Can a crusty coin still be a cleaned one?

[zrlevin]

When I am looking on heritage, sometimes I see coins that look nice and crusty that are actually in ANACS cleaned holders. I find this interesting, and I am trying to learn how to tell the difference on raw coins. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks.

 

Also, what do you think of the one below? Original or cleaned?

 

[TomB]

I think many collectors equate dark with crusty when in reality many of these more deeply toned pieces in ANACS net-graded holders have little or no skin remaining after being cleaned.

[zrlevin]

I think many collectors equate dark with crusty when in reality many of these more deeply toned pieces in ANACS net-graded holders have little or no skin remaining after being cleaned.

 

Ah ha! Thanks for clearing that up, Tom!

 

Do these coins generally have a bit of a glossy look to them, while their original counterpart's luster is more flat? I am referring to VFish coins.

[TomB]

Coins in the VF range that have been cleaned and either intentionally retoned or retoned on their own can have a very glossy appearance, but I would doubt that is a universal aspect. As you know, more original VF coins have a more flat, more matte or more powdery look to their surfaces.

[WoodenJefferson]

The obverse of that '79-S has all the hallmarks of an original skinned Morgan, but the reverse appears to be a tad bit off in the image. The devices on the reverse seem to be a little lighter as well as the fields. Perhaps under scrutiny one could say that this coin had been lightly "cleaned" sometime during the life of the coin. Maybe it is original on both sides, very hard to determine here in the forum.

 

One thought before I close...what exactly has been done to a coin where the grading service has denoted "cleaned" ? A submitter may never know unless they were the ones or knew the person who cleaned or attempted conservation on the coin. You must remember that it was almost acceptable to clean coins years and years ago...a horrible thought, but it did occur on a frequent basis.

 

There is no "magic formula" to adhere to for every suspicious coin that you run into or that has been forever marked by the TPG's as being cleaned.

 

Each one has a story of it's own, some severely cleaned, others lightly and still ones that are acceptable in the eye of the collector.

 

Would I own the one pictured, yes, it is still pleasing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JRocco]

Some very good points made here. Many people equate a "crusty" coin with a dark coin, or a dirty coin, or even a toned coin. It is important to know what the particular collector is referring to when a coin is described as crusty. It can have a huge impact on the value of the coin to be sure that both parties are talking about the same condition on the coin.

To me, this is crusty, to someone else

[James_OldeTowne]

A crust coin could certainly be so lightly cleaned that some or much crust remains. For that matter, a crusty coin could very easily be cleaned on only one side, or even just spot cleaned.