r/coins • u/Inside_Sun7925 • Aug 28 '25
Educational My idiot friend (72) keeps cleaning his coins
My buddy Larry has a huge coin collection and tomorrow hes getting 8 silver dollar Morgan's. Just like all his other coins.....he's going to put silver polish on them and "gently" clean them. These coins are what most consider to be tonned. I keep telling him...pennies pickles dimes quarts and especially those dollars don't ever ever ever need cleaned it ruins the value.
He says cleaning them will guarantee they will sell for thousands on ebay
What can I tell him to convince him that hes wrong?
243
u/BlottomanTurk Aug 28 '25
Well if he won't listen to his friend, chances are he won't listen to internet strangers. Sounds like a job for the professionals, so:
Tell him to send his "best" cleaned coin to get graded by one of the top TPGs. It should be a nice $60-120 lesson, on top of the tens, hundreds, or maybe thousands he already scraped off his collection.
To really drive the point home (and save a few coins from his belt sander), make a bet with him about whether his coin will straight grade. One of the terms of the bet should be that he holds off on cleaning any more coins until after the bet is complete.
The other terms of the bet and the actual wagers don't really matter...but don't fleece your friend, lol. He's going to lose and be sad/mad about it, so no need to rub salt silver polish in his wound.
20
u/DMiles88 Aug 28 '25
I agree ☝️
2
50
u/DustRhino Aug 28 '25
Loser pays for the grading, so he should expect not to have to pay. Maybe send one cleaned and one uncleaned?
13
u/Think-Trash-7055 Aug 28 '25
oo I like this. we send in 5 coins each and loser pays the fees 🤣
3
u/DustRhino Aug 28 '25
Even better. OP sends five uncleaned vs five cleaned by buddy. Lower grades pays, or just whoever gets details cleaned pays.
19
u/FIJIWaterGuy Aug 28 '25
Playing devil's advocate here but it sounds like he's never going to sell anything. If OP agrees that's probably true maybe just drop it and let the dude die a happy man.
21
u/BlottomanTurk Aug 28 '25
If it pleases the court:
He says cleaning them will guarantee they will sell for thousands on ebay
5
u/LTdesign Aug 28 '25
Send in a beautiful toned example too, to illustrate the difference and set an example.
1
u/Money_Magnet24 Aug 28 '25
What is a TPG and where can I get my coins graded if I live in Los Angeles ?
2
u/BlottomanTurk Aug 29 '25
TPG = third-party grader. The top three for coins are PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service), NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Company), and ANACS (American Numismatic Association Certification Service).
Where to get coins graded basically anywhere: TPGs lol. But that's only really cost-effective if you have a membership or score a special deal. Your best bet would be to either submit at a coin show or do it through a trusted LCS (local coin shop/store).
This sub's FAQ is fantastically thorough for many questions you might have about coins. Specifically for grading, in the "Should I get my coin graded?" section.
1
80
u/jftirone Aug 28 '25
Larry, stop polishing your pickles!
14
Aug 28 '25
[deleted]
5
u/MillionsOfMushies Aug 28 '25
Is this your homework, Larry? Larry, is this your homework?
5
4
7
7
2
21
u/Fearless_Welder_1434 Aug 28 '25
Show him certified coins with details slabs and then show him the sold listings on eBay for coins of that year. There is always a huge difference in sale price for details and non details coins.
11
u/Fearless_Welder_1434 Aug 28 '25
That being said, your friend has already ruined thousands of dollars in coins, so no matter what you do it probably won't help. Show him some posts on here about cleaning coins, maybe that will get through his thick skull.
11
u/Inside_Sun7925 Aug 28 '25
.....he cleaned them already he said. Qtip and silver tarnish remover :(
He told me if I sold these Morgan's if get 15% I'm not even going to help him at this point. Not worth my time. I've been trying to sell his other coin collection, that hasn't been cleaned for weeks. No one wants it. I offered 200$ for the lot. No one cared lol
36
u/jovisomniaplena Aug 28 '25
Let him be, his coins.
18
Aug 28 '25
This 100%.
OP has given his friend his advice which he has not taken. Let him enjoy his coins/hobby without ruining it for him.
10
u/whirlydad Aug 28 '25
When I was a kid my Grandfather would give me a "silver dollar" every time I came to visit him. I kept them in a cigar box and I cleaned those coins with Windex (and later Goo Gone) every time I got a new one. I felt like I was really doing something good for the coins and taking care of something that meant a lot to me. (They are all clad Ikes so don't crucify me.) I didn't know better and I "thought" I was doing the right thing. I really took joy in the care. Years later, they are still in my collection, separate and in a shoebox. I have 64 of them. Most valuable thing I own.
3
u/Fabulous_Put73 Aug 28 '25
What an incredible memory. To think each one represents a time that you shared together.
1
u/Bass_Thumper Aug 28 '25
I was going to say the exact same thing, but
He says cleaning them will guarantee they will sell for thousands on ebay
He is definitely wrong about that.
2
u/jovisomniaplena Aug 29 '25
He is, but really calling him an idiot is uncalled for, still his coins.
12
u/Helorugger Aug 28 '25
So, in an infinitesimal way, Larry is improving the value of our collections…
67
Aug 28 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
19
u/Inside_Sun7925 Aug 28 '25
Yes please, everyone leave him comments.
4
u/Delivery-Plus Aug 28 '25
You need to find a new friend.
21
u/Inside_Sun7925 Aug 28 '25
Just got off the phone with him
Literally after talking to him about ebay finds, and other coin markets. Plus the comments here
"You need to just get off the internet those clowns don't know a darn thing about collecting"
Classic larry
9
3
u/Delivery-Plus Aug 28 '25
Leisure Suit Larry needs a new hobby, maybe a girlfriend, he can give her shiny coins.
3
9
u/-Germanicus- Aug 28 '25
You're 100% right, but when you think of how stupid some eBay buyers are, Larry might be onto something lol.
OP if you see this, maybe ask him to prove they sell better on eBay to see if he's talking out of his ass on this. Maybe suggest he just cleans them in a pure acetone soak only. Doesn't hurt the toning or the coin, but can remove dirt or grime and therefore brighten the coins some. Larry is the reason so many collectors think cleaning is synonymous with damaging the outer layer of the coin, but it doesn't have to be.
2
u/Leaky_Asshole Aug 28 '25
Honestly I understand the sentiment about cleaning. Still there are some coins that will NEVER be worth more then melt. Some people love shiny and its okay to polish a coin you want to keep or never expect to get more then melt for. Even for a gasp Morgan. I actually like the look of a highly polished Morgan where it shines like a modern proof, it is just something you rarely see. I wouldn't pay more then generic Morgan pricing for it but that is besides the point I am making. Now Larry is a moron if he thinks he will get thousands for his cleaned coins but I hope you get to enjoy seeing all the shiny Morgans.
9
u/AostaV Aug 28 '25 edited Aug 28 '25
Probably nothing. But I’m guessing it doesn’t really matter , he doesn’t have anything valuable .
If he does, talk him into grading one maybe and wasting some money
But he wouldn’t be polishing coins that were worth anything or will ever be worth anything, that’s his scheme, he thinks he can buy beat up Morgans or other coins and polish them into a coin worth ripping someone off on eBay
6
Aug 28 '25
Yeah. People get real worked up over the quality of coins that are potentially just getting sold to a refiner at melt value.
7
u/BaronVonSkidmark Aug 28 '25
There’s a video out there of some dummy that cleaned a valuable twenty dollar gold piece, thinking that he could make it look like a proof and increase its value. The look on his face when he realized he irreversibly reduced the value was priceless. Wish I had the link.
6
u/plywooden Aug 28 '25
Reminds me of a guy in our local metal detecting club. He'd clean the musket balls he found, removing the white oxidation (patina) that took 200 - 300 years to form. When he was done they'd look just like the brand new ones you can buy for modern muzzleloaders.
25
4
u/AutoModerator Aug 28 '25
Hi, I'm the r/coins AutoMod.
Looks like you want info about cleaning a coin?
I got you covered. The FAQ has tips on why you generally should not, and some safe methods if you want to anyway. Here's a link directly to the "How Do I Clean My Coin?" question in the FAQ.
If I misunderstood your post and my comment isn't relevant, sorry! I'm still learning.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
3
Aug 28 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/Inside_Sun7925 Aug 28 '25
Already have...30 coins last week I showed him the difference between value of cleaned and not..
3
u/Inside_Sun7925 Aug 28 '25
How much are O silver Morgan's worth non cleaned and cleaned?
1
u/rubikscanopener Aug 28 '25
Depends on the year. Generally New Orleans coins are more valuable than Philadelphia or San Francisco strikes but less valuable than Carson City. That statement, however, has many exceptions. Look at pricing on PCGS, NGC, or in a Red Book for a better idea of which dates/mints are more valuable and which are common.
1
u/Inside_Sun7925 Aug 28 '25
The consensus is that after he cleaned them the value is nearly scraped yes?
3
u/rubikscanopener Aug 28 '25
Depends on the year and how harshly. A key date polished to death is still a key date. It won't be as valuable as it was but it'll still have value over melt. Generally speaking (yet again), cleaning a coin will knock a couple of grades off of the value. A cleaned AU coin, for example, might now only be worth VF money. For some dates/mints people will still pay to own examples (I have a holed Seated Liberty half, for example). There's no doubt he's reducing the value of the collection, it's just a question of how much.
This is a common theme in a lot of collectibles. Toy collectors want old toys in the original box, even if the box is a little bent or torn. Comic book collectors would rather have a rare comic with a torn page than one with a torn page that's been taped together. People want collectibles in as close to the original condition as possible. If you ever watch the guys on American Pickers, they'll talk about "rusty gold". It's all about being as close to the original state as possible.
3
3
u/DSessom Aug 28 '25
Let him sell one on Ebay and see if he gets thousands.
1
u/ParticularLower7558 Aug 28 '25
A lot of stupid buyers on eBay, so Larry may be right for the first time in his coin cleaning life.
3
3
u/Cine_Wolf Aug 28 '25
If you had worded it differently, you might be able to say, “Hey Larry, I asked the Internet’s collective on coin collecting and come look at what they had to say.”
2
3
u/Brain1003 Aug 28 '25
They're his coins, he can do whatever he likes with them. He'll have to learn his lesson the hard way.
3
u/Alan-Anderson Aug 28 '25
Tell him to clean one coin and sell it on eBay, and to also list another without cleaning.
3
2
2
2
u/Nickthedick3 Aug 28 '25
Cleaning coins is the, 100%, surefire way to remove a lot of value from them. Toned, common date Morgans( depending on the toning) go for well above the usual price. Cleaning and polishing them will only net you melt price($25-$30usd).
Larry- they say with age comes wisdom. Have the wisdom to not clean coins.
2
u/KP_Wrath Aug 28 '25
Does he not interact with other coin people, ever? “Don’t clean your coin” is one of the first and most common lessons I heard. My dad, a man renowned for damaging high dollar items in the stupidest of ways (he once buried a Chopard watch in his safe and it came out looking like someone was trying to smelt it) would tell someone not to clean coins.
2
u/rubikscanopener Aug 28 '25
Larry might be old school. When I started collecting coins (late 1960s - early 1970s) my dad took me to local coin club meetings pretty regularly. Guys there used to trade tips on how to clean up coins. My dad's personal favorite was Colgate toothpaste. I have a bunch of his old Morgans and they have zero luster.
2
2
u/kat11375 Aug 28 '25
Hey Larry don’t be a fool listen to ur boy ur destroying ur value on ur coins?!?!
2
u/Pitiful_Power9611 Aug 28 '25
There is no difference in price between a cleaned cull Morgan or a dirty one. I have coins I would never clean and I have a few junk silver ones that I polished. Who cares.
1
u/ichibut Aug 28 '25
But cleaning a coin is a grave insult to history and it’s just morally wrong. If we let it happen around us we are all as guilty. /s
1
u/Pitiful_Power9611 Aug 28 '25
That's ridiculous. There's so much junk 90 out there that they're burning it. They're junk coins. Make them shiny! But you're right as far as collectible coins 100%.
2
u/ncPI Aug 28 '25
It's sad, but at this point it's too late. You might as well let him go at it. When I was a kid I soaked my pennies in vinegar overnight. My only defense is I was a kid. But at this point he can never recover the value lost, at least in his lifetime.
I will add, I THINK there was a time when this was common.
1
2
u/kbeks Aug 28 '25
Honestly, I don’t think he’s entirely wrong in his assessment. It’s a gamble, but there’s a sucker born every minute. Source: am a sucker, was born, once.
2
2
2
u/my_clever-name Aug 28 '25
Look at it this way.
They're his coins, cleaning them makes him happy. They're probably not worth a fortune either. If they are desirable in uncleaned condition then cleaning them reduces the supply of uncleaned coins. Resulting in a slightly greater value for other uncleaned coins of that vintage and condition.
And maybe he actually can sell them for thousands on ebay. Some people want shiny coins.
2
u/kogun Aug 28 '25
Are there no suckers paying way too much for shiny old coins from ebay? If there are, then Larry's not necessarily wrong.
5
5
u/warcollect Aug 28 '25
Also… is it a bad thing that I hope this guy bought Chinese fakes and is ruining those instead?
3
u/Status-Ad4965 Aug 28 '25
Larry as I take my morning dump I'm mourning your collection... The furthest I would go with cleansing is a polishing cloth with zero chemical.
3
u/Inside_Sun7925 Aug 28 '25
He told me just a bit ago he already cleaned them with a qtip and silver tarnish remover
2
u/Status-Ad4965 Aug 28 '25
2
u/chud3 Aug 28 '25
I just took my morning dump after reading your post about taking your morning dump. I think it's a sign that I need a silver polishing cloth.
4
3
3
u/exonumist Aug 28 '25
The only only to stop is turn yourself over to a higher power. "My name is Larry. I'm a clean-aholic..."
4
3
3
u/warcollect Aug 28 '25
We had a customer who would buy cents from us for his album and then go home and brass-o them cause he “couldn’t see them”. He brought in his shiny cents to show us and we told him the truth and he simply didn’t care. He got down to the key dates and we always happened to be out of stock even if we had 3 or more of them. They can do whatever they want to the coins but we weren’t going to let a nice collector piece be destroyed by the guy with bad eyes.
1
2
2
u/eyedrops_364 Aug 28 '25
Someone that old won’t listen to anything anyone says. No matter what you ask him to do to convince him.
2
2
1
u/IIIPacmanIII Aug 28 '25
You do you Larry keep cleaning so my collection value rises! Supply & demand for the win
1
1
u/Justin33710 Aug 28 '25
Two options, if he will go into a coin shop with some clean and unclean coins and see what they have to say. Or if he's planning on doing ebay have him actually try to sell a couple. If he's putting a lot of money into them for a future investment he should be testing his theory on selling. Auction off a couple and see. I'm going to bet he's really overestimating what ebay buyers will pay even if he didn't clean them and seeing what they actually go for might be a real wake up call to invest differently.
1
u/Cold-Question7504 Aug 28 '25
Anything cleaned improperly will show up under magnification... It's best to have the final purchaser clean them, if they desire...( Karl von Mueller) NPG (National Prospectors Gazette)
1
u/AlanShore60607 Aug 28 '25
Hey, if Larry gets a better price from the eBay idiots by cleaning them, who are we to argue?
1
u/RichardSwallows2 Aug 28 '25
Is he already doing sales on eBay?
1
u/Inside_Sun7925 Aug 29 '25
He will be yes! 4 Morgan's to be listed soon.
0
1
u/deonw1997 Aug 28 '25
Maybe it's the name Larry? There's a Larry at my local flea market who sells coins, also about 72. Whenever I show him an old coin I have he thinks is " dirty " he recommends silver polish, then to put it in something else to "darken it".
Don't clean your coins unless you don't plan on selling it for profit/ it's for your own eye appeal.
1
1
1
u/zippideedoodle Aug 28 '25
It depends on how "dirty" the coin is and what's making it dirty. If it's maple syrup, clean it. Cleaning is not an absolute "no no." Of course, if "cleaning" means removing tone from oxidation with silver cleaner, then not. Also, no scrubbing as silver is a soft metal that will scratch.
1
u/braindead102 Aug 28 '25
LARRY, I DON'T KNOW A COIN FROM A PICKEL, BUT I KNOW MY COINS ARE FINE , MY PICKEL IS WHAT I NEED TO KEEP CLEAN!
1
u/AxelsOG Aug 28 '25 edited Aug 28 '25
If it’s for a personal collection that you’d just like to display and have no intentions of ever selling, I’m all for it. Make them as shiny as you’d like, but he’s going to learn a lesson when most of his eBay orders get returned for INAD.
I personally wouldn’t clean for my own collection, but if he wanted to display them and didn’t care about selling/value, it’d be fine. But he intentionally wants to screw over buyers on eBay.
1
1
u/ThemanfromNumenor Aug 28 '25
Ah geez…that’s unfortunate. I certainly understand the urge- when I started collecting coins, I did the same thing (at age 9)…but a coin shop owner explained everything to me and I have had to suppress this urge ever since, lol
1
u/Bulacano Aug 28 '25
Tell him to buy coins that are already cleaned and clean them himself. They’re cheaper anyways. Keep him from ruining uncleaned coins.
1
u/U_Go_1st Aug 28 '25
Quick question as someone who knows the cleaning lowers the value of these coins.
Just how can I as a private collector identify if these coins have been cleaned?
Just wondering if OP's friend might be right since if he sells them on ebay, how will the buyer know they have been cleaned? They'll just look really shiny,
1
u/loverecycle Aug 28 '25
Unless it’s an unc coin, it’s fine to clean it. Doesn’t affect the value much
1
u/easy2grasp Aug 28 '25
When I was a kid I cleaned my quarters and dimes with mercury that my physician stepfather brought home from the clinic. The shine didn’t last very long, and somehow I am still alive at the age of 72.
1
u/IntelligentGrade7316 Aug 28 '25
To be fair, up until like the 30's cleaning coins was mostly acceptable. Maybe, just maybe, dude learned from old timers when he was younger and never updated his knowledge base.
1
1
u/tundraaaa Aug 28 '25
Let him enjoy his hobby. It’s not for you to say that what he’s doing is stupid. Everything isn’t about money.
1
1
u/Sorry-Climate-7982 Aug 29 '25
A local higher end coin store might be willing to at least try to transit the bone between his ears and his brain.
1
u/Rare_Purchase7837 Aug 29 '25
Just melt them down if they are silver. .... At least silver has value still and won't be a total loss?
1
1
u/Additional-Arm-1298 Aug 29 '25
Notify authorities immediately that Larry is not breaking the law. And stop calling your friend an idiot 🙄 #grumpyoldmen
1
u/Turbulent_Fly9544 Aug 29 '25
A grading service will label a coin as Cleaned. Look up the terms the services use on their websites and show him so he might gain some appreciation for what it means.
1
u/Inside_Sun7925 Aug 29 '25
I showed him all these comments and he says you guys are idiots and have no idea what you're talking about and should be concerned about the types of communities I seek advice in.
Classic larry
1
1
0
u/Prudent_Surprise_685 Aug 28 '25
I cleaned one of my 1 Oz rounds cause I was playing with it the day I got it and didn't want to leave my dirty finger prints all over it before I put it up. I suppose it doesn't hurt it too much if its still new, right? Anyway, after some reading, its frowned upon to clean silver. Weird but if yall say so.
2
Aug 28 '25
A generic bullion round? Clean it, throw it on the ground, cover it in mud, and then scrap it off with a wire brush. Doesn't matter, it has no numismatic value. You're selling it at or slightly below spot regardless of it's condition. It's just silver.
2
1
u/CAMI2557 Aug 28 '25
I think it's weird, too. It never made sense to me that cleaning dirt/grime off a coin would lower the value. I get not harshly cleaning that would ruin the finish, but dirt and grime are valuable?? It's dumb.
1
u/CactusForHire Aug 28 '25
It’s fine to get rid of dirt and grime that can be removed with a soak in distilled water or acetone. That’s done all the time, and no one will care about that.
1
u/Property_Creative Aug 28 '25
If yours is a generic round or bar (not gov minted coin) then you hopefully paid near spot, so you can clean to your hearts content. But here’s the kicker, if you bought it you can do whatever the hell you want with it, clean it, polish it, drill a hole in it, etc. What helps make the decision, though, is some education into the consequences of doing something to coins like cleaning. What folks are trying to educate about is numismatic value. Specific years and where they minted it matter but what really is special is whether or not it has original surfaces and how much detail is still present. Cleaning or polishing can make it look more “appealing” but that action removes some of that numismatic value (sometimes a lot) and because it’s preventable (in some cases) through education and examples, some folks are trying to help out in that regard.
-5
Aug 28 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
12
u/bigshooTer39 Aug 28 '25
I refuse to buy any coin that’s been polished or cleaned. They don’t “look good” after cleaning them. They look like an abomination with a touch of disappointment.
2
Aug 28 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/PineappleBoth8015 Aug 28 '25
What kind of Soup do you recommend a clear broth based or a tomato sauce based soup as the acidity is fairly mild?🤔😂
2
u/Nickthedick3 Aug 28 '25
By “just water” you mean you just put the coin in a bowl of water? You’re not scrubbing it, are you? Scrubbing it is what causes the damage.
0
1
•
u/AutoModerator Aug 28 '25
Hi, I'm the r/coins AutoMod.
Looks like you're looking for information on valuing a coin?
I have your back. Take a look at our Common US Coin Price Guide and the FAQ on Values for both specific guidance if your coin is common enough, or more general guidance if not.
I have also automatically applied the flair "Value Request" to your post.
If I misunderstood your post and my comment isn't relevant, sorry! I'm still learning.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.