Can improperly cleaned coin be redeemed by resending to NGC via conservation?

[bgs9man]

I am new to coin collecting and purchased some nice Kennedy Halves. I sent the better ones in for grading and several came back saying "improperly cleaned." If I resend them via conservation to NGC will they then remove the improperly clean label and grade the coins? "The coins look spotless and shiny with no crud on them. I feel bad I was taken and need help in determining how to buy ungraded coins. How do others buy ungraded coins without knowing whether they have been cleaned or not? I would appreciate any help since I am so new at this.

 

Rodney or the Bgs9man

 

[Stuartt]

In short you can not unclean a coin. This is because the toneing and luster has most likely been removed. submit a picture of the coin and I can help you understand what made it cleaned.

 

I would suggest you keep to el cheapo coins until you get more experience. You will quickly get an eye for improper cleaning. spotless coins with no crud are usually cleaned. Uncirculated coins should have what is called luster to them and cleaning will give it an un-natural look. Take a look at brand new coins and look at pictures in gradeing books as well as look at items on NGC and you will start to learn how to tell. that is why nubs are usually encuraged to keep to slabbed coins. Go to telletrade.com and you will find a ton of very affordable slabbed coins.

[bgs9man]

Thanks so much for your reply. I am already learning from this forum. You guys are great!

[newprepper]

I don't know what you sent in kennedy-wise, but they don't generally carry a high value, Unless it would be a high dollar coin graded I would not send it in. Try to get more bang for your valuable bucks. For about the cost of grading a coupla coins you could buy 1 graded kennedy maybe.

[bgs9man]

Thanks for the tip. I will definitely go that route from now on. I really appreciate all this wise advice that I am receiving from this community.

[newprepper]

Thanks for the tip. I will definitely go that route from now on. I really appreciate all this wise advice that I am receiving from this community.

 

Research the graded values before you send anything in, this sight lists their values. you can find others elsewhere. Ask the experts here, I'm not one of them though. For the cost of postage some of the people here might take a look at them first. Just send a return envelope postage paid, you cant expect them to look, advise and pay return postage. I'm new myself, a lot to learn

[O mint bug]

I seriously doubt it as once improperly cleaned always improperly cleaned. Some expensive coins are bought buy what are termed coin doctors as these people try to modify the surface in such a fashion it can be resubmitted and graded as a good coin ie AU 55. If you can try to get your money back if possible. Hopefully the coins did not cost you a significant amount of money as they are now pretty much a bullion play. If you log onto ha.com and look at the more expensive coins improper cleaning is quite common and the coin is dead from a price standpoint.. I saw a 1856 $20 O that was nice but some where along the line a person scratched the surface. Other things to look for a filed edges as people scraped a bit of gold or silver off a coin , spent it and then had enough bullion to make a few bucks after this was done to a few coins.These coins are not included in the population reports. The $20 1856 O is the rarest liberty one double eagle as about 25 are known to exist. One is up for auction now on ha.com with a large scratch someone put on it, vastly reducing the value.There are dozens of improperly $20 coins on the ha.com site you can see for sale that are improperly cleaned. Many times I doubt the owner just did not now just what they were doing. I feel learning to spot an improperly cleaned coin would be of significant benefit o you. I cannot comment on silver or copper but gold coins often have some parallel lines where someone whipped them with abrasive cloth. Others are very clean for a circulated coin and the open fields will look brighter than the surrounding points. Once you view some you will begin to spot those that don't look right . Purchasing graded coins in slabs from PCGS or NGC will go along way to help you avoid cleaned coins as the damaged is noted on the slab. Maybe the silver and copper guys can share their experience with you on this issue as well and post a few cleaned coins to help illustrate their explanations.. Ha,com has them for the viewing as well as they are for sale, noted as such, but the price realized is a fraction of what it would have been had the coin not been abuse. Hope this helps,

[ArmyBud]

Just a quick reply but if I were you and you know the coin has been cleaned just chalk it up to learning. Are your coins Proofs or MS?

[Nutmeg Coin]

PCGS restoration has a good FAQ on the issue. They can't help a coin when the patina and luster have been stripped away.

[coinman_23885]

Don't feel badly. We are talking about Kennedy Half Dollars, so it is probably an inexpensive education in the long run.

 

Assuming that the label is accurate, an improperly cleaned coin cannot be redeemed by sending it through NCS. An improperly cleaned coin will show hairlines (think of them as being analogous to tiny scratches that are made into the coin's surface) and/or it may also show noticeable impairment of luster. This is not reversible.

[Bick62]

I know the feeling of Improperly cleaned coins. I have sent several coins to NGC that I know for a fact they have never been cleaned and they were returned as "Improperly Cleaned" I just wonder how a coin that has never been cleaned be "Improperly Cleaned"?

[Nutmeg Coin]

Pictures? You can always try again at one of the other services, everyone has had the experience of "problem" coins later straight grading and there is no economic downside for a grading service to grade coins as problem. They just shouldn't take as much money as a grade carries a guarantee.

[Conder101]

I just wonder how a coin that has never been cleaned be "Improperly Cleaned"?

The graders have no knowledge of the past history of the coin and whether it has been actually cleaned or not. They look at the surfaces and if to them at that moment in time they think it looks like ones they have thought in the past were cleaned, they will call that one cleaned as well. They could be wrong but all they can go on is what they see.

 

Oh and unless you were there and picked up the coin as it came out of the press you have no idea what has been done to the coin in the past either. You may have personally pulled it out of a mint sewn bag, but they doesn't mean a press operator didn't pick it up, wipe it with a rag, inspect it and toss it back in with the rest of them. And if you didn't pill it personally from a mint sewn bag ANYTHING could have been done to it before it came into your hands. All you can say is that YOU never cleaned it.

[Anubis63]

I just submitted a coin for grading and it cam back "UNC DETAILS" "OBV IMPROPERLY CLEANED" I would have bet $1000 that it would have come back an MS66 or at the least a 65.

One it is on the obverse only and it looks so similar to the reverse it's almost impossible to tell. Why would it be the obverse only. Should I have this coin re-graded or would it be a candidate for conservation? Thanks.

[Nutmeg Coin]

It depends on the nature of the cleaning, over-dipped vs. harshly cleaned vs. a patch of "cleaning", etc.. Look at all the "cleaned" coins in holders and work backwards, some of the self-appointed coin experts see problems on 90% of coins, like with a painful diagnosis get a second opinion. If two or three real experts come up with the same verdict and treatment, chances are they are right.

[Six Mile Rick]

On 8/21/2012 at 1:18 PM, new2coins-migration said:

I am new to coin collecting and purchased some nice Kennedy Halves. I sent the better ones in for grading and several came back saying "improperly cleaned." If I resend them via conservation to NGC will they then remove the improperly clean label and grade the coins? "The coins look spotless and shiny with no crud on them. I feel bad I was taken and need help in determining how to buy ungraded coins. How do others buy ungraded coins without knowing whether they have been cleaned or not? I would appreciate any help since I am so new at this.

 

Rodney or the Bgs9man

 

The right light and a 8X or 10X loupe

[J3_Dog]

On 8/22/2012 at 7:54 PM, new2coins-migration said:

Thanks so much for your reply. I am already learning from this forum. You guys are great!

Yes.. There are some Great Skilled Guys here. I've been a member here since 2009, & they still fascinate me with their knowledge & Sharing of information. You can't Buy that for Free Anywhere. 

 

On 1/11/2015 at 1:21 PM, coinman_23885 said:

Don't feel badly. We are talking about Kennedy Half Dollars, so it is probably an inexpensive education in the long run.

 

Assuming that the label is accurate, an improperly cleaned coin cannot be redeemed by sending it through NCS. An improperly cleaned coin will show hairlines (think of them as being analogous to tiny scratches that are made into the coin's surface) and/or it may also show noticeable impairment of luster. This is not reversible.

I learned this exact thing as a Newbie about 6 months after becoming a Member here in 2009. A Seller on here, (which is very rare) was offering around 30 Slabbed Mostly Newer Dates, of Kennedys. All were MS or PF 70's. I saw the photos after inquiring about them. I'm thinking I gave around $7 a piece for them. Several things I myself learned about that experience was that I mostly went with what looked like Great Photos of NGC Slabbed Kennedys. I received them, & immediately could see minor Scratches & small blemishes on the Holdered Coins. The second thing I saw was that there were small & then slightly bigger of what appeared to be Super Glue at certain points around the Holder. I contacted the person immediately & asked for a Refund, but my 3rd mistake was not asking if he had a Return Policy. Hard lesson to learn. He disappeared almost immediately after that because I threatened to contact NGC. It was pretty clear to me, he had tampered with the Holders, & replaced the Coins with New Coins, that probably wouldn't grade 68 if that. If he had been like the other 99.99 % of Honest people on here, he would have made it right. Again... I take full responsibility for a Lesson Well Learned. One last thing to mention is that NCS has a FAQ, describing exactly what you are asking as far as sending in a Cleaned Coin. It goes into Great Detail about what they do & don't do. If I can find it, I will Post it here.... Good Luck!

[spedranger]

On 2/13/2016 at 1:48 PM, Bick62 said:

I know the feeling of Improperly cleaned coins. I have sent several coins to NGC that I know for a fact they have never been cleaned and they were returned as "Improperly Cleaned" I just wonder how a coin that has never been cleaned be "Improperly Cleaned"?

Well, it can't.  Somebody is mistaken.