cleaned coins

[jason888]

Does anybody know a sure fire easy way to detect cleaned morgan/peace dollars? I buy many at flea markets for grading and usally 1/3 come back as "cleaned", and how does this effect value?

many thanks!!!!

[TomB]

Howdy and welcome to the boards.

 

Cleaned Morgan and Peace dollars have a very restricted buyer base, unless they are sold to the less knowledgeable as problem-free coins. Since both of these series have many coins that have survived in MS, only the better date or key date coins will still be appreciably liquid if cleaned. If you aren't certain what to look for in a cleaned coin I would suggest that you study the coins that get sent back to you as cleaned and then compare them to the pieces that are certified. You might want to bring the coins to a local dealer and ask him/her to point out to you the signs of cleaning. What cleaning does to the value is destroy it. Good luck.

[topsman]

Well this ain't sure fire, but it is one thing I have noticed while comparing coins. With the large surface of the coin, it is rather easy to see that "cartweel" luster when you move the coin around. However cleaned coins, at least the few I have, do not have that circular cartwheel luster effect.

But yes, compare your cleaned and uncleaned coins to each other and make note of the differences.

[jason888]

THANKS! Looking for a coin dealer/shop for help, but there doesn`t seem to many around any more.you would think with alot of new intrest there would be more.

[CarlWohlforth]

I happen to have two cleaned Morgans on eBay. They are currently at about silver melt value. You can see parallel hairlines pretty easily on one. It looks as if it were polished with a rag or brush. As was mentioned the luster is missing from that area. The other coin is a bit more subtle. They do have good details though. They are certainly worth the value of the silver in them.

[Oldtrader3]

Uncleaned dollars will have mint frost in the fields and on the devices. Learn to recognize this look (along with looking for hairlines).

[James_OldeTowne]

If by "cleaned", you mean abrasively cleaned, the two telltale signs are:

 

(1) areas of patchy hairlines, especially in the broad expanses of the fields, and at the high points of the detail

 

(2) diminished cartwheel luster

 

Once you've learned what constitutes a "cleaned" coin, you often just "know" it's cleaned at a glance. Of course, it's a subjective thing. Below some threshold, you can still get a cleaned coin encapsulated if the cleaning is very faint.

 

If you are ever in St. Louis for a show, I'd be happy to sit down with you and give you some pointers!

 

James