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I finally stopped cleaning every coin I dig up
Read a forum post that said tumbling a 1700s King George copper erased the date completely and realized I ruined a few good ones last month. Anybody else leave the dirt on now and just rinse with water?
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skylerg172mo ago
Three weeks ago I pulled a 1798 large cent that looked like a crusty blob, decided to leave it alone and just put it in a 2x2. Turned out the "dirt" was actually a really dark, even patina that hid almost no detail once I looked close with a loupe. Now I only touch coins with distilled water and a soft toothbrush if they have loose mud caked on, anything crusty stays crusty until a pro tells me otherwise. The date loss from tumbling is permanent and people forget that once that metal is gone, it's gone.
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...and it's funny you mention that, it's kind of like how people ruin old tools by sandblasting them clean or throwing them in a vinegar bath. We all want that shiny thing right away and we forget that old patina is actually the history of the object, not just dirt. I did the same thing with a bucket of wheat pennies a few years back, dumped them in a rock tumbler with some sand and they came out looking like brand new zincolns. Totally worthless after that, no detail left, just blank copper discs. Now I just rinse crusty stuff under the tap and let it dry on a paper towel. The dirt hides stuff sometimes but you learn to read it slowly. It's like we gotta fight that urge to make everything look factory fresh.
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