cleaned my up coins

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		Quote:			Posted by CrazyCoinLady
	I looked at that post you linked to. The simple answer is NO! You don't clean coins. Ok granted you found it in the ground so it's already been damaged by the elements. So why not clean it up? Ok Soap & water is fine to remove dirt but anything else can cause further damage to the coin. This holds true to Large copper coins. If it has a patina or green corrosion and you remove this you are removing detail of the coin. If it's silver such as 1935 and older on dollar coins and 1964 or older on half dollars, again it's in your best interest to not bother. Some silver coins are worth more than silver. By putting it in the tumbler or using wire brushes you deface the coin and a (ie a morgan dollar) coin that may have been worth $20+ is now worth $10. Of course if it's modern day coins there's no need to bother just spend it as is.

Don't panic. We're discussing cleaning modern, clad coins here. Relax.

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I understand cleaning off the dirt but even if it's current why bother?

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http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,15754.msg101837.html#msg101837

I guess there may be some confusion with some of the opinions of some people here. I myself live in Ohio and the moderon pennies that are left in the ground even just a few years can get a build up on them making then thicker then normal. You can make out the memoieal on the back but I sure would not even think of handing the coin to someone for change. I assume that maybe by the beaches or other soil conditions coins may look diffrent and could be a wash/rinse and use. As Golddigger said most of us can distinguish between a worthwhile coin and a face value coin. Silver comes out clean here so I don't clean them of course. It's a commons sence decision. Don't use anything besides mild soap and tap water on suspected valuable coins until you have it profesionaly appraised.

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http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,15754.msg101844.html#msg101844

  Actually by law they can't refuse it, especially banks. Banks are required to submit damaged bills & coins to the federal reserve so they can be destroyed. Now if it's another countries coin it's a different story. Although I'm weird, I collect damaged coins all the time.

When I bump into shop keeps that are that anal I don't go to them any more.

LOL, mfitzs70 you said, "Common sense". Unfortunately, in this case it's not really common. If you've been around collectibles you know that the idea of cleaning an item generally = causing more harm than good.

I have to admit, Although I'm weird, I collect damaged coins all the time. It started out as just examples of types of damage both natural and man made. We've had people put their coins in jewelry cleaner, bleach and ammonia with some truly horrific out comes. Other ways have been wire brushes or using dremels and other tools to remove the tarnish/dirt.

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http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,15754.msg101848.html#msg101848