Truth About Cleaning Coins

By Tom Becker | Wed, 29 Mar 2006

I didn't mean to tell a fib.

When it comes to coin cleaning there are about twenty different schools of thought, and every pupil seems to have a strong opinion. I expect that this report will stimulate lots of correspondence from those who don?t agree with my version of the ?truth?

Better coins through chemistry.

Can you describe a cleaned coin for me? Is a coin which was immersed in soap and water to remove some surface dirt now cleaned? Is removing PVC contamination from a coin, with a product designed for this purpose, the same as cleaning? Is dipping a coin in liquid tarnish remover as good as cleaning it? Is scrubbing the surfaces of a coin with a soft brush cleaning, or does it depend whether the bristles of the brush are made of camel hair or brass?

LET?S PUT THE ARMS BACK ON VENUS.

As coin collectors, we should all realize that while we may, in a legal sense, own the coins in our collections, we are actually just custodians. The proper thing for us to do is carefully preserve these treasures with the intention of passing them along to future generations in the same state that we found them. There is nothing to be gained by leaving traces of our ownership on the pieces, especially fingerprints on copper and bronze coins. Let the next guy use a toothpick to dig the dirt out from around the lettering. Leave dipping off the black toning streak to the next owner. Sadly this isn?t going to happen. Collectors have been messing around with coins for centuries. If they are not boiling ancient coins in oil or acid to remove encrustation, they are picking and prodding away at the surfaces of modern coins to remove carbon spots or scratches. I see collectors of copper coins brushing and oiling their treasures. The dealer who must make ten trips a day to his hotel room may not have weak kidneys, he just needs to dip a new purchase before offering it to the next customer. ?I?ve never seen a coin I couldn?t improve,? seems to be a popular motto among coin collectors and dealers.

SCRUBBING FOR DOLLARS

I would suggest that most coins are cleaned or otherwise doctored to make them more saleable. If a darkly toned coin, which was covered with decades of accumulated grime, was worth as much, and as easily sold, as a bright and shiny piece then there would be little incentive to clean it.

Certainly among non-collectors the understanding is that bright and new looking coins are worth more than dirty and dull ones. Most dealers could tell many horror stories about selling customers who polished and buffed thousands of dollars in value off the surfaces of their coins because they thought that the dealer would pay more for clean looking coins.

For as long as I have been involved in the coin business, collectors and investors have been demanding fully brilliant, untoned coins. I have personally seen numerous times when a coin which was toned could not be sold. Once the piece was dipped, and restored to its former mint brilliance, it attracted the attention of several interested buyers. If everyone wants bright coins what is the dealer and selling collector to do? Would you rather be a pious protector of coins, or is it more practical to dip a few pieces and perhaps in doing so, put thousands of extra dollars in your pocket? I know of one recent case where a heavily toned coin was encapsulated in a MS-65 grading service holder. A dealer ?cracked? the coin from the container, dipped the piece, and resubmitted it for grading. This time the coin was returned to him graded MS-68!

DOES A FALLING TREE MAKE A NOISE IN NO ONE IS AROUND TO HEAR IT?

Does it matter if a coin has been cleaned if no one can detect it? Can I positively tell the difference between a coin, which is originally brilliant, and one that has been dipped? The answer must be no. Certainly some coins, which have had a ?bath?, are detectable and others may be suspicious, but if a dipped coin could be instantly recognized then they would not be so readily accepted in the marketplace. Obviously the majority of dealers and collectors don?t consider dipping, when done properly, to be wrong. If dipped coins were generally considered to be cleaned then the practice would have ceased long ago.

WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE?

To make a list of all the things that might be done to coins to clean, as well as preserve them, would require pages of space. To debate whether sealing coins in wax, painting the surfaces with lacquer, or coating copper and bronze coins with silicone should be considered acceptable would be a useless exercise. What might be more constructive is to determine which types of chemical enhancement materially alter the appearance of the coin and if the reason for doing something to the coin is to deceive for profit.

THERE IS NO GOING BACK.

Not having been there, I can?t say for sure, but it is my understanding that old time collectors, that is those who were active in the hobby prior to World War II, were not nearly as concerned, as we are today, about whether a coin looked as though it had just dropped from the dies. Likewise, they were generally less worried about the technical grade of coins. This is not to say that these collectors did not appreciated quality, but rather that they were unwilling to pay huge premiums for slight difference in condition, or for mint brilliant pieces. Pricing guides listed values for coins that were uncirculated, nothing more. Along came the investor and the notion that perhaps it would be best to value uncirculated coins in two ways, those which were just uncirculated and those which were Brilliant Uncirculated. It?s a shame that instead of BU, those involved in numismatics at the time didn?t decide on BT. If beautifully toned coins had been the pieces to command a premium, instead of brilliant ones, the coins we collect today might look very different.

Dealers and collectors readily adapted to these changes. It was a simple matter to increase the value of one?s collection or inventory by removing tarnish. Why on earth would I sell my uncirculated Barber half dollar for $15 when in a matter of seconds I could convert it to a BU coin that is worth $20?

As I?ve already mentioned, early collectors and dealers have always played around with and doctored coins, but in the old days the real money was made by producing outright forgeries. Copies of coins, some very deceptive and others quite crude were far more prevalent than they are today. Dates on coins were changed. The surfaces were tooled and reengraved to give the coin the appearance of being a higher grade. Mintmarks were added or deleted. At the time, any 1916 Mercury dime, with an added D mintmark was worth more than a superb example of the Philadelphia Mint issue. Today this is not the case. A 1916-D Mercury dime in Good condition is worth around $325. A 1916, without the magic mintmark, in MS-67, forgetting about how well it may have been struck, will probably cost $525. What has happened? Have circulated examples of 1916-D Mercury dimes become more plentiful over the years, or has the collector?s and investor?s preoccupation with perfection revised the way we value coins?

As our nation?s early currency warned, ?To Counterfeit is Death?. None of the notes said, ?Don?t wash and starch me.?

As counterfeit detection methods improved, and this information became available to collectors, those who had been making money in the risky reproduction market wisely decided that it was much safer to clean up their act and start doctoring coins. The money was just as good, and the chances of getting caught and led off to the slammer were slim.

IS IT A CRIME TO CLEAN?

I don?t know of anyone who has gone to jail or was put on probation after having been caught with his or her fingers in the dip. Should the fine for ?cloroxing? a coin be $50 for each offense? There probably is some catchall law that could be used to punish those who make EF and AU coins appear to be uncirculated. Based on all that has happened in the past, I don?t think the coin doctors run much risk of facing a jail term or stiff fines.

I know of one very skilled individual who repairs damaged coins. He fills holes, removes deep cuts and rim nicks, restores missing letters and fixes dates. In my opinion, his work benefits the hobby and is no different than restoring an old car or home. Were he to start adding mintmarks, and he certainly has the skill required to do it, I would think differently. The coins he repairs are represented as such. He describes what has been done to the coin. When he does this type of work for others he carefully selects his clients. I know that he has refused business from those who seem to have a memory lapse when it comes to mentioning that what they were selling was repaired. Will a coin still be recognized as having been restored once it has changed hands a dozen times?

Another fellow is a master when it comes to artificially toning coins. If he wanted it to be, his work could be very deceptive. Like the person who does repairs, it is my understanding that this fellow makes it clear to every purchaser that the color has been added and he charges nothing extra for his ?Paint Jobs?. His colorful creations are so distinctive and beautiful that it is difficult to confuse them with the real thing. His work is often better than nature could do! Will everyone who ever comes in contact with one of these coins know who toned it?

DO SOME COINS DESERVE TO BE CLEANED?

Is soaking a bit of growing green goop off the surface of a Large cent any different than wiping the flyspecks from an Old Master painting? Should coins recovered from the sea be left encrusted with coral or is it okay to remove this stuff? Many collectors of copper and bronze coins use a silicone-based oil to coat the surfaces of their coins. This material, as far as I know, will not harm the surface of the coin. After treatment the pieces generally have a pleasant, glossy appearance. Once coated, the coins are more resistant to damage from the environment. Spots should not form because corrosive matter cannot attack the surface.

Not too many years ago, certain types of plastic coin storage pages oozed an oily green slime as they aged. This material attached itself to the surface of the coins and began to lunch on them. Previously lustrous pieces were forever dulled. Is it right to clean this stuff off the coins or should we just consider it a natural disaster?

I once purchased a collection of Morgan Dollars that had been taped in an album. Each coin had been brilliant when stored. Where there was no tape the coins had toned. After removing the tape and the sticky residue it left behind, I was the proud owner of a bunch of coins which were covered with a very unattractive crazy quilt design of brilliant and toned blotches. Should I have left them that way?

Another collection which I was offered, but did not buy, was a group of coins which had been mounted on a board with three nails holding each coin in place at the edges. The nails had rusted and the portion of the coins which touched them had a black toning while the rest of the coin was more lightly colored. The reverses of the pieces were nearly brilliant. Should these pieces have also been left as is?

YOU ALWAYS HURT THE ONE YOU LOVE.

Coin collectors have historically been hard on the objects they cherish. Some early collectors defaced coins by stamping their initials, seal, or crest, into the surfaces. Coins were often stored in wooden cabinets that allowed air and moisture, as well as chemicals from the wood and tray lining to work on the unprotected surface of the coins. Another popular way to store coins was in paper envelopes. Some of the less expensive versions were made with traces of sulphur in the paper and the surfaces of the envelopes were anything but smooth. Cardboard holders, lined with cellophane or a like material, which facilitated viewing of the piece, were held together by staples. Many a coin has been damaged when being removed from this type of holder and the sharp leg of a staple was accidentally dragged across the surface. I?ve already mentioned that thousands of coins were eaten alive by PVC laden storage pages. Many best selling coin storage albums have clear plastic slides which look harmless enough, but do a dandy job of adding hairline scratches. Even careful numismatists have accidentally dropped coins or touched them with their oily fingers. It?s a wonder that there are any coins left that are worth collecting!