Heritage Auctions says they will not sell ungraded coins.
PCGS says they will not grade a coin that has tape or PCV residue on it.
They also say that will not clean a coin that has been cleaned.
Does this mean I should...
- Sell them elsewhere (like eBay) ungraded with the residue still on them?
- Clean them and sell them elsewhere (like eBay)?
- Clean them carefully and hope PCGS doesn't detect it?
- None of the above
Most in question are Indian Head pennies and I doubt many of them are
worth
grading anyway, but there are a couple that may be.
I understand that copper is tricky to clean....any tips on this?
Also, through phone conversations with David Lisot at Hertage auctions, I
have learned that questions about coin cleaning are the most frequently
asked and the first and safest answer that everyone gives is "DON'T DO
IT".
But I also found that if you probe a little deeper, most experts agree
that
there are times when some gentle and carful cleaning is prudent. (The
example I gave to David is "If I dropped a coin in mud and it was
covered...completely obscured...are you telling me that I should just
leave
it there and let it dry????") It was then that he conceded that mild soap
and water would do more good than harm and even talked about acetone in a
very "proceed at your own risk" way.
If any of you are interested and have not aleady seen it, there is an
article on the pros and cons of various types of coin cleaning called
"Truth
About Cleaning Coins" that I found on Omnicoin.com. It is a very "both
sides", "food for thought" article that doesn't really answer the question
of whether or not coins should be cleaned, but equips you with a lot of
information that will help you make your own decision. It presents many
facets of this topic, rather than just the effect that cleaning can have
on
the value of a coin. It tackles ethics, philosophy and even some long
term
societal issues, but in a very non-judgmental way. It is worth a read for
anyone who agonizes over this decision. If you are interested you will
find
the article at
http://www.omnicoin.com/news/NumismaticArticles/GeneralTopics/TruthAboutCleaningCoins/tabid/48/Default.aspx
.
Thanks everyone for your help.
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