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Author Topic: Coins cleaned wrong  (Read 3919 times)

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Jon the Lecturer

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Coins cleaned wrong
« on: September 26, 2009, 02:25:42 am »
Hi everyone,

About a year ago I cleaned my coins very ignorantly and in the wrongest possibly way. Since  I used to be a goldsmith I used jewellery method which employs annealing the coins and then throwing the extreme hot coins in hydrocholoric acid.

The result is in the pictures . I wonder though If I ruined any good coins or I mean did I really ruin them ?

Anyway, I think noone should heat coins and throw them into acid :) It is just ignorant :)

Regards

Jon

PS: disregard the two uncleaned coins in the picture, I just happened to scanned them together

Offline areich

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #1 on: September 26, 2009, 03:05:36 am »
Yes, you really ruined them and yes, they probably were good coins before you did.  :'(
Andreas Reich

Offline Danny S. Jones

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #2 on: September 26, 2009, 05:13:07 am »
The two uncleaned on the left look look good. ;) The other ones, well... it's a pity. They're not completely lost, but I'm sure would have been much nicer without the HCl. I love Antioch Mint coins with the eagle reverse. That Philip I, that's a crying shame. Ahh... I can't look anymore. :'(

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #3 on: September 26, 2009, 07:47:28 am »
Put them on Ebay and forget about them.
Andreas Reich

Offline casata137ec

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #4 on: September 26, 2009, 10:27:46 am »
The bottom left and right coins from Antioch would have been pretty I bet and the middle top greek as well...ah well...don't think of it as ruining unique pieces of history...think of it as a word of warning for future cleaners!  ;)

You might want to put a post of this in the uncleaned section describing what you did as a warning to others.

Chris
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Jon the Lecturer

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #5 on: September 26, 2009, 10:50:13 am »
Well, it is quite sad that I just realized in this great forum that every coin is actually is worth of something.

And here where I am from we have tons of those coins so really nobody pays much attention to coins as long as they are silver or gold. Thus I was bored, and the coins were so dirty so I ruined them.

Now I regret my action especially for the Greek ones, for I can't put them in my collection now and my antique dealer who had a bag of coins just passed away. So It is harder to find coins for so cheap anymore. I wish I'd known other methods of cleaning .

Thus, this should be a lesson to me and to all who do not know much about coin care.

Best regards

Jon

Offline moonmoth

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2009, 01:39:33 pm »
How about ... Put them in a flower pot, buried in some horse manure, and leave them outside for one or two years.  By then they will have some natural patination.  Turn them over occasionally to make sure the patination staye even.
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Offline Paul D3

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #7 on: September 27, 2009, 02:13:23 pm »
I'm not sure if I would call them "ruined" Much, or most, of their monitary value has been lost. If nothing else is wrong with them, besides the cleaning, I look for opportunities to buy such coins as bargans since, usualy, they will retone eventualy. I prefer these bargans to well patinated coins in poorer condition, and/or style. The potin tetradrachm was bought from a junk box, years ago, while as shiny as a 2009 lincoln cent, and has since toned quite a bit. Same, with the Claudius Gothicus, which has toned alot from a harsh cleaning, though, it had recovered alot by the time I got it.

Offline areich

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #8 on: September 27, 2009, 02:31:35 pm »
It's not so much about the colour but about the roughness.
They might tone somewhat but they'll always be rough.
Andreas Reich

Offline Paul D3

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #9 on: September 27, 2009, 03:23:12 pm »
It's not so much about the colour but about the roughness.
They might tone somewhat but they'll always be rough.

Your right, if the cleaning caused the roughness, then permenent damage has been done.

Offline Obryzum

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #10 on: September 30, 2009, 10:13:45 am »
Instead of a Forum coin cleaning contest, maybe we need a coin rehabilitation contest?

Every coin is different. I have a couple of coins in my collection that once caused me to gasp and clutch my breast, but a little exposure to the Seoul air pollution has brought them back to life.  Of course they are still in bad shape, but they no longer hurt my eyes.  And because a couple of them are hard to find, they actually look okay . . . . 

Offline Danny S. Jones

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #11 on: September 30, 2009, 10:56:41 am »
There's an old saying, "you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig." The problem with rehabilitating coins that have been harshly treated is that even with all the dressing up that you can do, the damage that has already been done is irreparable, no matter if it's covered up. With the original patina gone, part of the coin has been lost. When chemicals or electrolysis has made the surface of the coin rough, no amount of toning will bring back that smooth surface. When a scratch has been gouged into the coin while cleaning, it can't just be filled in with putty and painted over. Can you make a bad coin look better? Sure. But, it's just not the same. New collectors need to be educated on how not to ruin irreplaceable coins, rather than how to strip, scar and destroy a coin then try to make it look better.
I guess it's a matter of opinion, but most collector's don't want a reconstituted coin.

Offline Obryzum

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #12 on: September 30, 2009, 11:33:34 am »
I agree with everything you say, but it still leaves us with the question of what to do with the coins that have been damaged.  Sometimes new collectors damage the coins because they don't know any better.  Experienced collectors sometime acquire the coins through lots.  There have been times when I have been tempted to throw coins out with the trash -- but something always stops me, and I think "this is a piece of history, and no matter how bad it looks, I cannot dishonor it by throwing it away."  Like others, sometimes I just want to bury it in the ground . . . .

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #13 on: September 30, 2009, 11:49:28 am »
Have you looked at ACE (ancient coins for education) or similar?
Of course, there are some ex-coins I wouldn't send there, they're so bad.
Short of putting them on Ebay with an honest description I have no idea what to do with them.
Andreas Reich

Offline curtislclay

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #14 on: September 30, 2009, 01:25:40 pm »
I agree with PaulD3: stripped coins aren't pretty, but they are by no means "ruined".

After all, the types and legends, upon which attribution and cataloguing depend, have not been seriously damaged.

As a researcher, I care little about how a coin looks; what is essential to me is how clearly the types and legends can be made out!
Curtis Clay

Jon the Lecturer

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #15 on: October 03, 2009, 03:25:44 am »
Thanks for all your comments and advice,  I've learned my lesson.

Well, now the question is what am I going to do with these coins ? Anybody want them for a symbolic price maybe ? I'd be happy to give them away :) I just can not stand even seeing them for it reminds me my ignorance or carelessness !

best regards,

Jon

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #16 on: October 03, 2009, 03:29:28 am »
Thanks for all your comments and advice,  I've learned my lesson.

Well, now the question is what am I going to do with these coins ? Anybody want them for a symbolic price maybe ? I'd be happy to give them away :) I just can not stand even seeing them for it reminds me my ignorance or carelessness !

best regards,

Jon


Have you looked at ACE (ancient coins for education) or similar?
Of course, there are some ex-coins I wouldn't send there, they're so bad.
Short of putting them on Ebay with an honest description I have no idea what to do with them.

 ::)
Andreas Reich

Jon the Lecturer

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #17 on: October 03, 2009, 06:35:15 am »
I guess I read that putting on ebay is the best solution, but just forgot that I read it

Thank you

regards

Jon

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #18 on: October 03, 2009, 11:24:33 am »
That depends. If you're willing to give them away, why not give them to ACE,
I think they'd be good for that.
Andreas Reich

Offline Robert_Brenchley

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Re: Coins cleaned wrong
« Reply #19 on: October 06, 2009, 05:11:40 pm »
You could keep one for a pocket piece. Put it down to experience - I did horrendous things to coins once as well - and I'm sure you won't repeat the mistake!
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