For some reason this question comes up every other week and the usual admonition…never clean coins…it is a bad idea is never quite enough for most people. The public has always had a penchant for cleaning rare coins especially in the old days and the long term results as studied by today’s more informed numismatists have generally been a disaster. Before the price tag of rare coins began increasing it was sometimes considered fair game to improve a coin’s details, especially in early copper by going over the outline of details long gone in an effort to either improve the look or fool someone else into paying for a higher grade. The advent of independent grading has of course been a game changer in that folks now have real protection against such things but every time I see a PCGS Genuine holder (meaning a regular grade could not be assigned) I wonder if someone tried to “help” the coin along the way and in the process did something wrong. It is difficult to guess but there have been hundreds of millions of dollars in lost value because some genius decided that a “bright” example was worth more than one which was left with original coloration. The color or patina a coin acquires only after many years is the result of a chemical reaction to the outside environment and in most cases actually protects the coin. This patina has nothing to do with the price a dealer will pay and in fact dealers love that “old” look and will pay more for the example. So why does this notion keep popping up about cleaning coins? You will find with only a cursory look that it is always about the money. Some folks mistakenly believe that when they sell coins to a dealer he simply makes them look better and sells them for more money. The truth is he hopes to sell them for more money (never a guarantee these days) but that is how he makes a living and the process does not have much to do with the way a coin looks. You see the secret is that looks may not equate to grade in the coin business. In other words a silver dollar could be white; meaning no toning, or heavily toned meaning you can’t readily see the original surface and still be assigned the same PCGS grade. So which of these silver dollars is worth the most money? Well, it depends on what is available and what the new buyer wants. Sorry, no easy answer here either but you will learn something important if you stick with this commentary. I prefer and will pay more for the original coin but the public seems to like the white coin more, at least for now. There is just something about “bright” that creates a sense of well being in the new buyer and even people with experience are sometimes sucked into this thinking as they build their holdings. Why this is true is a puzzle but keep in mind I’m the buyer who prizes “original” and like all things relating to investments, what is hot today does not mean hot tomorrow. I can tell you from personal observation that more than a few national treasures have been ruined in an attempt to improve their look and to add insult to injury the final decision is sometimes made by a professional. Now before I get hit with a nasty email let me say that I do appreciate that some silver coins which have developed a problem over the years (PVC contamination for example) should be “dipped” in an attempt to stop the chemical process. But these situations represent a minority so the decision to improve the coin’s appearance using either a solvent or the common “acid” based solutions can be delayed until a professional can offer an opinion. This is true because some coins should never be cleaned because there is always a downside to the process. If you are one of these types that is still not convinced and wants to follow the instructions on the cleaning product let me provide some insight and also mind you that this stuff is not good for humans: E-Z-Est is a coin cleaner which has replaced the old Jewel Luster because of environmental problems. It is an aqueous solution using thiourea to remove tarnish just like in the old Tarnex commercials. The label clearly says use on all gold, silver, and copper coins. The fact is that you can’t clean copper under any circumstance because the process destroys the very nature of the metal. It is a trade secret that some copper specialists can retone a cleaned copper coin but this artificial process does not replace the natural patina it simply masks the raw surface with a visual substitute and most understand the coin has simply been recolored not restored. The label also does not explain that thiourea is acidic and your gold or silver coins must be neutralized using a solution which contains a small amount of baking soda before being thoroughly rinsed and properly dried. I am not trying to be glum but more than half the established dealers in the country don’t understand the chemical processes involved and the possible long term damage. So in the end my best advice is to keep your coins in their original condition and in doing so maintain their value through changing times. This update concerns my reference to PVC which, over time can produce a florescent greenish tinge on the surface of some coins. The chemical PVC is still used in many plastic coin products (cheap flips are a good example) and makes the plastic softer and easier to handle. There is nothing wrong with using these supplies as long as their use is not long term. If your coins are stored for longer periods (more than a year) consider using a holder which is free from this chemical. Non-PVC holders tend to be harder and cost more but if your rare coins are valuable it is worth the money. If you have doubts any good dealer will examine your treasure and tell you if PVC coin contamination is a problem (most of the time it is not). I would not lose any sleep over this but it is something an informed numismatist should address for valuable rare coins. PVC contamination is not a worry if your coins are graded by PCGS or NGC as their holders are inert.
Written by California Numismatic Investments (www.GoldDealer.com).