes no sense. If it really really needs cleaning, then it probably has been through too much to be considered uncirculated anymore. Removing toning I would agree is always and everywhere a bad idea with an uncirculated coin. But with a circulated dirty coin, I'm not so sure. If you put a dirty coin in your pocket and some of the dirt rubs off due to contact with the cloth, has it been cleaned? What if you pull it out of a pocket with a gloved hand in the winter? The slight rubbing is basically a gentle cleaning. Maybe every coin ever put into somebody's pocket [or rubbed between two fingers] has been cleaned by the strict definition of cleaning because some amount of dirt has been removed either intentionally or by accident, no matter how small the amount. So there is no such thing as an uncleaned circulated coin if you carry it to the extreme.