Cleaning a coin find-specific example?

Birddog1911

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Okay, I know that I've seen a lot of folks say to not clean old coin finds. So, I have a couple of questions.

First, is this always the case, and does it always ruin value?

Is it possible to give a specific example? Let's say, a 1915 dime. Now, it may not be worth much more than melt value. Would cleaning it up a little remove any numismatic value from it, and guarantee scrap value only?

How about a 1853 Half Dime, covered in dirt? Is there any cleaning that can be done without damaging value?

Finally, what about something copper, like a Large Cent? Remove the dirt, but not the patina? Is it possible to say something along the likes of "with patina it's worth $5, but it being cleaned would lower it to $2"?

I haven't found any good coins like that yet, but I'm just wanting to make sure that I don't mess up once I do!
 
Okay, I know that I've seen a lot of folks say to not clean old coin finds. So, I have a couple of questions.

First, is this always the case, and does it always ruin value?

Is it possible to give a specific example? Let's say, a 1915 dime. Now, it may not be worth much more than melt value. Would cleaning it up a little remove any numismatic value from it, and guarantee scrap value only?

How about a 1853 Half Dime, covered in dirt? Is there any cleaning that can be done without damaging value?

Finally, what about something copper, like a Large Cent? Remove the dirt, but not the patina? Is it possible to say something along the likes of "with patina it's worth $5, but it being cleaned would lower it to $2"?

I haven't found any good coins like that yet, but I'm just wanting to make sure that I don't mess up once I do!

MANY will disagree with me but unless it is a Key date worth hundreds of dollars I am not going to even bother ever selling it for a couple of bucks I would rather keep it.
That being said.. If I am going to keep it I do not want to look at some toasted corpse of a coin I am going to clean the hell out of it until it sparkles and looks really cool on my shelf with my Other spiffy cleaned up non toasted Coins I found..

now n the other hand if I found a 1916 d Mercury I would pull out the vinyl gloves, handle that puppy with care and take it somewhere to be graded and then SOLD !!
 
MANY will disagree with me but unless it is a Key date worth hundreds of dollars I am not going to even bother ever selling it for a couple of bucks I would rather keep it.
That being said.. If I am going to keep it I do not want to look at some toasted corpse of a coin I am going to clean the hell out of it until it sparkles and looks really cool on my shelf with my Other spiffy cleaned up non toasted Coins I found..

now n the other hand if I found a 1916 d Mercury I would pull out the vinyl gloves, handle that puppy with care and take it somewhere to be graded and then SOLD !!

100% agree!!!! now if there are any serious coin collectors here feel free to tar & feather at will.
 
I agree with the previous posters. First off it is your coin and you can feel free to clean or not clean.
Obviously your question is should you...how should you if you do etc.
Like was said if you can see the date and decide it is NOT a key date coin then lite cleaning is fine. For silver I just wash them under the sink and gently wipe the dirt off. Unless silver has been in really bad soil especially fertilizer or salt...it usually will clean with soap and water. But NEVER pollish it with a silver cleaner.....just soap and water.
Now for coppers well my take is this. If it is so corroded I can; tell what it is then it needs to be cleaned somehow otherwise it is nothing...just a lump.
SO I can tell pretty quickly after 35 years of whether it is going to be worth cleaning or it is juts too far gone...it becomes obvious after a few coppers.
I try to not take the patina off if I can help it...if it comes out of the ground with just patina then I leave it alone...just a light water and soap rub under the faucet to remove dirt.
If it is thick with the green crud then this is where it gets to be your choice. Sometimes I can get enough of with a toothpick and other times it takes a brass brush. The point is not to remove too much because...the green crud also holds some detail and if you remove too much you will loose enough detail you may not ID it....done that a few times.
What you have to realize is these are classified as Dug Coins...they are graded as such and unless they are coming out in pristine shape they will look like a dug coin. Again say a Large cent that is covered in green crud...until you can ID it it is nothing but a round lump. How much and how you clean it is up to you. Try and get just enough off to see if there is a date and decide from there. thats what I do. Again a toothpick and some water works well. If it is too tough for that then the coin is already in bad shape.

The soft brass brush I use only on coppers that are really bad and unless I do something they are just a disc. At this point there can be no loss...because I have nothing.....maybe it USED TO BE a chain cent...but if it is so corroded there is no detail to see. then for the moment it is no different then a well worn KGII which is worthless in any shape. Now the brass brush for me is not an aggressive thing and it works great on cruddy coppers...never silver ever and never coppers that just have dirt and that nice green patina that looks like it is smooth and sweet...we are only talking cruddy corrosion that hides everything. The brush is my last resort...and it works very well..the coins are not brushed down to copper shine...actually it is almost impossible to do that. I have tested it on wasted coppers and you would have to brush like a mad man with a copper brush for an hour to get a cruddy copper down to shiny copper....the brush is very soft..softer than the coin.

Then sometimes they are just too far gone...I have a cigar box full of those..large cents king george coppers even indian heads.
The better they look coming out of the ground the less aggressive i clean if at all.
Silver is the oen to be careful with as it scratches easy....coppers that are all corroded are...no matter how much you clean or not are already an obvious dug coin and any corrosion and pitting degrades the value..clean or not.
 
Totally agree

MANY will disagree with me but unless it is a Key date worth hundreds of dollars I am not going to even bother ever selling it for a couple of bucks I would rather keep it.
That being said.. If I am going to keep it I do not want to look at some toasted corpse of a coin I am going to clean the hell out of it until it sparkles and looks really cool on my shelf with my Other spiffy cleaned up non toasted Coins I found..

now n the other hand if I found a 1916 d Mercury I would pull out the vinyl gloves, handle that puppy with care and take it somewhere to be graded and then SOLD !!

If the coins is not rare and i am keeping it for my personal satisfaction that i want to see the details on the coin, i want it to look as much like it did when it came from the mint. Not planning on selling these coins , common clad i just run through the tumbler so they are spendable, any thing i want to keep i clean up a little with Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish that i get at the auto supply store .
 
Anything worth melt or little collector value - have it it. Most of what you find in the ground will be of little interest to collectors unless its rare or in great condition, which happens.
 
Most key date silvers, even fine examples, will be downgraded due to environmental damage. They may appear mint state, but under close examination they contain numerous hairline scratches. Not that they don't have numismatic value to some collectors.
 
I don't think a soft toothbrush under running water will cause any more damage than years in the ground, unless it's one of the very rare high dollar key dates. If you have to clean it to find a date the environmental damage is already there. A coin that could be worth thousands should be handled by professionals, have at the rest of them. I clean my silver coins with toothpaste and baking soda. It shines them up but they still have that old silver luster.
 
Most key date silvers, even fine examples, will be downgraded due to environmental damage. They may appear mint state, but under close examination they contain numerous hairline scratches. Not that they don't have numismatic value to some collectors.

I will agree with you to an extent. It really depends on how the soil treats them. A LOT of scratches come with folks rubbing the soil off them to see the date. COMPLETE NO NO.

I sold two 1926S dimes for 100.00 each. I was told they would have been worth a lot more if I didn't rub the dirt off them. I sold an 1894o dime for 100.00 that was worn a bit.

These were all sold to All About Coins a numismatic expert in Sugarhouse Utah. Bob Campbell. He remembers me. I sold him and then bought back my 1893CC gold eagle that I found in a park.

He also told me to carry a small jar of olive oil when I went hunting and put silver in immediately. When I got home just rinse the coins underwater.
 
Curious if you took his advice and you now do this religiously ?

I did in Utah 100%. My underwater finds are just bouillon and not worth much. I have found a few semi key date coins but they are too toasted. In Utah, finding S mint marks and CC mint marks was common.

My land finds in Michigan have been dismal and I have yet to find a key date. I NEVER rub the dirt off a silver coin though. You won't find a scratch that I put on one. I put them in a pill bottle and clean them when I get home.
 
I did in Utah 100%. My underwater finds are just bouillon and not worth much. I have found a few semi key date coins but they are too toasted. In Utah, finding S mint marks and CC mint marks was common.

My land finds in Michigan have been dismal and I have yet to find a key date. I NEVER rub the dirt off a silver coin though. You won't find a scratch that I put on one. I put them in a pill bottle and clean them when I get home.
Scuba, the scratches that I'm taking about are usually not visible to the naked eye. Silver is soft, and just about every dug silver carries these scratches. Just curious though, does the olive oil protect the coin in transport?
 
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