Come Clean About Cleaning Your Coins

Some time ago, I received a phone call from a friend who had been sorting through newfound coins. He proceeded to say that he had some potentially great finds and had been "cleaning and scrubbing at them for about an hour." I was mortified. He was in too deep to stop at that point. The damage had been done. And it happens more often than not, especially if you are not aware and informed. You have several coins that aren’t up to par as they once were. They appear to be corroded and not in their original shine. There is dirt in the crevasses and some have tarnished or developed unsightly toning.

Understandably, your first thought, whether a novice or veteran coin collector, may be to attempt to clean the coin and potentially remove the issue that has diminished its original appearance. I have found that there are many blogs and articles online, outlining proper and improper techniques for cleaning coins. I’m here to tell you, stop right there, and DO NOT CLEAN YOUR COINS.

Allow me to elaborate. There are common misconceptions that cleaning a coin will not only give it a fresh appearance but that it will also increase the value of the coin; that a "bright" coin is worth more than one with natural toning. That opinion can differ greatly among collectors.

When a coin is submitted to be examined by the experts at PCGS, signs of cleaning can be evident in many ways. Abrasive cleaning, using a brush and an acid or alcohol solution, can leave the coin with hair lines and discrepancies in the metal that may only be seen under the right lighting and magnification. Our experts will be able to tell if your coin has been cleaned from any appearance of wiping or buffing away hairlines to give the coin a polished and shiny appeal.

These techniques will certainly devalue your coin, and your coin will come back as "Genuine-Cleaned." What does this mean for the value, you may ask? Here’s an example to help answer the question. Let’s say the coin receives a grade of "Genuine-Cleaned XF details." This does not suggest that the coin’s fair market value is equal to that of a coin we have numerically graded in that same range. Instead, it is safe to say its value will fall below into the Fine range or lower. At the end of the day, it will be up to the discretion of the buyer and the appearance of the cleaned coin.

Again, we do not recommend attempting to clean your coin on your own. Have professionals do this. That’s where the PCGS Restoration Service can benefit you. The Restoration Service is designed to stop environmental damage on your coin. Qualifying coins include those with PVC residue, dirt and debris, adhesive or tape residue, copper spots on gold, and artificially enhanced toning. Know that this service is not intended to add elements to the coin or hide elements of it, only to preserve the coin back to its original luster as closely as possible. Our experts use a non-abrasive cleaning method and cleaners, designed specifically for PCGS, which will not diminish the coin’s aesthetic value. More importantly, each coin is treated separately. The conservation required for one coin may differ from that which is needed on the next. Therefore, we use about 40 different techniques depending on your coin’s needs. If the coin can be restored, it will then be evaluated for grading and placed into a PCGS holder with the final grade.

Please refer to www.PCGS.com/restoration for information and the Restoration form. (This form is separate from the standard grading form.) I’m going to close this by repeating myself: Don’t clean your coins yourself. If you take anything from this read, let that be it.

Before considering cleaning your coin, let the next call you make be to a PCGS Customer Service Representative. We will be happy to address all of your questions and concerns regarding the Restoration Service and how it will benefit your coins.