Clean Coins

[Clueless Heir]

Is it true you aren't supposed to clean your coins. Almost all of mine are in a used fairly unclean state. If I should clean them what should I use. They are all different types of metals.

 

I want to take them to the Rocky Mountain Coin expo in May and would like to know the best condition to present them.

[DaveG]

Don't clean/scrub/wipe etc. your coins.

 

Coin collectors and dealers pay more for coins that haven't been cleaned, etc.

 

It's like Antiques Roadshow, where a guy had an antique table that would have been worth $50,000, except he refinished it and it was now only worth $5,000.

 

If you're planning on selling your coins, do some research to find out what they're worth and try to sell them just as they are.

[Franklincoins-migration]

Definitely leave them AS IS. As Dave said, cleaning will only decrease value.

[JKK]

The only reasons I'll clean a coin:

 

1) I haven't a hope of telling what it is due to the mess on it.

2) Something on its surface will damage it in time.

 

There is a way a coin is supposed to look, naturally, for what it is made of and for its age and condition. Anyone likely to spend significant money on a coin can likely spot the unnatural look of cleaning at a glance, and if there is a question about that, strong magnification will usually tell not only whether it has been cleaned, but in what manner.

[Clueless Heir]

Thank you one and all for your help.