Coin Collector

does cleaning a collector coin drop its value?

I purchased a few Morgan Silver Dollars. I cleaned them up with baking soda and a soft old tooth brush. The process works great, they got really shiny. My hindsight says that that my have done something to the value. They are just your run-of-the-mill Morgans, they were circulated. Is silver worth the same no matter how clean or shiny it is?

With common silver coins, they’re always going to be worth the silver value. If the coin was worth no more than that before it was cleaned, it’s not going to drop the value.

The problem comes with coins that are worth more than just their bullion value. While you might like “shiny”, any cleaning that uses an abrasive or acid damages the surface. When a die strikes a coin, microscopic irregularities in the die surface are transferred to the struck coin. These affect the way light reflects off the coin, creating what’s called “mint luster”. The highlights on the coin change as you move it around in the light

When you use an abrasive or acid to clean the coin, these irregularities are worn off. The coin doesn’t reflect light the same way, and takes on a “dead” appearance–it look doesn’t change as you move it in the light. And once those surface irregularities are gone, there’s no way to get them back. The coin will never look the same way again.

On top of that, since silver is very reactive, if you don’t remove every last trace of the cleaning agent, it will cause the coin to tone in odd ways, which just makes it look worse.

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